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Unplugged: Who Sits at the Top of the Event Design Food Chain?
February 01, 2011
We see it time and time again. Clients who enthusiastically jump right into wedding planning; yet, who mistakenly hire duplicative or conflicting event services that confuse, frustrate and muddy the event design waters. Not used to planning events on a daily basis, it’s certainly easy to understand how the consumer can be tempted by deals, packages and service agreements without knowing how the whole design picture comes together. But when the wedding market is confusing already, it’s doubly destructive and infinitely frustrating to assume everyone on your team is on the same design page. The assumption can lead to vendors and professionals assuming roles, providing unnecessary equipment, or worse, providing goods that are inconsistent with the event design.
For example, we were hired last Fall by an event designer to provide decorative lighting for an elegant all-white wedding at a local luxury hotel. Our lighting specifications were communicated to us through our client, the event designer, who asked for romantic soft pinks, ambers and white lighting throughout the space for an ethereal “pure” Winter wedding environment. White meaning, EVERYTHING white including the linens, draping, dance floor, flowers and china. Yet, it wasn’t until we were installing the event on the day of the wedding that we learned the band hired by the client was also contracted to provide decorative lighting for the event. Only the band’s lighting was on the other side of the design spectrum with intense tones of hot pink and purple up lighting behind the band as well as moving light effects on the ceiling. Needless to say, confusion and posturing erupted amongst the professionals and the vision had to be confirmed directly with the bride and groom. Pulling a client out of their cocktail hour to explain the situation and get a resolution just 30 minutes before their guests walk into the room is NOT the best teamwork we can offer as an industry.
What comes to mind is WHO SITS ON TOP OF THE EVENT DESIGN FOOD CHAIN? because that’s the only player who should be securing the event lighting for the job. In our world at Eventions, where 90% of our work is contracted by event designers and florists, we believe the event designer is not only the King Pin at the top of the food chain but the funnel for all design implementation. After all, an event designer’s entire job is creating the visual environment for the event from the big picture concept down to the smallest details and accessories. As lighting designers, we are able to collaborate with the designer to best enhance the vision they are bringing to life for the client. Obviously, not every client is able to work with an event designer. In that case, the venue, catering manager or wedding planner is best suited to maintain the event design. We also understand that not every florist is knowledgeable in lighting effects and may be more comfortable referring clients directly to a lighting company. When that happens at Eventions, we are happy to provide lighting services directly to the end consumer. But when lighting is booked through the band, DJ, photographer, venue or another event professional who is not directly in coordination with the event designer or who is not in charge of maintaining the vision, we end up with chaos and inconsistency.
When a bride and groom calls us to discuss lighting for their wedding, we know our first question has been and will always be “Who is your event designer?” From their answer we know how to assist, refer, collaborate and communicate our role effectively during the design process.
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