September 22, 2020

Halloween Happenings: How to Make 2020 Fun

It’s almost that time of year! The fall holidays are rapidly approaching, so we are serving up tricks and treats to ensure Halloween 2020 is fun for your friends and family no matter their age.

As we continue into the colder months, there is no doubt that healthy and safety will continue to be the utmost priority. Like the rest of 2020, our Halloween celebrations will look different than they have in the past. In fact, many are already discussing concerns around the long time tradition of trick-or-treating.

Whether you’d like to offer the opportunity for your kids to gather candy, host a virtual party with your roommates, or increase the company’s morale with fun festivities, we have a handful of ideas to celebrate Halloween safely this year.

Trick-or-treat carefully with these fun Halloween alternatives.

Try trunk-or-treating with a group of family members or friends within your pod. This is a great way to allow kids a more traditional trick-or-treating experience without visiting strangers and risking anyone’s health. Participants can each choose a theme or come up with a collective plan to make the absolute most of the experience.

If you will not be doing door-to-door trick or treating this year, another great alternative is to have a candy hunt in your yard, similar to an Easter egg hunt. You can put candy or treats into glow in the dark plastic eggs for some extra spooky fun! Take it to the next level and transform your yard into a cemetery, or design a haunted house to host a micro party with the candy-egg hunt.

Get intimate with a on-theme micro party.

Whether you have young kids or a group of Halloween-loving adults, there are so many fun ways to celebrate this holiday safely with a small group. Hosting a Halloween craft night is a great way to get everyone in the spirit while showing their creativity. Consider having a contest to let participants vote on their favorite, picking a theme for everyone to follow, or sharing stories to accompany your creations. From pumpkin carving, to cookie decorating, to spooky cocktail creations, the possibilities are endless when it comes to creative contests.

An outdoor movie night is another perfect way to celebrate. Light the space with jack-o-lanterns, prepare snacks, and use hay bails as seats for a fun evening under the full moon, enjoying a festive film.

Speaking of a full moon ceremony could be another great way to celebrate the season.

If you have an all adult crowd, may we suggest a pumpkin beer tasting? There are a surprising number of beers to choose from in this category. Designing tasting cards for guests is a great way to elevate the experience. Specialty glasses also make wonderful favors! And if beer is not your thing, check out this list of spooky wine options to pair with candy.

Celebrate Halloween with your friends and family virtually!

If you are unable to get together with others physically, take the celebration online with a virtual party! We have created 7 Halloween themed virtual backgrounds for you to download and use.

Hosting a virtual costume contest can unleash your creativity, give you a reason to get dressed, and an opportunity to connect with others all at once. With accessible platforms like Zoom, you can connect up to 100 individuals with a free account.

Another way to celebrate virtually is with a Halloween themed karaoke night. Provide a playlist of songs for guests to choose from and set up a que in the chat for everyone to sign up, then take turns serenading one another with spooky songs.

If you aren’t into Halloween traditionally, celebrate the season!

We’d recommend staying in and warming up with this delicious roasted pumpkin soup from Cookie + Kate if you don’t typically celebrate the holiday. Autumn in itself is worthy of celebration, which is why we have an entire blog post dedicated to fall tablescapes if you’re looking for inspiration.

Regardless of what it may look like, we are here to ensure Halloween 2020 is fun for your friends and family, as are all life’s celebratory moments.

September 15, 2020

How to Engage a Virtual Audience

It’s clear that things have shifted beyond the world of events, impacting the way we communicate and operate daily. Friends, family members, instructors, students, colleagues, and entire companies now rely on virtual communication. So, how does one excel in this area? We are here to provide you with a few tips to improve your presence online to better engage a virtual audience.

Tip 1: Plan Ahead

Whether you are casually visiting with friends, or addressing an audience for a keynote presentation, preparation is key. Consider the lighting for the time of day, so you may prepare additional sources as needed (a great, affordable option we love is the ring light tripod!). Wear something that is comfortable, compliments the background, and gives you the most confident, camera-ready look possible.

Prepare your devices by charging them beforehand and securing back up options as needed. Guests will lose interest very fast if they are forced to watch the host troubleshoot during the event.

Additionally, once it is time to begin the event, we recommend having a run of show, or notes near by so you don’t forget to address any important topics. Even if you are planning a casual virtual birthday party, having a few talking points for guests is helpful if there’s a lull. Finally, it is helpful to have a glass of water nearby so you don’t have to exit the screen once the virtual audience joins.

Tip 2: Update and Test Your Equipment

Before you begin, it’s always a good idea to make sure all your hardware is working properly. If your budget doesn’t allow for hiring a professional production team, consider purchasing a microphone and webcam to achieve higher quality audiovisuals. The most popular solution for clear audio is a USB microphone, which connects directly to your computer and produces a fairly decent sound quality for the price. The Razer Kiyo is a great webcam solution that includes a professional-like LED ring and a high quality camera, for a little over $100.

Tip 3: Communicate Clearly

Clear communication is key to manage expectations, and keep the audience engaged.

On the invitation, you’ll want to include the specific time you want guests to join as well as any details they may need beforehand. Does the software being used need to be downloaded and tested? Do users need to create an account to join? Are there a specific number of spots you are holding? All of this information should be included in the initial invitation so guests can plan accordingly. We’d also recommend including an end time so guests may plan to stay through the duration of the event.

Once you are live with your virtual audience, it’s important to annunciate and speak clearly. You will quickly lose your audience if they can not hear you well or the sound is muffled.

Tip 4: Make Eye Contact with the Camera when Speaking

It can be challenging to engage someone when you can’t read their emotional response or body language first hand. However, by treating the camera as the eyes of whom you are addressing, you will create a connection that can be otherwise hard to translate into the digital space. Feel free to periodically look away, similar to how you would in an in-person conversation, in order to keep things natural. A pro tip for smaller attendee events, is to have the guest list near the camera so it visible to you as you are speaking to keep those personal connections as a priority.

Tip 5: Ask Questions & Prepare Activities

This tip is especially crucial if you are hosting a large scale virtual event. Having prompts, tasks, and actions guests can take while they are attending the event, encourages attendees to engage without feeling disruptive.

Regularly check the chat screen in case guests have questions or comments throughout the event. Addressing individuals to the entire audience allows guests to feel seen, heard, and important.

Tip 6: Be Yourself

Regardless of your previous experience, the audience is there because they believe you can add value to their life through an online event. If you typically talk with your hands when you are passionate, allow that to come through online. It’s easy to feel the pressure of being on screen, but genuine people are much easier to engage with online and in real life.

Finally, remember that people connect with stories; if you have personal insight you can share to relate to the content, it’s likely to make a bigger impact than sharing facts and data alone.

We hope this helps you feel more confident to improve your presence online to better engage a virtual audience. If you do need additional guidance for an upcoming event, virtual or otherwise, we are here to help.

September 9, 2020

Transitioning Into Fall with Tablescape Inspiration

We received so much love on our previous tablescape blog post, so we decided to recreate it. This time, we are sharing table setting inspiration for autumn specifically. Whether you have a wedding rapidly approaching, or you’re just really excited for Thanksgiving, enjoy these dreamy place settings providing all the fall inspiration.

First, we have a stunning winery reception in the Santa Cruz Mountains, complete with those classic fall colors we all know and love. The pops of rust, brick and goldenrod really pop against the wood tables and neutral linen runners. Not only did we incorporate the vibrant color palette in the florals, but also in the napkins and chair cushions which really tied everything in together for a beautiful fall evening.

Photos: Russ Levi Photography

Next let’s consider a new take on the traditional black and white color palette. Subtle pops of taupe in the florals and the use of natural greenery brought a fall vibe to this classic color combination. With the event taking place outdoors and given the time of year being possible for some evening breezes, we used place card holders. Not only was this a functional touch keeping guest’s place cards from blowing away, but they were another way for us to incorporate the color palette into the tabletop design.

We loved the way the florals by Nicole Ha Design warmed up the entire space. Not only did the florals fill the entire table, but they extended beyond, providing an extra special touch. The seasonal floral arrangements included a variety of blooms and greenery alike including anemone, cappuccino roses, astilbe and dried bunny tails. Playing off the color palette we also introduced rose gold in the flatware, vases, lanterns, and votive holders.

Photos: Ashley Maxwell Photo

If you combine the two above, you may end up with something like this stunning set up from a wedding last year at Carmel Valley Ranch. We were obsessed with this elegant and romantic tabletop complete with chiffon runners, blush water goblets and hammered copper chargers.

Another important element to remember for fall tabletop design is lighting. Lighting is not only aesthetically beautiful but functional as well, especially when the sun starts setting earlier in the fall months. For this event we provided delicate string lights above dining for a romantic glow, in addition to a mix of taper and votive candles on the tables.

Photos: Joshua Rose Photography

Another memorable evening at Carmel Valley Ranch brought touches of greenery into a stunning fall reception. A unique element from this wedding was that there were two different designs for the long wood tables and the round linen tables. Look closely and you will notice we used a blush hued glass charger on the wood kings tables and a glass gold rim charger on the rounds. This design change was subtle enough to not clash and provided a fun design change across the dining tables.

Photos: Wedding Documentary Photo + Cinema

Finally, we have stunning winery tabletop complete with all the fall vibes your heart could desire. Clos LaChance Vineyards was the perfect backdrop for this stunning fall reception with its outdoor fireplace and crawling ivy that flawlessly complemented our color palette. This tabletop featured so many beautiful details including a tone on tone patterned linen, gold rim glassware, olive sprigs at each place setting, and custom acrylic table numbers.

The florals provided by Bloomster’s brought in the autumn vibes to the next level. We love how they executed our vision by incorporating not only stunning florals but also seasonal fruits like grapes, pomegranates, figs, and pears.

Photos: Ashley Maxwell Photo

Are you ready to celebrate this fall? Personally, these events are getting us so excited for the seasonal shift ahead!

Author: kelsiva