How to Expertly Plan and Organize a Large Autumn Party

Guest Blog #236, Entry #736, November 1, 2011

Whether you’re planning a personal party, a charity gala, or a corporate event, you may find yourself facing a large, empty space with no idea of how to stage it to accommodate and entertain the many guests on your list.  After all, you’re not an event planner.  Even if you have the budget to go all out and hire a party-planning firm for the event you still need to pull the trigger on a theme and the final layout.  And if you are flying solo on the planning process you really need some help.  So here are a few tips to get you started and ensure that your luxury event is the talk of the town.

From a theme, to lighting and food, make your next event worry-free

Image via: Dwedding Ideas

Choose a Theme

Wild west, under-the-sea, and antebellum themes have been done ad nauseum, so if you’re looking for something new that is a little more sophisticated, you may want to go with a theme that’s a bit more interpretive.  For example, suppose you choose a season or an element (earth, wind, fire, water).  This would give you an idea (and possibly a color scheme) to start with and you could get really creative with how you choose to stage it.  You could also go with a movie theme, complete with a popular set from the film and wait staff dressed in costumes (think Lord of the Rings, Scarface, or Blade Runner, for example – iconic films that everyone will recognize instantly).

Seating

While plenty of guests will want to dance the night away once you get a few drinks in them, at some points they will almost certainly want to take a load off.  Depending on the type of event you’re hosting, you could keep it traditional by adding seating around tables, make it a little more relaxed by grouping sofas, chairs, and chaise lounges near coffee tables (club style), or even keep it open by peppering the space with nothing but enormous ottomans (or even beds).

Whether a wedding or a large party, use these helpful tips

Image via: Loras Floral

Lighting

The lighting will depend largely on the event and on the theme you choose, but there should be at least enough to ensure that guests aren’t blindly bumping into one another (or stationary objects), and this is especially important in a large space.  If you’re having staged entertainment, you may want a professional lighting setup, but otherwise you can use overhead lighting (colored bulbs will add atmosphere while gobos, or patterned inserts, could add some interesting texture to the space).  You might even want to place lamps around the room to make the atmosphere more intimate.

Food and Drink

Again, this will depend on several factors.  The first one is the age of the attendees.  If you’re throwing a party for kids or teens, caviar and champagne are not going to work.  In fact, the event will have to be alcohol-free and you’ll need a menu that appeals to the younger set.  For adults, you should base the alcohol inclusion on the event itself.  You may want to limit drinking at a corporate event, especially if the goal is to present information.  But if it’s a party, think about food that goes with your theme and let the drinks flow freely (if it suits your personal taste).  Since the space is large you’ll definitely want to hire waiters to circulate (or risk all the guests bunching up at the bar or buffet table).

Plan entertainment according to the event and venue

Image via: Wed web Talks

Entertainment

This can get tricky.  Entertainment for a birthday party may be very different from a charity event or corporate entertainment.  Again, your theme and purpose may dictate, but if you’re looking for something special you may want to consider entertainers that are outside the norm, like belly dancers, sumo wrestlers, or sideshow acts (sword swallowers, psychics, fire-walkers, etc.).  You could go with a band or a DJ, for sure, but it may not make your event as special as it could be.

For more entertainment ideas on Stagetecture, click here.