Reinventing the Reception

Photography : Michael Ray White Design: J Patrick Designs

For years the bride and groom have invited guests to sit at tables of 10 and gorge themselves for an hour and then get up, have a bit of dancing and say goodbye. In the past few years the after party has gained substantial popularity within the wedding industry. After the main reception the stalwarts adjourn to a smaller space to dance, drink and party on to an early morning breakfast.
What I am seeing now is a blending of the reception and the after party into one.


For this reception I draped a standard ballroom, replaced the standard hotel seating with contemporary sectional seating. I did away with the large tables and replaced them with more intimate seating for six and Hi-boy seating for four.
Instead of full plates of food offer heavy hors d’ouevres stations. People snack their way through the evening and mingle from one end of the space to the other. For additional fun bring in some interactive games, photo booths, caricature artist…Be creative!
If you are the first in your area to try this, you may need to educate the attendees by making it clear, in your invitation, that there will be an “Hors d’ouevres Reception” with dancing. This alerts your guest to the fact that this is a party, Not a Dinner!
I truly believe that this is a trend (not something trendy) that is going to grow substantially in the wedding marketplace. You may be blazing new territory but the rewards are great in seeing your guests have a fantastic time at, what will surely be remembered as, a marvelous party!

Service Equals Marketing

“Successful brands make you feel like somebody”. This is a quote from Blogger/Speaker Chris Bogan.
It could not be more true for marketing and it is also very applicable for events – corporate or social! Look at it this way through the event industry eye: “I want people to feel good because they are using my company”. People feel good when they wear Prada, Hermes, Jimmy Coo and Other designer labels. Don’t you feel good when you put on that special brand you purchased? You acquire a certain confidence and a je ne sais quoi. Your brand and your company should give your customer the same feeling! How do you do this? One word SERVICE.
Service is your best marketing tool, why; it makes your clients talk about you. Great service results in return business and referrals. Great service, which by the way, costs nothing. Its return is worth a fortune. How much business did your last $4,000.00 dollar magazine ad bring in (mine brought nothing). How much did you make on the last event you did that came through a referral?
I was in an office today and saw a slogan on the wall which read “GET IT DONE”. We can all “get it done” can we “get it done RIGHT”? Providing a client with what they ask for is not enough in the 2000s, we have to give the client more and it is so easy to do, and again, it cost nothing. Make sure that every member of your organization is a positive personality and is ready to serve your client. I am not saying that we should let our clients walk all over us but it is important to really listen to the client and own your actions to them.
When your company develops a positive brand the employees and associates will value being linked to that brand. With that, comes a sense of pride your client will recognize and respect and soon the client is experiencing, sometimes subconsciously, the same sense of pride that they are in a relationship with your company…You have become their Prada Attache!
I will say one more thing about service. When you and your company go out of the way to provide great service there will also be the residual of warm fuzzy feelings on your end. You will be feeling that way because your Marketing/Service is working and your profit base is showing it.