Most events have common elements: the venue, program, flow, decor, food, lighting, and technology among them. How the creative minds behind the planning execute those details and more is what can lift a gathering from run of the mill to out of the park.
“People want flashy,” says Michelle Yurcak, owner of Ann Arbor-based Premium Event Services. “They want something that they walk in the room and it’s completely unexpected, almost like a Hollywood production—something like that as opposed to more static elements. You could do a country-western event and have hay bales and split-rail fencing, but what if you have a live horse for photo opportunities, line dance instruction, make-your-own-cowboy-hat station, or be custom-fitted for boots? People are coming up with the budgets for those things.”
Live horse notwithstanding, there are lots of special touches planners can incorporate to make events a cut above the rest.
Picture-Perfect
Yurcak says her clients want “Instagram-worthy” settings for gatherings. “They want events that look good,” she says.
David Grossman, owner of the Oakland Expo Center in Waterford Township and Pegasus Entertainment in Southfield, shared that at a recent gala for 200 people, designers created a lounge area so when guests walked in for the reception, they couldn’t see the dining room yet. “The reception area was lit in a kind of clubbish way. We gave them lots of seating—sofas, high tops, a piano player, and a 20-foot round bar that was the focal point of that area. There was also a stage with a large video wall.”
Lighting is key to creating ambience, Yurcak says. Angela Butorac of Butorac Events in Clinton Township specializes in celebrations and says LED dance floors that change colors with the music are big right now. She also likes to use LED marquee letters as tall as 4 feet that might feature the company’s logo or otherwise reflect the event’s mission.
Linens, chargers, and the furniture itself can help set the tone for the entire room, says Colleen M. Galacz of Luxe Event Linen in Troy. “Some of our newest offerings are printed linens and napkins, textured and printed chargers, and chair designs that are unique and work with different genres of designs,” she says. She also recommends nontraditional table setups in traditional settings by using different shapes and sizes of tables. Or, rent an atypical space and give it a fresh look. “Draping large warehouse spaces to create an intimate affair again suggests the unexpected,” Galacz says.
Display Group of Detroit President Mike McConnell says the company is bringing in several new modular furniture lines. “The colors and fabric styles for cushions are endless,” he says, noting that furniture covers can be custom-branded in as little as 48 hours. “And it’s the same with our bars. We have dozens of styles in our own stock. You can use the exact same bar frame but can skin it in a full-grain mahogany or velvet or mirrored finish.”
Or, consider a 20-foot bar made entirely of ice. “The bar has the company logo in it and shelves to keep the glasses cold,” Yurcak says. “I have had clients spend $8,000 on an ice bar. … People were talking about it. You want to provide them with something they are going to talk about and say, ‘Wow, I had no idea you could do such a thing.’”
Kelly Van Dyke, director of events at the Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton, in Grand Rapids, says evergreens are used in lieu of flowers in some cases. Not only does it yield a more natural and organic look but she also says, “This trend aligns with the growing preferences for sustainable and eco-friendly.”
Viviano Flower Shop in St. Clair Shores does a lot with plants, says Hilary Gilmore, assistant manager of weddings and events. “We’re bringing in a lot of naturalistic design. … We do a ton of plant rentals for corporate events,” Gilmore says. “We add in fruit or moss or other textures, kind of drawing the eye to the flowers, herbs, and branches.” Gilmore describes creating a setting at the North American International Auto Show using plants and mounds that made it look like the car was driving outdoors. For another event, they hung Christmas trees from the ceiling over the stage.
Flowers themselves are used in big, bold ways to create striking installations, she says. Think floral walls or arrangements suspended from above—“that ‘bigger is better’ kind of look,” she adds.
Leading With LED
Display Group is incorporating the use of LED lighting more into decor and for other artistic uses. “We don’t just use it for presentation screens, which for a long time is what LED tiles were used for,” McConnell explains. “It’s still great for that, but we’re also using them as entryways on a stage, or into a room, or surrounding an entry door in LED panels—allowing you to create an immersive experience.”
He also mentions building columns covered in LED panels that also feature video content. “The opportunities are endless with LED panels.”
Appetite for Creativity
Lori Wilmes, executive assistant to the director at Gilmore Catering in Grand Rapids, says innovative presentation of food always stands out. “When guests walk into an event, they want to see a colorful display of food and charcuterie—[placing the concept] at the top of the list,” Wilmes says. “[Examples are] food stations, mashed potato bars, and flambe stations. Guests can watch our chefs put something together or have something like a taco bar where they have the freedom to create their own plate.”
Wilmes says a dessert grazing table that might include everything from cookies, tarts, and pastries to candy bars, cookies, and gummy worms has been a big hit with attendees. “It’s like you would think with a charcuterie table, but with a massive variety of desserts,” she says.
Display Group builds custom facades for food stations, McConnell says. “People walk up and get their food from the window of a building or a takeaway spot,” he says. “There’s a fabricated piece around the actual food station.”
Active—Not Passive
Drawing in attendees as involved participants versus simply being observers can be crucial to the success of an event.
Ann Owens, director of sales and planning for Emerald City Designs in Farmington Hills, suggests that strolling events with chef-attended food stations instead of a plated meal can help create a more casual, fun vibe for an event. Grossman concurs, adding, “Sometimes you don’t need a sit-down dinner; you need stations and heavy hors d’oeuvres.”
Yurcak points to 360-degree photo and video booths that capture subjects from all sides as involving attendees versus having a photographer snap photos. “With the 360-degree photo booth, people get their photo and can post it instantly. It’s so Instagram-worthy that you want to post it immediately for all of your family and friends to see,” she says.
Digital and audio guestbooks get attendees involved by creating a personalized audio message or video recording that might be incorporated into a compilation from the event. “I have seen it for galas. … If this is a gala you love and patronize every year, leaving a message for them is also a piece of testimony for marketing the event in the future,” Butorac says.
For the grand opening of the newly renovated Michigan Central Station in Detroit, McConnell’s fabrication team created display cases with artifacts along with a giant timeline that people could follow. “It wasn’t just a plaque on the wall,” he says. “It was also something you walked down and interacted with.” When the NFL draft was recently hosted in Detroit, Display Group worked with Bedrock and the Downtown Detroit Partnership to create a projection map on Woodward Avenue that reflected what was happening on stage in the NFL draft theater in real time. “Projection mapping is literally taking an unconventional canvas and projecting on it,” he explains. “It was creating that visual excitement and appeal in an unconventional way.”
Put On a Show
Yurcak has hired nationally known comedians and says performers who competed on TV shows like “America’s Got Talent” are also a hit. Live bands are in vogue, and DJs often have a large screen showing videos that go with songs. “It’s kind of like you’re at a nightclub and getting the lights, the DJ, and all that interaction,” Yurcak says. “It takes your DJ experience to a new level.”
Some DJs take music requests in advance, Butorac says. “They will have a link months ahead of time and people can put in all of their songs so the music is all planned out,” she explains.
Owens likes to feature novel entertainment additions like strolling magicians, dueling pianos, and emcees/auctioneers who engage with the crowd.
Of course, the devil in so many of the details of an event can be the price. But Butorac says, “Spending is definitely back. The trend is budgets are larger, but the cost of having an event has certainly gone up from the past.”
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