Looking back at all the major events we have put together over a lengthy, (illustrious?) career, there is one constant that has made each event successful. You no doubt think it would be one, or a mix, of the following:
- Choice of venue
- Quality of food and beverage
- Entertainment
- Mood of the guests
- A/V Setup
Sure, all of these can make an event notable but NONE OF THE ABOVE stands alone to contribute to a great event.
Creativity is the name of the game. Forget the hackneyed, over-expressed “Wow Factor” – that can be accomplished with top shelf liquor or a view – and then it’s gone in 30 seconds. What has stood us in good stead is the ability to look at a seemingly impossible concept and then ask the question if the venue can cope with our suggestion.
Seville is famous for its Cathedral, Santa Maria de la Sede. While inspecting this magnificent edifice, we marveled at the central box like structure of the Corio (Choir) which contained the historic organ. No public are allowed into this area so we admired it from afar. It begged the question – can we have a private choral service for our incentive qualifiers in the Corio complete with organ? The ultimate answer was yes, but there is not an organist available at that time. OK, can we find one outside of Seville? We did and flew him in from Paris for the occasion. Emotions ran high as our guests experienced a truly uplifting and unique event.
Fast forward to Florence 3 years later. While inspecting Galleria dell’Acadamia our group was offered a private, after hours tour. This is fair enough but would not be a standout for our hard working qualifiers. So, we asked the question – can we have dinner in this room? Jaws dropped. We even had an Italian DMC lost for words but….after much cajoling and persuasion we ended up with the scene below – affectionately known as Dinner with Dave.
That’s the original Michaelangelo David. Not a replica. The real deal. Add opera singers from the Opera de Firenze and we provided 182 guests with a never-to-be-repeated lifetime experience.
Because all good things come in threes – let’s swing over to Tokyo.
The suggestion of Gonpachi Restaurant as a venue for the farewell dinner is readily accepted – what more could you want than to eat at the venue made famous by Quentin Tarantino in Kill Bill? Let me tell you – a re-enactment of the stoush between O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and The Bride (Uma Thurman) at The House of Blue Leaves.
Perhaps our biggest challenge was sourcing a yellow honda for The Bride to arrive on. No problem – we found it and transported it from Sapporo.
Wild action coupled with amazing stunts and brilliant choreography had us re-living a fabulously executed event.
We learnt very quickly you need to walk on the wildside and let your “crowd pleasers” be only limited by your imagination.
