Welcome What's The Buzz Blog

Last week saw the opening of the revamped Inn on the Park, modernized as Events on the Park, a full service multi-roomed showplace for events of all kinds. From the grand ballroom to smaller perfect-for- corporate meeting spaces, this is one beautiful venue!

Originally built by Isadore Sharp of Four Seasons fame, Designed by Peter Dickinson (the Sony Centre) in 1963, this building has seen a lot of history and is poised to see much more in this new incarnation.

It was a great evening, tours of the various rooms were offered, wonderful food from the in house kitchen (Executive chef, Ray Nolan runs a tight ship, with a wealth of imagination and knowledge) and to top it all off, a concert by Canadian Icon Andy Kim. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane and had most of the attendants (and some of the servers) dancing. Although I did find it rough, having to explain that “Sugar, Sugar” really was one of Mr Kim’s songs, that the Archies were a cartoon!

Kudos to Manager John Neretis and his staff for putting together an evening to remember!

http://www.eventsonthepark.ca/

It takes lighting to a whole new level.
I ran across this furniture at the latest BizBash tradeshow here and can’t wait to use it to create some great futuristic settings.

Many Thanks to Alex Young at LUXE Rentals, Montreal and Toronto, http://www.luxerentals.ca/, for some great ideas!

It has been a pretty rough couple of weeks, airline closure, pandemic scares and hostage takings, so this week I’ll tackle something that ALL events should think about: Insurance.

Why You need it

• if you have to cancel or postpone an event because of adverse weather and natural disasters (snowstorms and airports come most to mind).

• If you have to cancel because one of your major participants (member of the wedding party, key note speaker) is ill, injured or dies.

• If one of your vendors (caterer, florist or photographer), does not show up, double-books or goes out of business.

• If items are stolen or damaged and are not covered by your homeowners insurance. This can include the cake, flowers, gifts, presents, rings and outfits for the bride, groom, bridesmaids, best man and ushers.

• If you need to cancel your Honeymoon because of illness, bad weather or other circumstances.

• If you medically require professional counseling when cancelling or postponing your event leads to severe emotional stress.

• If your venue does not have coverage for property damage or bodily injury.
(This includes host liquor liability to protect you against alcohol-related accidents).

• If none of your photos turn out, some policies offer coverage for restaging.

If you have an insurance agent, this would be the first call to make. If not, Search Engines will provide you with plenty of options, look under Business Event Liability Insurance, Private Event Insurance, and Wedding insurance. Make sure you check with your venue to be sure of their coverage.

No matter what your event may be, proper branding can make it more memorable for everyone concerned.
How?

• Colour scheme of linens
If you are using table linens, think about using the colours of your logo to subliminally heighten awareness of your company.

• Use gobo lighting to project your logo.
Although you would probably have screens for daytime meetings, what about the dance floor for the evening portion. Throughout the dinner, the floor is fairly empty and can easily be used, Once your guests are up on their feet, the lighting reverts to ambience.

• Your logo on food
There is a number of really talented food carvers out there, your logo could be incorporated into the side of a melon or into an ice sculpture (or full bar). You can brand the top of a cake at the Buffet, or cookies for a mid afternoon break.

• Your logo on napkins
Caterers are a crafty bunch, always providing napkins with their own logo as a form of advertising, for your guests. But for a reasonable price you could have your logo imprinted on paper napkins for use at the bar or on the Buffet table.

• Your logo on giveaways
If you are giving any kind of gift to attendees, and you have the time for processing, 5-10 days depending on the type of imprinting, you must use this opportunity to give your attendees a reminder of who you are.

• Think Outside the Box
One very clever planner I know had the living image of the logo, an American Bald Eagle, strategically placed at the door (on the arm of a very pretty Lady). The first and last thing the guests saw was this powerful and beautiful reminder of the company.

Whether this is a corporate function or a wedding the most important thing to do when planning is to talk about it with the others involved. It is absolutely important that anyone planning an event be on the same page, whether it is the bride and groom or a planning committee. Why are you having the event, what is important to you in terms of food, entertainment and most importantly the budget? Very often we get so wrapped up in our own concept of what the event should be that we ignore some of these important elements rather than blending them into one seamless and memorable occasion.