Some simple, creative and fun ideas for your summer party
The office summer party is fast becoming a staple event in the annual calendar. With the hope of another summer heat wave, we have our fingers crossed for another busy summer party season. Londonlaunch is here to help and we have pulled together our top tips for your summer event.
Location, Location, Location
Pick your location wisely. Will the guests be travelling from the office? If so, think about a location that is close to the office but with good transport links for people to head home afterwards. Location can make or break your number of attendees as people don’t want to have a ‘challenge’ to get home.
Venue
Londonlaunch work with a number of the very best summer party venues in London. Think about whether you want to hide away in the serenity of a quaint and private courtyard or in the modern surroundings of a London party boat.
London Party Boats
London Party Boats Ltd specialise in Thames river cruises and offer a unique party venue in London for corporate and group bookings, We have four vessels available for private charter, carrying from 1 to 360 passengers. All vessels are available seven days a week from 7 am to 1 am and can be extended until 3 am if required. We can provide a full catering experience and have fully stocked bars on all our vessels.
MV London Belle up to 120 Passengers
MV Jewel of London up to 240 Passengers
MV Pearl of London up to 360 Passengers
Creative summer events work best with a blank canvas or a venue with a little less effort to choose a ready-made space.
Tanner Warehouse
Lounge around in the sun sipping our superb summer cocktails in the courtyard or escape the heat and throw yourself into a friendly game of table tennis. Summer parties at Tanner Warehouse are available from May through to September from groups of 50 upwards. If you’ve got a large group celebration in mind, why not take over the adjoining restaurant Tanner and Co too and have one big unforgettable bash with up to 450 guests!
One thing to think about for the perfect venue is the wet weather contingency (we are talking about the UK after all!!). Does the venue have inside space, a marquee or event umbrellas/ponchos you can plan into the theme?
Invitations
Invitations are the first opportunity to give your attendees a glimpse of what’s to come and get them excited about the big day. Use this opportunity to create a memorable summer party from the very first moment but ensure that the invitations stay true to the theme of your event. Unusual invitations can also create a buzz in the office and a real talking point.
Cutture
This is just one example from the zillions that the fabulous Cutture can create. Once you see their gallery and talk to their team, you will realise that the sky is the limit for clever, smart and creative event invitations.
Go to Cutture's web site to see their amazing ideas
Theme
Whether you are creating a fully themed summer extravaganza or low key events the subtle theming of an event can be a mark of its success. Use your theme to portray the key messages of the event and your brand. Think about coloured lighting to complement a brand identity or use creative touches to bring across the brand. Can the theme be incorporated into the drinks and food as well as decoration?
We always go to the clever people at Smart Live for our theming recommendations
Entertainment
Once the venue is chosen, the theme has been decided, it's now time to make sure your guests are well entertained. With summer events the possibilities really are endless but as with everything it comes down to budget.
For a larger budget, a bigger venue you could consider fairground entertainment, acrobats, aerial artists or even stilt walkers. If your events are a more low key consider an outdoor band or magician. Most DJ’s will set up outside as long as they have cover for all equipment. Think about your attendees, what would be their WOW?
Stick It On
Stick it on's simple, tried and tested formula has been bringing joy to dance floors for almost 20 years. It’s easy. We ask the guests to pick three of their favourite songs (even Dave in accounts has got three of those), and one-by-one we’ll turn them into DJ superstars as we invite them behind the decks to play their songs, under our close guidance.
Catering
80% of people judge an event by the food and the same goes for your summer party. Summer events are the perfect event to devise creative menus. Most venues have a standard BBQ summer menu but we would recommend you work with them to see if you can personalize the catering to fit in with your theme of the company ethos. Think about food stalls, different cuisines or even smaller dishes like tapas.
Remember summer events are usually less formal than Christmas so work with the venue to reflect that and don’t forget the wet weather options.
The Admirable Crichton (The AC)
Summertime in London provides the enchanting opportunity to entertain and soak up the sunshine in the many great open spaces available. One of our favourite outdoor venues is Chelsea Physic Garden which sits conveniently on the boundaries of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea. Its medicinal and botanical gardens are fascinating all year round, but it comes into its own in late spring and summer when the weather is warm enough to transform the gardens with outdoor bars, food stations and dynamic eating spaces. It's the ideal location for weddings and private parties, but also a fantastic spot for corporate entertaining, providing a haven in the bustling City for clients to catch up and to embrace much needed, often fleeting, mindful moments.
Personal Touches and Giveaways
Personal touches take any event to the next level. Think about your guests, what do they like? What are they interested in? Seamlessly tying in personal touches will show guests you have linked in the theme and thought about the message of the event.
Give your guests something to take away and remember the day. Photo-booths are a popular choice! It will ensure everyone talks about your event for weeks to come.
So good luck in organising your summer event 2019, we very much look forward to helping you to source that perfect venue to get the planning process started.