What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 17th September

Welcome to another week and this week we are all about decor, decorations, themes and props!

Adding sparkle and those little extra touches to events can make all of the difference and whilst we have some experience in this field and offer a range of items through our sister company www.dazzlingtabledisplays.com we would like to showcase a few of the great themes currently on trend, to provide you with some inspiration for your next event, no matter what the occasion!

With Chocolate Week around a month away, the nation’s favourite themed week returns for an eighth consecutive year in October and culminates with the deliciously indulgent consumer show, Chocolate Unwrapped at the LFM, Covent Garden on 13th & 14th October. Chocolate Unwrapped will feature more than 70 exhibitors, including top British chocolatiers and chocolate companies as well as international chocolate makers from around the world. Taste fantastic chocolates, view chocolate sculptures and eat in the chocolate cafe.

So what better theme than Chocolate for your next event? 

You could go all Willy Wonka and have themed invitations, and decorate your room with coloured sweets and as much colour as you can find, from gumballs to giant lollipops.

It's an easy theme to carry through as the props are easy to recreate and inexpensive to hire, and, if you really want to push the boat out, then you could even build your own replica Wonka Boat or Glass Lift! 

So get down to your nearest DIY centre, chop up some ply wood and get your paint brush out. Easy! 

Another advantage of using this theme at present is the current trend for Candy Buffets at events. These colourful displays make great talking points at events and whilst you can hire a company (there are several great ones around) to come and deliver, its just as easy to make your own. Get several glass vases, jars and glasses of varying size and fill them with a range of sweets and chocolates remembering to be colourful and creative!

Now that X Factor and Strictly are back on our screens, you can tell its the countdown to Christmas and whilst we promise not to focus on Christmas for a while (again), the return of terrific tangos, wonderful waltz's and rousing rumbas offers a great excuse to throw on your dancing shoes.

Think Glitter Balls. Everywhere. On the ceiling, on tables and as decor for the event as well as on your invitations. Get your host to be a Brucie or a Tess and make sure you give all of your guests a strictly dress code so that the ambiance of the event remains in tact.

Get lots of silver streamers and door hangings to decorate the room and don't be afraid of glitter, glitter and more glitter. A local children's face painter can probably be persuaded to come along and offer a glitter booth where guests can have their own stars and glitter added to faces, arms, chests you name it! 

Have a silver balloon arch as an entrance or setting for photographs and make sure all of your table numbers look a little like the judges score cards.

Use Silver plates or charges and sprinkle glitter over the tables for extra sparkle.

It doesn't matter if your guests are as bad at the Chicken Dance as they are at the Cha-Cha - a local dance instructor will normally come along cheaply and provide some great entertainment for your guests with a quick lesson.

Or if you are feeling really brave, you can always get some of those great Dance Floor Feet, placed on the floor and let your guests have their own impromptu dance competition!

 With the limited release of the Magical Mystery Tour, the restored and being shown on the big screen for the very first time, including some never before seen footage and interviews, then a Beatles Party is ideal! A strictly limited number of screenings will take place from 18th September in the US, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Italy, and Mexico.

But if this particular Beatles genre is not for you, then there are a whole host of other options available to celebrate these great British icons.

You could have an Abbey Road invitation for guests and even recreate the famous crossing on the floor to welcome your party to the venue. Take pictures of guests as they enter, four at a time, on the crossing which will make great soveneirs of the evening.

A local photographer on hand to capture guests as they enter and staged shots which you can replay through the night will add to the atmosphere and provide a real air of authenticity to your event. 

You could even take it a step further, if you will pardon the pun, and make the whole event a Black, White and Red theme, with the Beatles images played throughout the night on a screen, in Black & White. Get the guests to dress approrpriately whatever era you decide to dedicate your Beatles theme towards.

 

For table numbers use either  some old records and change the centre labels with the table numbers on, and the name of a Beatles record, or even use Cardboard Guitars to mark each table - cheap and easy to do and highly effective!  

Old records, picked up cheaply at car boots, also make great chargers for guests and again you can personalise them with a suitable record, to match the guests or their tables.

There are loads of different decorating ideas available on a Beatles Theme but if you are looking for a cheap but chic option, then why not cut out large letters to make up the names of key songs from the Beatles catalogue and attach them to fishing wire so they seem to float around the room. Or, you could hang images from the various Album and Singles titles from the ceiling, or attach the to the walls to give a real taste of the band over their long history.

Play the music, hire a tribute band or just indulge in a good old fashioned sing-a-long, as there has never been a better time for a Beatles themed party.

You could also have a bash and play Beatles Bingo, Beatles Word Search or have a Beatles Quiz and of course, you cannot have a Beatles themed party without Strawberry (Fields) Cupcakes....

And the music? Well, that kind of takes care of itself!

So there we go, our top three ideas for parties and events currently on trend!

Of course, if you need some inspiration, then you can always give us a call and we can style your next event.

Have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 28th August

Welcome to a lovely short week! 

It might only be August (just), but before you know it, September will have been and gone, Halloween and Bonfire Night a distant memory, and then its Christmas.

Whilst we are of the opinion that Christmas should really start and end in December, in events you have to forward plan and since Easter, we have been inundated with news from venues about their Christmas schedules and programmes for 2012.

So, seeing as its a short, silly week, lets all don our winter woollies (given the weather not as daft a suggestion as it sounds), grab some hot chocolate, sit on Santa's lap and take a look at some of the great offerings around for you to consider for Christmas 2012.

Book early, and through Cloud 9, you might just be glad you did.....

If you are looking for a spectacular venue with an edge then you might want to try the Ministry of Sound - one of the few centric spaces which can guarantee an exciting event experience, with an award winning lighting and sound rig coming as standard. The venue can accommodate parties for 100 to 1500 guests, and can support a range of catering options from light canapés to a seated banquet, with menus from just £10.00pp. So, if you want something a bit different then the Ministry of Sound can organise everything from an Amusement Arcade to a Roller Disco, so dig out your leg warmers and party! London based but worth the trip.

If you are looking for something a bit closer to home (for our Nottingham clients) then you could try a Marco Pierre White Christmas at the Alea Casino in Nottingham.  In addition to a unique dining experience, there are also party nights throughout December with prices from just £28.00pp.  Whether its Legends of Vegas, Dirty Dancing, Take That, Abba, Grease or George Michael that floats your boat, then there is something for you in the run up to Christmas.  Reasonably priced buffets and set menus are available, and for those who want to push the boat out, then you might want to try the Marco Pierre White New Year’s Eve Dinner & Ball. Additionally Alea are offering some exceptional "experience" packages from just £10 which includes a drink, 30 minutes of tuition on Blackjack or Roulette and £2 free bet. You could win back the cost of your night!

You could also take advantage and book early at one of our favourite venues in the region, The Nottingham Belfry. There are numerous choices on offer including Classic Christmas Party Nights,  Disco Inferno Nights for those who love 70's and 80's music, and even Warm Up Nights in the run up to Christmas. With prices from just £20.00 per person and lots of fabulous accommodation deals, the Nottingham Belfry is a great option for the festive season. The Belfry also offers a great New Year Getaway with prices from just £139.00 and is also offering some fabulous deals for those visiting friends and family in the area from just £65.00 per room including breakfast.

If you fancy a more traditional celebration this Christmas then you might want to consider stepping back in time and enjoying The Heart of England's very own take on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.Enjoy freshly roasted chestnuts and the sounds of the Carollers as you prepare to enter the cobbled streets of Victorian England.Enjoy a sumptuous Three Course meal, before partying the night away with their DJ. They will entertain you until the early hours with a wide variety of music. The spectacular nightclub sound, laser and video show will rock you like no other! Prices for Tuesday to Thursday are just £29.95pp and for Friday & Saturday evenings throughout December £36.95pp and include an amazing themed room, arrival drink, sumptuous traditional three course meal, fun casino with prize for the best gambler, and a Disco until 1am.

 

For the more budget conscious amongst you, you might want to consider our sister service through Dazzling Table Displays. Christmas should be a magical time but if you get stuck with organising the office Christmas Party and decorations again, the spirit of Christmas can soon desert you! Dazzling Table Displays can work their magic on your behalf from as little as £99+vat for our Christmas Office Makeover & Party Pack. We can even cater an office party and organise a range of games and festive entertainment, designed to suit even the tiniest of budgets.

Normal service resumes at Cloud 9 next week so do join us for news on Fresh, the CIPR Northern Conference and lots of other exciting projects we are about to unveil.

Enjoy the week. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

---

---

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 18th June

Welcome to another week!

We start with news about the CIPR Northern Conference for 2012 which was originally scheduled for Wednesday 4th July at the Northern Ballet Theatre in Leeds. The venue has remained the same, but the date has now been changed to Thursday 11th October.

The postponement was due to a number of factors and the impact of the post Jubilee celebrations, the current Euro 2012 tournament and the forthcoming Olympics were also taken into account.

The positive side to this is that we are now in a position to secure some additional great names to add to the line up so please look out for news and updates coming soon.

If you had already booked for the event and have not yet responded to the emails we sent out to delegates please do get in touch so we can amend your booking or issue a refund if you are unable to attend on the new date.

This Thursday would have been our Royal Ascot Ladies Day event,  which unfortunately we had to cancel. However, looking at the weather forecast for the week ahead, it was perhaps a wise decision after all. Sunny spells and a few scattered afternoon showers on Tuesday and Wednesday with light winds. Becoming more generally cloudy and breezy during Thursday, with rain developing later, heavy at times. We think the wet weather could have put a serious dampener on the day! 

On to more positive news! Having run a huge variety of events for over 10 years we have collected an impressive amount of truly dazzling table decorations. From giant Martini Glasses that you can fill with marshmallows, to striking candle holders, our range is sure to add that extra special element to your events.

Buying decorations for an event can be an expensive business - and once you have used them, its unlikely that you will need them again. You don't want to throw them out so they will sit, boxed up and alone, taking up valuable storage space in your home, never to see the light of day again!With Dazzling Table Displays you can hire everything you need at incredibly cheap rates for as long as you want, and we even offer special weekend rates.

If creativity isn't your thing, but you still want to impress your guests, then we also have a decorating service which we can match to your colour scheme or your theme.

Weddings, parties, christenings, charity or gala balls, award ceremonies, graduations - you name it, we can deliver a truly spectacular setting on each table and dress the room to match.Ordering is simple, just take a look at what you would like to hire, decide how long you want to hire for, and use the link to book. www.dazzlingtabledisplays.com

Finally this week we welcome a new member to the team who is joining us over the Summer months, from Leeds Metropolitan University. Harriet is studying events and will no doubt be a valuable asset to Cloud 9 over our traditionally busy summer period - especially with Fresh! 

Welcome Harriet and Cloud 9 wishes everyone a great week!