By now you have seen that events are still happening for us; even if they aren’t quite like they used to be, we are active in the pursuit of celebrating life’s best moments. If you’re uncertain about how to navigate events these days, consider this your blueprint to planning events in 2020 and beyond.

Picking a venue, considering safety first.

Safety, gathering sizes, and appropriate distancing have all become a greater concern in the recent months, directly impacting how we conduct events. Whether you choose to celebrate at a stunning outdoor venue in the Bay Area, or inside a beautiful church, always consider guest count before picking a venue. You’ll want to be sure the square footage provides enough space for guests to distance if they’d like.

Photo: Danny Dong Photography

Additionally, elements such as safe access to clean water, catering procedures, frequently sanitized restrooms and dining locations are now on the forefront of minds now more than ever before. Even if you do not attend a traditional walkthrough, make sure to address these items when speaking with a venue representative. If they do not provide in house catering, you may ask if they have a preferred list or recommendations.

If food is involved, you must hire the professionals.

The importance of safety is crucial when it comes to food serving and consumption. Professional event caterers know this and take it very seriously. Your guests deserve to enjoy the evening without worry. If food is part of your event, it should be provided by a professional considering the health and wellbeing of all in attendance.

We’d suggest having a catering team that is willing to safely prepare plates in the kitchen to serve to guests individually. If you’d rather enjoy the meal station style, we recommend hiring attendants to assist, prepared with the tools to serve and monitor.

Photo: Augie Chang Photography

If there is a dessert bar, or favor table, consider offering the goodies individually wrapped so guests can grab a serving without contaminating others.

Cookies: Snickerdoodle Sweets & Events

Provide no touch entertainment that keeps guests engaged.

Yes, you can absolutely keep guests engaged without offering traditional lawn games, or a self serve beer tap. If that is your desire, of course you can add an element of class to the event by providing someone to service the beer wall. However, we can’t hire someone to play corn hole for us, so you may consider offering alternative entertainment instead.

For a less traditional guest experience, consider something like Pour Girl Bartending. They offer made to order craft cocktails safely through an exceptional bartending experience for guests.

Live music has become even more meaningful these days, allowing bands and DJ performances to become more sought after than ever before. Music sets the mood, lifts spirits, and offers an unmatched element of entertainment to events, whether or not there is a dance floor present. It can also be a wonderful way to tie in culture into an event.

If you really want to wow your guests, aerialists are sure to leave an impression! AVL Entertainment provides a wide range of entertainment from disc jockeys to aerialists. All of these entertainment options can be broadcasted live for a virtual or hybrid event, which leaves a very different impression and experience for all of your guests beyond just watching it on TV.

 Offer a way for guests to attend the event virtually.

Offering the option for guests to attend virtually is almost a given. Even if you plan to invite a small, safe group to join in person, having an option for guests to still participate remotely allows people to attend within their own comfort level.

Check out the full blog post outlining our audio visual recommendations to stream your event, if this is something you are interested in providing for guests.

It’s an honor to continue to provide the same exceptional service.

Whether it’s for an intimate dinner party to safely celebrate a 70th birthday, a virtual baby shower for a first time mom, or an elopement for a couple deeply in love; life’s worth it. There’s clearly so much to celebrate, but there’s also a lot to consider when planning events in 2020 and beyond. We are here to help you do so, safely.

Welcome back for part II of how to take virtual & hybrid events to the next level as we learn how to celebrate in place. If you haven’t yet read part I, make sure to start there so you don’t miss anything.

Now that we are caught up, let’s go a bit deeper than providing a professional A/V environment. That’s only one aspect of virtual events, and while it is crucial, it’s important to also remember all those other details that really make events an unique, one of a kind experience for your attendees and clients. We are talking about decor, dancing, party favors, entertainment and more that heighten the 5 senses. These details are especially important when hosting these types of events so all participating can feel truly emerged in the event experience.

Any party is better with live entertainment, and the same goes for virtual events.

AVL Entertainment is a DJ + MC team that goes above and beyond in more ways than one. Not only do they additionally offer talent from dancers to circus performers, but the energy the team brings is always next level. We recently helped a client host her 40th birthday virtually and we had a live stream of DJ Aaron Lamorte doing his thing from 45 miles away and he kept he party going all night long as guests ‘solo’brated from their own homes. We love working with them, knowing they will bring a unique touch to any event, virtual or in person.

East Coast Entertainment works to connect talented acts with clients from all over, and it just so happens they are great at what they do virtually also. Their roster of artists is extensive, offering the latest and greatest in talent from celebrities’ appearances and interviews, to live performances from musicians and comedians. Imagine surprising your guests with a live, private performance from your favorite band when you haven’t been to a concert in months!

If live music or comedy doesn’t fit your personal style, consider a live cooking class or cake decorating. Then, to take it to the next level, have ingredients or desserts delivered directly to each of your guests so they have the full hands on experience.

Clos Du Val may not allow event hosting on site, but you can include them your virtual event by offering one of their tasting packages. Wine can be delivered to guests ahead of time so all can enjoy an exceptional tasting experience without traveling to wine country. Cheers to wine and friendship, everyone!

Similarly, Liquor Lab Live offers live mixology classes to create your very own craft cocktails. They offer private and public events so you can find the perfect fit for your needs.

If you just want the booze without the extra entertainment, consider Cocktail Courier who will delivery everything you need to make select quantities of your favorite cocktails – including the garnish!

We must not forget the finishing touches either, such as decor, party favors, and other eye candy.

There are so many talented Bay Area florists who are continuing to offer their services for home deliveries, and hybrid events. For instance, Fionna Floral recently provided florals for a stunning micro wedding amongst the redwoods. Petite Petal Co. keeps clients homes’ bright and fragrant deliveries of their farm fresh florals, as does our Willow Glen neighbors, Apis Floral.

Take a look at this intimate backyard dinner complete with florals by Apis.

Nicole Ha Designs can provide complete installations, to flower crowns delivered to guests, she does it all with exceptional style and flawless execution.

Party Fiesta has been a pleasure to work with over the years and this continues to be the case today. From large arches and specialty shapes to custom colors or simple arrangements, they can seriously do it all when it comes to balloons. A fun and creative backdrop is a big part of a virtual celebration and balloons can really bring the wow factor.

Snickerdoodle Sweets & Events is another vendor offering goodies to take your virtual event to the next level, and this one is edible. These custom creations of cookies and cakes that are truly an art form themselves, will bring an extra dose of style and sweetness to the event. They even offer individually wrapped cookies that are safe for serving as favors, which you can send to guests ahead of time.

Additionally, we now offer party boxes delivered to guests front doors’! We will work with you to design a completely custom, thoughtfully curated party box to gift to event guests. Get the hybrid party started with festive gifts like a custom tumbler, cocktail ingredients, photo booth props, and matching decor.

Virtual events can be fun, festive, and flawless.

These are just a few of the ways you can take any virtual event to the next level, but if you are still feeling lost after reading parts I and II of this series, let’s get in touch!