A little night fever

The 70s are all the rage this party season as we approach a year of 40th birthday parties for the last of the generation born in the 70s. Think LED Disco Dance Floors and 70s Flashmobs to raise your party pitch to the next level.

Photos courtesy of @cabaretrouge and @domeeventhire

Shine on

Silver and Glitter – always a winner at this time of year ,being brought beautifully to life by Cotswolds business owner and style icon @jadehollandcooper in her latest collection and at own birthday party , featured on her Instagram feed and by girl about town @cotswoldprgirl

Go natural

Natural floral displays of every kind are having a bit of a revival, and what better way to make a statement outside your home or venue – or even a temporary party structure.

Here @ tiger.by.the.tail florists bring shimmery, glistening wintery flora to dress an exciting new event venue, Georgian country house @thorpemanor in Oxfordshire for its first winter wedding

And here are venue styling super heroes and award winning London florists @earlyhoursltd doing their things for:

– Diwali at @ brigadiersldn

– and for @ caramelgrouplondon, a natural looking festive makeover

Not Christmas-related but worth a shout out under the heading of natural even dressing is event florist Fiona Perry Flowers – based in Moreton in Marsh in Gloucestershire – who is pioneering the campaign to stop using floral foam and using only natural materials to put together epic installations and displays nevertheless – you can follow her on @fionaperryflowers and have a look at #nofloralfoam

Exciting canapes

The inimitable Love bites ladies do it in style all year round but pull out all the stops to make your canapes memorable at Christmas! Check out @lovebitescanapes for delicious treats for your guests.

Featured here:
A glass of fizz on arrival, Love Bites style

And Millionaires truffles with Frangelico pipettes

Entertainment

After a few coupes of champagne most guests at a Christmas party can be found on the dance floor; exciting additions to the DJ experience include an accompanying live act such as…

Sax accompaniment by international saxophonist and extraordinary performer @danblaax

The mirror people – who will not only dance with your guests but allow your guests to dance with reflections of themselves…!

And anyway, whatever the time of year… who doesn’t LOVE a mirror?! (…ball)…!

Photo courtesy of @domeeventhire

Follow Oasis Events for more inspo: @oasiseventsltd

If this has put you in the mood to plan a party you can contact Oasis Events on 01608 651100 or on events@oasisevents.co.uk

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“If you never did you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.”

Dr Seuss

… if you go into the woods today…

Two 21st birthdays were being celebrated – cousins who were clear from the outset that Dr Seuss would be the theme. Dinner would be hosted in a purpose built venue on the estate, complete with ‘green eggs and ham’ for dessert. Guests would arrive at the woodland party from 11pm to party the night away in our bespoke party setting. Surrounded by age-old trees, coloured lighting effects and carefully selected props, Dr Seuss came to Oxfordshire for a beautiful, bouncy, bizarre night of DJing, cocktails, and fireside chats.

“Oh the things you can find, if you don’t stay behind!”

Dr Seuss

The major challenges on a site like this for a woodland party are infrastructure and access, so we worked closely with the family and estate team to tackle these issues and plan for a smooth event. #TEAMWORKMAKESTHEDREAMWORK in full effect.

Lorax trees and Dr Seuss dressing

The woods were cleared and risk-assessed a month before the event, and the temporary structures from Hurlingham tents were built mindful of the trees overhead and the roots underfoot to plan a site which was safe and risk free. The neighbouring field was mown for vehicle access, and with one eye on the weather and a trakway quote up our sleeve, we were thrilled to start the build in the sun with dry ground, easy access (and no last minute expenditure needed).

All suppliers were contacted to ensure we could operate the private party without a water supply, and water was brought to site for supplier teams on the build, party and take down, and of course for the guests. With planet friendly solutions in mind for this party in a wood, the Cocktail Service team provided water in recyclable tins. These caused some party confusion at first – “no not a beer thank you – water please??” but not for long as everyone got used to this genius idea. The straws for cocktails were paper, and the disposable glasses were compostable. 5 ***** for eco-awareness from the bar team!

Cosy, pretty and ready for guests

Temporary power with a back-up supply arrived in good time to power the temporary loos for crew, and ultimately, the party.  Cables were laid with great care to avoid damage to the trees or any risk of tripping in the dark.

Pathways were lit with festoon lighting for safe passage and because they just shout FUN THIS WAY and the lighting created a safe, pretty space around the tented site for this party in a wood full of fun and frolicks.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

Dr Seuss

The bar kept the drinks flowing and an eye on the welfare of everyone there, together with security to make sure no-one got lost in the woods!

Cocktail time in the woods

We provided a sleeping tent and a breakfast van to make sure nobody left the site under-slept or underfed… It’s amazing how much a bacon bap can make you smile when you have been up all night!

Our special thanks go to the estate’s event team, woodland team and security for all their assistance and flexibility in allowing us to create ‘Whoville‘ in the middle of nowhere.

Fireside chats

Thing 1 and Thing 2 Plus 1

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”

Dr Seuss

Would you like to talk to us about planning a party in a wood, or party planning for another celebrations? We’d like to hear from you.

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As you can imagine as a wedding planner based in Gloucestershire, working anywhere in the UK, we’re prepared for all eventualities.

A major topic of planning focus to ensure absolute preparedness for an event of any kind is the so-called wet weather plan.

The summer of 2018 has served up consecutive months of sunshine for our guests to bask in, and allowed planning to go full throttle into open air mode.

Here are 5 our favourite party planning moments in the sun:

Walking  wedding guests through the meadow to drink in the view of the family home

Umbrellas at the ready for quick dash! No need as we could wander under a blue sky:

Popping the bar up in the garden with Cock and Tail Bars and The Garden Bar Hire

With ample space planned into the reception marquee just in case it was a pleasure to be able to place the Garden bar whhere it belonged when the wedding day came:

Conducting the blessing in a deconsecrated church with no roof

An intimate and totally individual bespoke ceremony was held in the midst of a ruined church, to launch a new marriage under the sky:

Dancing all night in the woods, under the trees

No need for walls on the stretch tent or extra rain cover, we partied after dinner until breakfast in the clearing, watching the sunrise:

Settling on a woodland chill out zone

More woodland frolicking after dinner, using the host’s giant tree cuttings and some select vintage furniture around the fire bowl for late night chats:

Would you like to talk to us about party planning for your celebrations? We’d like to hear from you.

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Beyond country piles, romantic wedding venues and cosy gastro pubs its amazing how much ELSE goes on within the sleepy, honey-stoned, leafy green Cotswolds.  To read all about the goings on in business – large and small – in our area, check out Business and Innovation magazine
@bizinnovate.

They lay it all out for you with great writing and so much truly readable content championing success, growth and the rest.  Mixed in with the giants of corporate life is news from the smaller doers, makers and shakers from our region.  It would be wrong to admit to this magazine being a favourite for a Friday night in, in the bath, like “Heat” was in our 20s, so we wont.  But we WILL admit to being super chuffed about being featured on the “Work to live” page in the current issue.  They have very kindly featured a Space-themed party we produced in the summer for 600 intrepid space-travellers.  We created the “journey in to the cosmos” event in the heat of July for employees at a super-luxe Cotswolds-based international travel company.

Space-themed party entrance via Mission Control

Want to know more?

You can read all about it in their online magazine if you’re not a subscriber, or check the Space party out in detail on our own Gallery and Films pages.

And if it whets your appetite for a corporate celebration, or a private one -well,  we’re all ears…

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Our brief for this private party was to bring Bloefields Lair to a private address in Cheltenham, suspend a dining room over a swimming pool and provide sharks swimming in the water beneath the guests. With 6 weeks to plan the party we had our work cut out, but a party planner’s resources love a test and this was a good one!

Counting down the days to the build for this event we liaised with the client’s private concierge and the client’s tried and trusted favourite event suppliers already secured for the event. Our help was needed to expand the party space over the pool, bring a consistent theme through all the venues for the welcome, drinks and dinner, and the live entertainment. We pulled the elements together to create a themed but sophisticated evening in celebration of everybody’s favourite spy.

Amongst the memorable successes for us on event day were

• that we DID provide a shark swimming under the see through floor of the dining room – was it real? Or wasn’t it? That secret will be spilled over my dead body….
• that our Bond girls brought the theme perfectly to life particularly as they provided the live equivalent of an opening sequence with our concept of dancing behind a bespoke paper screen at the end of the dining room – beautiful and so evocative of the opening scene of any Bond film.
• We helped to produce a bespoke “This is Your Life” film and presentations
• sourced look a likes and custom-made marquee dressing
• we tailored the marquee build over the pool to connect with a pair of tipis and a walkway to the catering marquee which was removed overnight to ensure guests had access to the hot tub the following day.

Every event has its priorities and they are always different!

There were challenges too, including tight access and limited parking for multiple suppliers, (combined with Cheltenham races happening in the same week), a minor accident befalling the best Jaws impersonator in the UK 2 days before the event went live (!), and a freak winter storm covering the party venues in a blanket of icy snow on party night…

The guest experience was smooth, great fun and continued well into the morning for some… One of the more unusual party planning experiences we have enjoyed in Gloucestershire, our home county. And on completion, it was definitely time for “A martini. Shaken, not stirred.”

See the full event description and photos here.

A few words from our client…

Thanks Mark for everything it really was such a fantastic party… thank you for helping to organise such an amazing night – sharks, marquee over the pool, and all the James Bond theme party extras.

Would you like to talk to us about party planning for your celebrations? We’d like to hear from you.

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We planned this party over approximately 3 months

The birthday boy’s children brilliantly arranged for him to enjoy a 60th birthday mystery tour of London’s highlights for 5 days in the preceding week to enable us to magically build 3 connected Vegas venues right outside the front door of their rural family home. Everything went smoothly and we were ready, with black out curtains drawn, when he arrived home to find this mega-surprise sitting awaiting him.

In costume advised by his children, our guest of honour entered spot on time along the red carpet, through the lighting and fire dancing displays to join us for cocktail shaking, live piano and mingling. The absolute best part of our projects is the moment that our client arrives, all is revealed and they begin their party experience. The whoops of joy and hugs of delight on this occasion lived up to our every hope and expectation.

The evening continued….

…with close up magic, a team photo, a star lit dinner in a dimly lit, cabaret style dining room followed up by speeches, a pulsing cabaret show and a mind-blowing on-stage magic and mind-games performance. Then we revealed the casino complete with dance performances, boxing clips on screen and a live DJ.

The cocktails flowed all night long, and the food included canapes, steak and chips and late night snacks. Themed imagery was projection-mapped onto the unique frontage of the house and surrounding hills and trees were lit all around providing atmosphere inside and outside, all night long…

We really enjoy working collaboratively alongside the family and staff as we have done in the past – providing design proposals, party planning and event management, managing the budget, schedule, build, event and removals … Meanwhile the family arranged guest logistics, provided their own print design elements and brought in their favourite caterer.. What a team!

We’ve written about the staging of this event in detail on our web gallery – please come and have a look!

A few words from our client…
Honestly you have the best team in the world. You really are so SO wonderful and thanks to you, these parties seem to just get better and better. Your whole team are incredible and so fun to be around. We must find another excuse for a party soon!
Everything, from the casino to the cabaret, the magicians to the margaritas, was perfect and JUST as we had imagined it. We have had literally no end of letters and comments complimenting the atmosphere, creativity and originality of the party, the credit must go to Dany and her team. Creating unforgettable events seems to come easily to Oasis and I cannot emphasise enough what a pleasure it is to plan/talk/organise with Dany and the team – nothing is too much trouble, there is a solution to everything and they turn what could easily be a stressful set-up process into something fun and exciting. I could not recommend Oasis events enough, consider no other events company for your next party, Oasis have it covered, and more.

The Vegas Event Management Team

Would you like to talk to us about party planning for your celebrations? We’d like to hear from you.

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Have a read of our interview and we recommend that you also check out their interview with Strictly star Joanne Clifton, the lead actress in the fabulous touring Flashdance musical which we saw at Cheltenham’s Everyman theatre earlier this week.  It’s a fantastic high energy show with spot on 80’s costume, hair and make up and all the sing along, make you want to dance tunes from the film, live on stage.  The last scene is back to back energy and a total highlight of the show!

So Glos have huge coverage and are a great resource for carefully curated local news and events.  We’re avid readers of their weekly newsletter and would encourage anyone local or visiting, who is interested in knowing what’s on to subscribe.  These guys are seriously in the know!

Speaking of being in the know, there’s more about who is behind our party planner and event management services on our website, where we showcase some of the events and parties we have been involved in planning, and our venue transformations.  We’ve looked after every area of a typical event and also some unusual requests and ideas, so we’re a safe pair of hands for anything from wedding guest lists, to putting on a festival-themed event.   If it needs a creative, organised approach, we’ve got it covered and we understand how all the elements need to fit together. We mainly work across the Cotswolds and Gloucestershire, but have also worked all over the UK and even as far as way as Moscow!

Wherever you are reading this, if you’d like Oasis Events to be the party planner for your next party or event please call us to discuss how we can help!

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No matter how creative, organised and prepared your party planner is for your event, the real skill, even with planning completed down to the most meticulous detail, is in handling the unexpected. So we come armed to every build, live event and dismantling day with a survival kit known affectionately as our “Box of Tricks”. No top hats, wands or rabbits to be found here, these tricks are a bit more wide ranging than your average conjurer’s!

The whole point of hiring your party planner is for us to handle everything on your behalf, making your experience of your event stress and hassle-free. Just as in ordinary life, anything can happen at an event. And events, weddings and parties take place in the most weird and wonderful places, so we have to be prepared!

Oasis Events party planner for the Cotswolds and beyond, Dany Fremantle tells us – what’s in her Box of tricks?

What key items do you always take with you to a party planning site visit and why?

A tape measure! Which may seem obvious for working out where structures and larger items such as loos and fridge trailers, skips, fireworks displays etc might fit… but also because the little details matter, down to the scale of a vase for floral arrangements, or a statue for lighting. I also have a laser-measure for measuring spaces indoors, and for pin point accuracy.

I always have lots of paper too… a smart-phone just doesn’t do the job – great for photos and the occasional note, but a pen and paper are crucial; hand written notes allow for drawing and sketching to communicate ideas to our client, and they don’t run out of battery or signal!

What key items do you take to a live event and why?

Amidst the stationery, tape and blue tak you’ll always find we have copious amounts of cable ties and gaffer tape: you can stick, hang and fix most things with these!

Fire-extinguishers, a first-aid kit, and the address of the nearest hospital! If you plan for the worst then when it happens you will be more than ready.

A team of specialists: I’m no technician, but having someone on site with a can-do attitude and technical know-how means we can reliably say “yes” to those last minute client requests.

Snacks and tea for the crew! If everyone on the team is smiling, the event will fly…

You’ve planned lots of parties in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and all over the UK over the years… What has been your strangest site visit location?

We were asked to transform a Monmouthshire sheep barn into a wedding venue. We arrived in mid-winter with snow on the ground and worked to measure and plan with no less than 300 sheep inside the barn with us!

We worked with the bride and groom to transform it top to bottom, providing everything from loos to carpet, furniture and lighting to create an indoor marquee… quite different from how we saw it on our first visit!

Here’s another in more neutral tones, there’s no limit to the design options in venues such as these!

What’s the craziest thing you were prepared for and dealt with at an event?

At a fabulous stately home in the glorious August heat of last summer, with an elegant three course dinner on the brink of being served in the ballroom, it was beyond all imagining that we’d lose power in the main house. Due to a county-wide power cut 10 minutes before service… we did! I had multiple lengths of spare weatherproof electrical cables in my car …. just in case!!… and we used a succession of these to power the kitchen rom the generator we’d organised to power the secret nightclub in the garden, until the power came on 2 hours later.

Why do you love being a party planner?

Fixing problems and making things happen to realise someone’s perfect day, night or weekend brings some adrenaline-fuelled days on site but that is a huge part of what makes a life in party planning exciting!

Photo of Dany by @katemetzner 

Are you looking for party planning complete with survival kit and a wealth of experience in the Cotswolds or beyond? We’d like to hear from you.

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One of the blessings of party planning in Oxfordshire and the surrounding area is the number of barns which are already running as stunning event venues, but also the barns on active farms which are ready and waiting to host discreet parties, tucked away down farm tracks, and where the blank canvas allows us to let our imaginations run wild.

With our venue transforming expertise at hand, barns are temporarily insulated, draped, lit and filled with themed furniture, heaters are ducted through barn doors, temporary power solutions are drafted in an distributed, and caterers, bar companies arrive to settle into a temporary event venue with all mod cons to welcome guests.

For this party we were in the safe, capable and creative hands of Absolutely Delicious for the food and bar.  We have worked with Angela and her team at this venue before, she is a go-to supplier for our client, and we enjoyed collaborating on the project.

  Punk theme related design decisions for this one included the floor being left bare for the pared back look and projecting onto the barns stone walls, and the necessity of draping the massive open entrances leading us to go for giant Union Jacks in place of an ordinary heavy plain wind-proofing drapes.

Working collaboratively with our client we were thrilled with the finished look complete with chain linked fence at the entrance, punk Mohican canapes and Vivienne Westwood style tartan styling for the reception marquee.  Projections gave us great freedom to style the venue with multiple iconic images – some featuring the birthday girl.. can you spot her?!

You can check out the full photo gallery here.

Looking for Oxfordshire party planning, in the wider Cotswolds or beyond?

We’d like to hear from you.

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So Darren…. Tell us!  You ventured out in the snow and dark for an Oasis client at a winter party this year – brrrrrr – what do you think are the differences between winter and summer events – are there any from an expert party entertainer’s perspective…?

It is fairly easy to adapt to inside or outside but sometimes extremes in temperature make some magic slightly more challenging.  In the winter it’s all about warmth and comfort and those events can feel very special, the one I did with you guys in January felt extremely cosy with candles a fully draped marquee with rugs on the floor and fire pits outside etc….

Yep it’s all about the cosy in winter.. . We also borrowed Darren’s brilliance as a party entertainer at a winter event to celebrate a Bar Mitzvah at the Hurlingham Club in South West London on a chilly February night, where Darren performed later on) 

What is the most exotic venue you have ever attended?

I once performed at an event for Bloomberg and they had hired a whole national trust site in West London and literally they had transformed it into just the most ridiculously lavish party ever. I was performing in an Alice in Wonderland area with about 8 other performers we had the most amazing 20 ft table for a tea party we had a mowed lawn for flamingo crochet. A massive topary sign for our area it was just crazy, they had animal handlers walking around with snakes and reptiles…..they built a beach so people could play Volleyball there were fairground rides and every time of food imaginable.

What is the most memorable event you personally have ever attended?

I guess the queens jubilee, I was entertaining on one of the boats and we were part of the flotilla on the Thames.

What were you wearing?

I always wear a suit with a waistcoat (no jacket) and my hat.

What were you eating and drinking?

On that particular gig we were all giving a little picnic box which contained a classic afternoon tea.

1 thing nobody knows about you?

Well not many people know that I am a massive fan of Battle Rap!

Wow ok… so ….What is the music you like to dance to on your own before you perform? (we know you do)

Youngblood BrassBand – Ain’t nobody ( cover )

Photo credit: Brooke Campbell

Whats is the experience you have had that you wish everyone could try?

Going on a trapeze.

Did you always know you wanted to be a wedding and party entertainer, or what did you want to be when you were growing up?

A vet!

In your experience, what is the best venue for a corporate event?

There have been two events in London where the view was just stunning – Cannon Bridge Roof Gardens was a highlight, and Landing Forty Two at the Leadenhall building.

Nice, we’ll take a look… how about the best venue for a wedding?

There are so many lovely venues but I love performing at – Cripps Barn, Cripps Stone Barn – Elmore Court – Barnsley House the list could go on and on.

Photo credit: Paul Willetts Photography https://www.pwilletts.com

We totally agree, we’re in the most amazing spot and love a Cotswold wedding venue.

Now then, please share with us the best bit of professional advice you were ever given?

Paul Daniels was interviewed after me on a local radio station and he said ‘never leave your money in the dressing room’ pretty solid advice there.

Fair play you cant go  wrong with that!  Now please tell us what you consider the highlight of your career so far as a wedding and party entertainer?

Performing at St James Palace.

And what would you say is the BEST thing about doing what you do, Darren?

The way people react to it and how it makes them feel.

If you were party planning for yourself and budget was no issue… what would you do?

Do you know what I’d pretty much recreate my wedding because it was basically a massive party with all our favourite friends and family. We had it on a farm and hired two Yurts, Pieminister from Bristol did the day food. Pizza Monkey did the evening food. I bought all the drink and hired two bartenders I used to work with to run the bar. During the drinks reception we had the AcroChaps entertaining the guests and at the start of the evening reception we had a cabaret with Gentlemen Juggler and a magician. Then a band called The Brass Funkeys played later in the evening. I guess the only thing I’d change is maybe having someone to manage the event as I had made quite a schedule and there were lots of suppliers to coordinate.

Your advice to someone about to plan their own party/wedding/large scale event?

Organisation is the key and if you’re not organised hire someone ( Oasis!! ) who is.  I have witnessed your work first hand at numerous events and those events are always great! Organisation is key and hiring a professional really takes that weight and worry off your shoulders so you can really enjoy your event.

Well we have had the pleasure of witnessing Darren’s work as an expert party entertainer many times, and we love it.

If you would like to see some more of Darren have a look at this short and brilliant clip

Here’s Darren on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin

Catch him while you can…

(Blog Thumbnail photo credit: Brooke Campbell)

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