Chase Court hosted a networking event – which would be a ‘cocktail-style reception’ in wedding language – earlier this year for the Baltimore Chapter of the National Association for Catering and Events, the professional association for the wedding industry. Notice those hot pink chair cushion covers and orange table linens? This was a fun night with a fun group!
We wanted über creativity, so we invited Jean and Emily at Boutique Events to put their heads together with us and produce something absolutely out of the box. The result? A Cirque du Soleil theme at Chase Court! For NACE, we called it ‘Cirque du Events: Dare to be Different’, encouraging our fellow members to, well, dare to be different in their event design.
Jean and Emily did all sorts of things to change the look of Chase Court, including using lots of spectacular lighting outside. You can read about that here.
BEFORE
The Library, with its light-colored walls and white ceiling, was also an ideal candidate for special effects lighting. Jean and Emily wanted to do something that would be absolutely amazing, so they brought in Gene Perkins from Perkins Productions. Gene had just the thing. He bathed the entire Library with lights that faded from one color to the next every thirty seconds. It was an amazing effect.
AFTER
Adding to the modern, mystical effect was the stainless steel and plexiglas bar. It was lighted from within. Très chic!
You can see here that even with all of the multi-colored light (red, fuschia, purple, blue, and green), the gothic windows hold their own, anchoring the space.
The lighting is all done with LEDs, so there is much less heat generated than traditional lights. That’s important in a relatively small space like the Chase Court Library. LEDs are smaller than conventional lighting, too. You can see one of them in the corner, to the right of the bar. It’s barely there.
What could be more fun for dessert at a cirque-themed event than cotton candy! Jeannette Edwards of The Pantry Catering, whose company did all of the catering for the event, and Emily Jean Villarreal of Boutique Events, both had experience in the art, so they went at it in the other end the Library, with outstanding results!
We thought, by the way, that making cotton candy would be a messy experience. Not so! It was neat, clean, and fun!
Did I mention that we had a face painter?
Image by Jackson Photography
Well, it WAS a circus, after all! Jennifer from Entertainment Exchange painted all of the catering service staff, the producers, guests, and anyone who wasn’t moving fast! She did a fantastic job. It really added to the look and feel of the event, and to the fun factor! This is Jean Wade Mayer, event producer extraordinaire, being painted.
Image by Jackson Photography
There were lots of people involved in making this fantastic event happen. These are some of them. Thank you all!!!
There’s still more to tell about this ground-breaking event. Stay tuned!
Venue: Chase Court
Event Design: Boutique Events
Catering: The Pantry Catering
Lighting: Perkins Productions
Photography: Jackson Photography (Images by Chase Court except as noted)
Bar: Cort Event Furnishings
Table, Chairs and Linens: Select Event Rentals
Face Painter: Entertainment Exchange
—David
