When Form Meets Function

Making parties look good isnʼt enough, folks. Making sure they are logistically sound and ready to withstand the crowd in every possible scenario is crucial to a guest experience that will leave them wanting more.

To ensure your next event is both pretty and well produced, consider the following:

Has the venue been selected prior to your client hiring you? If so, during the ideation phase, ensure that you discuss ideas that work with the space rather than trying to make the space work for your ideas. Big ideas are great, but only when they make sense in the space. How many of us have sold an idea to a client in the excitement of the moment only to let them down when they find out that it will cost $25,000 to make it happen in their selected venue?

Measurements matter. Anyone can draw circles or squares on a floor plan, but ensuring that the design works with the math is key to a ground plan and design that will actually work. Seems obvious, right? Think again ... to design with function, remember that you need more than a good sense of style. Inches and feet matter and your venue deserves a ground plan that will match the final product right down to the square inch.

Ask the experts. Design is a collaboration, and, at the end of the day, an idea can only come to life with the work of many event professionals. The florist knows what will work during the spring versus the fall, a tent company will know what materials will stand up to the elements in the winter and a linen company will help you determine what new products will bring your clientʼs vision to life. When we work together, we learn from each other and our combined expertise makes even greater design.

Think like a guest. See it, hear it, smell it, touch it and taste it the way your guest would before presenting the design. This will ensure that you have thought of every scenario that could arise and your design will stand up to the elements of the event. Again, what seems obvious is suprisingly rarely thought about by many event professionals and is the piece of the puzzle that separates the novices from the pros.

When form meets function, you get hired again and again.

—Amy

About Amy Zaroff: As a former television producer and restaurateur, everything Amy Zaroff has done in her career has been focused on producing incredible experiences and making memories.

The team at Amy Zaroff Events + Design is in the business of creating life’s most memorable celebrations through a distinct process that captures your vision and brings your dreams to reality. Every event detail is handled with care and nothing is overlooked, from party etiquette to thank you notes, and everything in between.

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