1. What is my budget?
2. Is the party going to be for employee's only, or for employees and their family?
3. Is the party adult only?
Once you answer these questions you will need to determine what kind of party you want to have. Do you want to have a formal, or casual event? The answer to this question will help you choose the proper venue, and caterer for your event. If you choose to do a formal Party that is adult only, you may consider holding your event in a hotel banquet hall or in an elegantly decorated tent, and book entertainment like a jazz band.If you choose to have a casual event where children are welcome you may want to look into a local park or consider bringing tents and entertainment to the parking lot of your business.
We have found parks are very popular, especially parks that have a pool. Most of the time these parks can be rented out so that you will not have to share them with the general public. Not having to share the park with the general public is what makes this option so much better than renting a pavilion at an amusement park. The problem with holding your party at an amusement park is you hardly see your guests because they are mixed through the park with thousands of strangers. The other nice thing about holding your event at a park rather than an amusement park is it is normally much closer to where your employees live. This eliminates the need for your employees and there families to travel long distances to attend the party.
Once you have chosen a venue you will have to select a caterer. If you choose to hold your event at a banquet facility they will most likely be doing your catering so you will only have to decide what food you would like them to serve. If you are going to hold your event at a local park you will need to find a caterer. When you start calling caterers it is important that you tell them where the event will be held, and that you ask them if they are capable of providing food to the number of guests you are having at an outdoor venue. You will also need to find out what power and space requirements they require, often you will have to provide the caterers with a tented preparation area and power. BBQ is always a popular choice at outdoor company parties, because it is affordable, it serves large numbers of people, people love it, and it typically cuts down on the power and set up area the caterer will require. BBQ is also a good choice because most caterer's that do BBQ menus bring a large variety of meats and side dishes plus a vegetarian alternative to your event so there will be many different options for your guests to pick from, this ensures all of your guests will be satisfied with there meal.
After the catering is booked you will need to consider shelter in case of inclement weather. This really only applies if you have chosen an outdoor venue for your event. If you have rented a local park for your event you will typically have a pavilion that can be used, but you will have to decide if it will be large enough to keep all of your guests and food dry in case of rain. If the pavilion is not large enough you will need to rent tents for your event. Most good rental companies like Windswept Entertainment & Events will try to set your tents up a couple of days before your event and then tear them down the day after your event is over. Before you tell your rental company that this delivery and tear down schedule is ok you need to check with the park, because they may have other events in the park the day before or the day after your event. If you find that your tents need to be set up and torn down on the same day as your event Windswept and other good rental companies will meet those installation deadlines for you, but you can expect to pay an additional set up fee. Along with tenting you will need to consider the sites facilities, is there enough bathrooms to meet the needs of your guests? If there is not you will have to decide if you want to rent port-a-johns or restroom trailers that give you all the amenities of your home bathroom.
Now that you have the venue, shelter, food, and sanitation taken care of you will need to decide on what you are going to do to entertain your guests. If you have chosen an indoor venue you will want to consider entertainment like balloon artists, face painter, caricature artists, and magicians, for the children and a band to keep the adults entertained. Casino set ups are also very popular at these events and can keep both the children and adults entertained considering they wont be playing for real money. If you have chosen an outdoor venue such as a park, mixing inflatable rides in with the same entertainment used at an indoor event is a very popular way to keep both children and adults entertained. A good amusement ride company will have a variety of inflatable rides available for all different ages. When choosing an amusement ride company be sure to ask if they are ensured, that they will deliver, set up, and staff all the rides, and that there ride operators are all state trained. Using a professional amusement company will keep your employees and there families safe and make you look like a hero.
If you are planning a corporate event and would like the help of an event professional please give our offices a call at 724-539-1009.
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