SHAKEN NOT STIRRED: The diary of a 007 party planner
February 2018: You mission should you choose to accept it…
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.