I personally believe that the starting point for any event, small or large, is to figure out what your theme is. Every and all elements for your event will flow from the central theme and this will allow the event to have consistency throughout and a seamless execution. But where to start? I mean, there are endless possibilities for themes, how can you possibly isolate one and remain consistent with it through all the elements of the event? This is a tough one, and often where we all sort of get stuck, but it doesn’t have to be daunting. You just have to have a framework that helps you figure out what you are trying to do and what you want the event to be.
Take a few minutes and think about some of the following questions. Once you answer them with whatever comes off the top of your head, you’ll start moving in the right direction.
- What is the feeling that I want from this event? Do I want it to be formal or casual, sophisticated or relaxed, glamourous or informal?
- What are some of the things that I associate with the type of feeling? For example, formal may be a sit down dinner and casual a buffet, help yourself type of event. A sophisticated event may see interesting food that is perfectly plated while a more relaxed event could have good, down home food.
- Does the type of event I am doing support that feeling? You likely wouldn’t do a formal event for a child’s birthday party or something glamourous for a guy’s dinner. Make sure the feeling (which will grow to your theme) fits the type of event you want to do.
- Brainstorm some ideas of how you could achieve the feeling in your event.
Once you have taken a bit of time to gather your thoughts and set the creative juices in motion, things will start to flow easily. If you do get stuck, just always refer back to your initial concept and theme and check that it still flows. If you are using bright colours for example, for your theme, then a pale yellow cake just wouldn’t fit. Or if you want to use golf as your theme, then make sure most of your elements flow with that. Random items in your event will look just that…random. Sticking close to your theme will ensure a fantastic event.
photo sources: snippet and ink; mindy weiss