Friday, March 29, 2024
Home MI Planning MI Expert Advice Air, Food and Vision: Essential Elements for Event Euphoria

Air, Food and Vision: Essential Elements for Event Euphoria

By Jennifer Berkemeier

You’ve selected the perfect venue, the best time of year, and you have the local celebrity confirmed as your guest speaker. You’ve logged countless hours choosing the menu with your caterer, maintaining the guest list and refining your run-of-show. But unless you have achieved near perfection in the three key event elements – air, food and vision – you may be setting yourself up for event failure.

Air: Room temperature is often overlooked as planners make countless tweaks to floor plans and performance times. Establishing and maintaining a comfortable room temperature is a must for a successful event. Ever been so cold at an event that you had to keep your coat on and couldn’t wait to leave? Cocktail attire (think strappy gowns and bare arms) is still the dominant dress code for many fundraisers and charity galas; no one enjoys being chilled for hours while trapped at a table of your co-workers and peers.

Food: It’s imperative that you take into account your audience when choosing your event menu. Don’t skimp on costs for food; make sure your caterer buys local and fresh, and pick a mix of creative, trendy items and old favorites. And, know your caterer! Do a tasting before the event and carefully consider the reputation and referrals for the food vendor you choose. Creative food descriptions mean nothing if what is coming out of the oven is tasteless, cold or unimaginative.

Vision: When it comes to the view around you, don’t settle for the mundane and unremarkable event site that everyone uses. In today’s world (and especially in Detroit) there are a magnitude of exciting, creative, historical and visually stunning locales that would welcome your next event. Wow your guests before they even get to coat check; get them excited just by looking at the art on the walls, the arched art-deco ceiling or the natural vista seen through floor-to-ceiling windows.

You could offer the most exquisite meal, set against a stunning river view backdrop, but if your guests were too cold or warm at your event, the uncomfortable room temperature is all they will remember (and talk about). You could treat your guests to an architecturally stunning high-domed ballroom, keep that room temperature perfect but if the food and beverages you offer are boring or tasteless, your event attendees will quickly be heading for the door. Offer your guests a sumptuous duet entrée, keep the temperature perfect, but if your locale is unimpressive, your guests will leave feeling humdrum.

Achieve the highest level of the essential event elements – air, food and vision – and you are certain to leave your guests feeling euphoric.

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