“Thrilling” Decorations

Turn your party into the ultimate “Thriller” by transforming your home into an indoor cemetery!

  • Use black lights and candles to dimly light the room, placing scary skeletons in corners and on surfaces to offer more light.
  • Set mini tomb stones around your home that can be used to hold chips and dip!
  • No cemetery would be complete without a glowing graveyard! Place luminous gravestones throughout your home and complete the scene with automatic fog machines.
  • Don’t forget about Halloween candy! Try setting classic candies around your party for your guests.

 

 

Live Entertainment Checklist

EntertainmentDon’t overlook the details when booking live entertainment. Whether it’s a large or small event, these few tips will help ensure the production will be a success!

1. Does the band have their own sound system and back-line (instruments)? If you have to provide, that’s an extra cost to you.

2. Find out ahead of time if there are any noise restrictions at your venue. Getting the music shut down in the middle of your event is not fun.

3. Does the entertainment have wireless microphones? This is especially important for weddings when it is time for speeches.

4. Review the playlist with the band to make sure they are playing the music you love and that it’s appropriate for the event.

5. Have a contract! This is often overlooked for smaller events. The contract should specify start and end times, breaks, composition of the musical group, payment schedule and cost.

6. Make sure that your band is illuminated! Your lighting company will be able to provide this for you.

7. See your band perform before you book them!

Add a New Twist to an Old Tradition

It is a time-honored tradition to tie tin cans to the getaway car after your wedding ceremony. Sequoia Productions’ Creative Communications Director, Olivia Yu, added a twist to this tradition by personalizing the cans with the date of the ceremony and attaching them to the bumper with ribbon. If you are feeling even more creative, place a customized decal on your bumper lined with rose petals so as your car takes off, it will leave a beautiful trail of roses in its path!

Fall Wedding Floral Design With a Twist

Wedding Flowers

“A wedding without flowers is a breath without oxygen.”-Sequoia Productions Vice President, Gary Levitt

Mark Held is an icon in wedding floral design and the owner of Mark’s Garden in Sherman Oaks. We asked Mark for a few tips and recommendations for enhancing fall wedding arrangements and he suggested “autumn leaves with miniature pumpkins and mixed gourds” as well as “mixed berries such as bittersweet [and] hypericum”. We also loved his idea of incorporating texture with “seeded eucalyptus”.

Sequoia Productions’ Tips on Branding Featured in Special Events Magazine!

Special Events Magazine Article
Sequoia Productions was honored to appear not once, but twice in the September/October 2011 issue of Special Events Magazine! Not only were we delighted to appear in the 10th Annual “50 Top Event Companies” list, we were also quoted in their article on “Brilliant Branding.”

Keep exploring this week’s blog topic of Brand Integration by reading this excellent article, which consulted Sequoia Productions’ Vice President, Gary Levitt, and Creative Communications Director, Olivia Yu, on how to stay on top of the latest trends in Brand Integration.  Follow their advice and your event is certain to stand apart.

Tip: Integrate Brands From the Beginning

Dream For Kids

It is important that every part of your event runs smoothly from beginning to end. Sequoia Productions’ Olivia Yu says that “the one branded element that kicks off a successful event is the save the date and invitation.” If you are integrating a color palate, for example, make sure the first items your guests receive showcase this theme. For the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles “Dream For Kids” gala, Sequoia Productions utilized the design and color palate that would later be used within the event itself. This set a consistent tone that carried through the entire event, elevating both the gala and the brand it was celebrating.

The Perfect Pan Am Playlist

As Sequoia Productions’ Cheryl Cecchetto says, “Music is pure emotion. It feeds not only your theme, but especially the soul.” Our tip this week is to create custom playlists for your parties. We’ve created one just for you, complete with songs exclusively from 1963 for your Pan Am viewing party. You can use our free playlist or create your own. Just hit play by clicking on the “pop out player” button right below and you’ll be ready to jet set with all the air hostesses from the moment your guests arrive.

Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones

Keep the festivities going with Pan Am’s special Pandora station! You may even want to stay in 1963 once you spend an evening with this music!

Our Favorite Prizes for Your Emmy® Viewing Party

As Cheryl pointed out in this week’s entertaining piece, a contest is the perfect way to break the ice and keep everyone engaged at your Emmys® party. And what better way to motivate your guests to choose the potential winners carefully than to offer a prize? Sequoia’s staff chose the following as their favorites:

  • A one-year gift subscription to Netflix, so the winner can keep up with favorite shows long after the party.
  • TV Posters for your guests’ favorite nominated shows.
  • A DVD of a season of a nominated series. Consult Emmys.com to choose between Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Glee, The Office, and the many other great shows and pick a season to give away!
  • (more…)

Clean As You Go!

After you’ve wrapped up your fabulous barbeque, you’ll want to end your evening with your outdoor space clean and ready for your next al fresco event. Here are tips from Sequoia to help you clean as you go for a quick wrap up:

  • Keep a Swiffer Wet Jet and Lysol Quick wipes nearby in case of spills
  • Use disposables if it suits the atmosphere of your party
  • Always place a trash can and recycling in a visible spot so guests know where to throw things away (we love the brightly colored versions by simplehuman pictured above)
  • Have barkeepers friend on hand so you can clean your grill once it’s cool
  • Considering hiring help to serve and help you clean up at the end of the night

Following these tips will help your event run smoothly and will make it fast and easy to clean up and head to bed dreaming up your next entertaining adventure in no time!