The secret to venue success is simple: create your client's dream event. Whether it be a client's wedding day or a local corporate meetup, your venue needs to match the vision your clients pictured in their heads.
How do you achieve this impossible task? You learn how to style the venue like a pro!
Here is everything you need to know about venue styling–specifically, how to organize, plan, and optimize your event styling and client budget. Without further ado, let’s learn how to create an unforgettable event with venue styling.
Best Event Styling Tips
Use these event styling tips to craft the perfect event space for your clients.
Draft a Venue Floor Plan
Creating otherworldly venue styling only works if you know your venue dimensions. Only when you have a clear outline of the venue and what you’re working with, can you create a floor plan that optimizes the event focal points and streamlines attendee movements.
Before planning the finer details, create a detailed venue floor plan. Measure the venue space and all adjacent rooms, including the kitchen and bathrooms.
If you have an outdoor space, include it in your floor plan too. Make sure to account for any fixed markers, like trees or big rocks.
If you don’t know how to measure the event dimensions and create a floor plan yourself, enlist the help of a professional to create an accurate floor plan.
Not only will the floor plan make planning your events much easier, but it’s also a helpful tool for booking clients. They’ll know exactly what to expect from your venue space.
You can even put the floor plan on your website and socials as part of your venue marketing. If you make any changes to your venue in the future, remember to update the floor plan.
Consider the Type of Event You’re Hosting
There are many types of events and each has different event styling needs. You wouldn’t style a client’s wedding day the same way you would a beer fest.
It’s important to consider the type of event your client wants so that you can focus your efforts and bring in the right event styling elements.
For example, weddings tend to be more decoration-heavy than corporate events. You’ll need more style ideas, different catering options, flowers–the list goes on and on.
So, take the time to consider the unique aspects of your event type and how that will affect the event styling.
Determine the Event Theme
Choosing an event theme offers guidance when choosing the styling details.
Usually, clients and event planners will provide a theme for wedding events, music festivals, etc., which you can use to guide the venue styling. If they don’t provide clear guidance, ask the client about the atmosphere and key points they envision for the event.
Corporate events and the like, on the other hand, aren’t as reliant on themes. Styling for these types of events is minimal and practical. Your client might not have or want a theme and that's okay.
Instead, work with them to determine the event colors. If they have specific brand colors, use those to guide your event styling. If they don’t, opt for sophisticated, business tones like neutrals, silver, and black.
Create an Event Mood Board
Once you know what dimensions you are working with, what type of event you’re hosting, and what the theme for the event is, create an event mood board to gather your thoughts and ideas. Here is the fun part, where you get to be creative.
Use social media and picture-sharing platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and WeHeartIt for inspiration. Also, gather all the event inspiration your client has shared with you.
Again, this isn’t necessary if your client already has a mood board with ideas or if the events are more corporate. But it can still provide some valuable insight and help you organize your event styling efforts.
Share your ideas with the client and adopt the event styling options they gravitate toward.
Engage All the Senses
Venue styling is about so much more than just what attendees see. A great event engages all the senses, including sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
Play with different patterns and textures around the event space. Layer the event with delicious scents that match the event theme. Whether it be a live band or soft ambient sounds, always have some background music.
By engaging all the senses, you provide a layered and engaging event experience–one your client and attendees are sure to remember.
Create Event Layout Drafts
Next, create a few event layout drafts for your client to choose from.
Most events have multiple sections, like the entrance, a seating area, a bar, a stage, etc. Organizing the layout without planning is time-consuming and expensive, especially if you have to hire day labor to move heavy event pieces and equipment around. It’ll also stress out your clients.
Instead, create a few layout options for your clients before the event. Remember to consider the event focal points and the natural flow of the event timeline.
Creating a mock-up of the layout (using your accurately measured floorplan) will help you optimize the event layout, streamline the venue setup, and ingratiate your company with clients and event planners.
Optimize your Suppliers
Too many suppliers are too much trouble. Having too many hands in your pie, so to speak, will only create a disjointed venue look and cause friction between different providers.
Not to mention the cost–working with more than a handful of professionals, all with their rates, is going to blow through your event budget.
Instead, work with a few suppliers, one that offers comprehensive package deals and a variety of event services. For example, a catering company that also provides wait staff and dishes for the event.
That takes three items off your to-do list and will likely cost less than going to separate suppliers for every need.
Create a Memorable Entrance
The venue entrance is the first thing attendees see and sets the tone for the event. So, take your time and let your creativity take center stage to create a spectacular entrance that’ll hook attendees from the get-go.
Here, you can go all out. Don’t worry about overdoing it.
For example, if you’re client is hosting a luxurious wedding, bring out the red carpet. For a rustic wedding, you can’t go wrong with a hay pathway and an over-the-top arch.
For business events, utilize event signage to make your client’s brand the entrance focal point and get attendees excited for the rest of the event. If you have any eye-catching exhibit pieces, have them flank the venue entrance.
Take Advantage of Thrift Stores
Thrift stores are a great way to collect affordable event pieces, whether centerpieces or dishes. Beyond the affordability, thrift stores, and antique stores often have very unique items that will elevate your event styling and impress clients.
Utilize the Venue’s Height
Utilize the venue's height to optimize venue styling and captivate attendees.
Start by examining the vertical space. Is the venue ceiling high or low? Is there natural light? Are there permanent fixtures that could work as tethers?
Consider all the architecture that could influence your styling.
Next, create drama with hanging installations, like flower arrangements, banners, or balloons. Curtains and other draping could also work well for more luxurious events.
For low ceilings, focus on horizontal decorations to add depth to the ceiling and utilize your ceiling space without making the venue feel stuffy. Further the venue styling with different height centerpieces, seating, and stages.
Create an Ambiance With Lights
Lighting is essential for setting the mood and elevating any event space.
First, consider the event type, the theme, and the mood board. This will help you understand the atmosphere your client is trying to create.
If they’re going for a cozy vibe, soft and warm lighting would work best. If it’s a tech exhibit, bright, cool tones would work better.
Once you’ve decided on the right colors, consider your placement and the types of lighting you’ll use.
Use a combination of overhead lights and floor lights like lamps and LED lights to light the whole room, avoid shadows, and create depth. You can also use lighting to highlight focal points like a stage, centerpiece, or entrance.
Test out the lighting before the event to ensure it works in practice and not just in theory.
Don’t Hesitate to Use Plants
Plants are such a great addition to any event. They have a brightening effect and boost our mood–an awesome benefit during an event.
Plants are also appropriate for any event, even a high-profile corporate one. A gorgeous arrangement of plants will bring the event space to life.
Create A Photo Op Zone
Creating a photo zone, where attendees can gather and take photos, is a great way to capture event memories and increase your brand reach.
So, create a photo zone with a stunning backdrop. If it’s a business event, put the company brand on the signage. You can also encourage the attendees to tag your company. Use the photos to expand your online presence and portfolio.
Lastly, if you have the budget, have a professional photographer on hand. It’ll ensure the photo-taking goes quickly and the quality is spectacular. If the budget can’t handle a photographer, that’s also okay. Attendees will still enjoy taking photos.
Don’t Forget The Practical Elements
As elegant and whimsical as most events are, the practical elements - bathrooms, kitchen, etc - tend to ruin the vibe a little. Fortunately, when creating your event layout, you can plan for these things.
For example, don’t put focal points, centerpieces, or harsh lighting next to the bathrooms. Keep the bathroom and kitchen entrances semi-hidden. Opt for stylish markers that lead attendees to the bathrooms and ensure the bathrooms are clean. If you can, style the bathrooms according to the event theme too.
For the kitchen, encourage event staff to be undetectable. If it looks like they’re appearing out of thin air, great!
This ensures the event illusion isn’t broken by the reality of the BOH (back of house) operations.
Always Have Extras On Hand
Picture this: the entire venue is set up, the lights are perfect, the chair covers are on, and the centerpieces are being laid on the tables. Only, one of the glass pieces falls and breaks–leaving you with one bare table that sticks out like a sore thumb.
This is a common problem in the events industry and why it’s so important to always have a few extras of all your event styling pieces on hand. Some go as far as having a backup cake.
Whenever you are purchasing pieces, food, or decorations, make sure you buy a few backups. It’ll ensure the event styling hits no matter what problems come your way.
Stay Organized
Make sure that you don’t miss any important venue styling points by staying organized. Use your mood board to create to-do lists and periodically check off items that are done. It’ll help you stress less and ensure the event styling is perfect when the event comes around.
Event software is also a great way to stay ahead, especially if you are managing multiple events at once. For example, event management software lets you create an event calendar to track and manage all the events you’re hosting at your event space.
Conclusion
Venue styling is the most important part of any event. If the theme, colors, centerpieces, and atmosphere successfully convey the event message, it means you did a good job. This will make clients happy, improve your brand reputation, and increase revenue.
Keep these amazing venue styling tips in mind when creating your client's dream event. Optimize with effective planning, save with thrifting, stay organized with software, and get creative with height, plants, and decorations.
To keep track of all your venue events, invest in event management software. Perfect Venue is an affordable and powerful software solution guaranteed to streamline your event calendar and increase sales. Start your free trial today.
