Galas
Make your Gala the talk of the town!
When you think of a gala, you probably imagine a formal, regal event. This might mean a black-tie dress code, catered dinner, live band, and speeches or presentations throughout the evening – along with amazing entertainment. A social event, such as a gala, can really boost your company or brand reputation, especially if it is a corporate function designed to impress potential donors, investors, or high-end clients. Below are several tips to successfully hosting a stress-free black tie, high-heeled social event.
Set your sights on your goal:
What’s the purpose of your event? Perhaps this is a charity event, and you are trying to raise money for a worthy cause. Or, would you like to recruit new clients or are you planning on unveiling your latest product? Make sure to relay your goal to the event planners at O’Brien Productions, and allow us to create, design, and layout a plan to develop your desired, successfully executed event. We are able to assist you with all aspects of your gala, including managing your social media needs. After using O’Brien Productions, and seeing how we can make this a stress-free and valuable gala with a great ROI, you will want to make this an annual event.
Choose the perfect Venue:
If you are hosting a formal event, your backyard probably won’t make the cut. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of high-end venues, especially in the metro Atlanta area and within the southeast. O’Brien Productions has a vast list of venues for you to choose from, and with over 30 years of event planning under our belt, we have formed close business relationships with facility managers and property owners. Whether you are going for a historical vibe or a modern flair, we are certain to have experience at that venue, will know their guidelines, and most importantly, their restrictions. O’Brien Productions is available to assist you with all aspects of your event, and when selecting a venue, you want to make sure your wish list has all the boxes checked. We have the knowledge and experience of working with venues all across the southeast and we know what each venue will, and most importantly, will not allow at their facility, and what type of venue is best suited for your needs and the type of formal event you desire to host.
Entertainment is key:
A gala is not complete without some form of entertainment. If you’re holding a formal event, consider something along the lines of a string orchestra or harpist. You can pair musicians of any type with dancing for a fun affair – especially with themes that lend themselves well to a dance floor pairing (like a masquerade ball!). Other entertainment could include a choreographed dance team, specific to your theme, and ready to perform while your guests watch in awe. Also, we are able to provide you with professional dancers, available to assist in teaching dances to your guests like Country Line Dancing, Salsa, Disco, Hip-Hop, and Swing Dancing. Other dances like the Fox Trot and Charleston are great ways to get crowd engagement and make it a fun and energetic night for everyone! Consider a professional speaker or emcee for all of your announcements, and live music from a well-known artist, if your budget provides.
Bring the WOW factor with Food and Drinks:
Always serve memorable food at your gala. At the end of the night, on the ride home, the food and cocktails will be one of the topics your guests will discuss. Whether it’s a buffet-style dinner or a multi-course meal, we can offer you many different meal service options. O’Brien Productions is an all-inclusive event planning company, which allows you to eliminate the need for multiple outside vendors. Because we are able to assist you with every aspect of your event, this also allows for a substantial savings, giving you a better ROI.
As for the cocktails, there are many different ways you can offer drinks to your gala guests. Creating a martini bar or bringing in a professional mixologist to prepare drinks using dry ice, will leave a lasting impression. Or, hire a bartender who can create customized cocktails on the spot. Maybe you would like to have champagne served to your guests upon their entrance, along with formally dressed servers walking around the venue constantly offering to top off or refill their flutes. The choice is yours.
It’s ALL about the THEME, so choose wisely:
Need a fresh fundraising theme that has not been done over and over again? Want to produce an exciting event that generates the buzz to engage supporters? Not only do we plan and execute, O’Brien Productions also specialize in building themes and incorporating creative and effective fundraising event ideas you never thought possible.
Galas are so much more fun when there is a theme your guests can get excited about. Take a look at some of the successfully produced theme parties we have to offer, or let’s work together and dream up a custom theme for your gala. Whichever direction you choose, O’Brien Productions will help you navigate details like food selection, music choices, entertainment, floral arrangements, decor, and so much more.
Fundraisers
Planning a charity event involves a lot of components to consider and coordinate. By hiring an event planning company, you are able to put the coordination of multiple vendors into the hands of one single company. With O’Brien Productions, we take the hassle out of fundraisers because we are not only an event planning company, but we also provide party rentals, catering, entertainers, props, decor, linens, floral arrangements, and more, which eliminates the need to hire multiple vendors. Keep your costs manageable, your expectation high, and hire O’Brien Productions for all of your fundraising needs.
There are many options you can choose from when it comes to creating a fundraiser. This includes galas, sports tournaments, charity dinners, benefit concerts, and more. The goal of any fundraising event, whether it is a dance competition, themed party, or community benefit, is to raise money, have fun and celebrate, while having the opportunity to meet your supporters face to face.
What can O’Brien bring to the table for Walk-a-thons, 5K’s, Cyclist Races,,, Fun Runs, or festivals?
Imagine the Air Dancers strategically placed along your run, focusing on starting gate, finishing line, merchandise tables and water stations. O’Brien Productions can man these stations, along with your volunteers. Tents, tables, chairs, and coolers of water are a necessity too, and for each station, we will provide a tent, with the required sized tables and chairs for your volunteer’s comfort.
One of the most important parts of a Fun Run is deciding the route, traffic control, and medical services to keep your participants safe. If your route is on public streets, you will need a permit to host your event and redirect traffic. O’Brien Productions knows how to obtain the necessary permits and organize traffic control and medical services. Plan a celebration at the end where you can congratulate your sponsors and award medals to your top placed participants. O’Brien Productions can provide a stage, podium, microphone, speakers, a complete sound system, and MC to make all of your announcements. We are also able to provide merchandise, on brand with your type of event, with T–Shirts, water bottles, hand-held fans, bracelets, or other type of items that we can sell to help generate additional funds to your cause.
KSU’s Owl-O-Ween Hot Air Balloon Festival, Que & Brew Ultimate Tailgating, East Cobbler Festival, Taste of Marietta, Atlanta Ice Cream Festival, Kennesaw Chalktoberfest, and Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival are fundraising festivals that offer delicious mouth-watering BBQ, scrumptious homemade desserts, refreshing ice cream, samples or food from restaurants in Marietta, a beautiful sky filled with hot air balloons, and so much more and O’Brien Productions is proud to be a part of giving back to our community!
For spectators, O’Brien Productions has a large variety of concessions available, including sno cones, popcorn, cotton candy, hot pretzels, and frozen drink machines as well as many more options. To attract customers attention, we place the concessions under red and white striped tents. This is another large income source for your event, and O’Brien Productions will have fully trained staff available to service each concession station.
How do you decide on what type of fundraiser to host? That depends on the kind of supporters you are trying to reach. Golf and Tennis Charity events are great fundraising options. We are able to invite professional players to attend your event and even possibly play against. Another example, you might want to host a gala or other formal event if you are trying to secure large donations from your major gift donors. Adding entertainers and musical touches whether a local band, drum line chorus, professional dancers, or even celebrity entertainers are always great option and help bring in large financial donations.
We can also provide the speakers so music can be played to keep the crowd entertained, as well as, energize your participants. Depending on the temperature the day of your event, we are able to also provide misting fans, for participants and volunteers, tent fans, or heating lamp, if your fundraiser is a chilly day. 5 gallon “Big Orange” water coolers can be placed at each water station and at the finish line. Snacks and handheld fans can be passed out to your participants, as well.
Planning a charity event involves a lot of components to consider and coordinate. By hiring an event planning company, you are able to put the hiring and coordination of multiple vendors into the hands of one single company. With O’Brien Productions, we take the hassle out of fundraisers because we are not only an event planning production company, but we also provide party rental supplies, catering, entertainers, props, decor, linens, inflatables, rock climbing walls, air dancers, floral arrangements, and more, which eliminates the need to hire multiple vendors. Keep your costs manageable, your expectation high, and hire O’Brien Productions — your one-stop-shop for all of your fundraising needs.
