You're Hosting a Corporate Dinner - What Will You Need?

A corporate dinner can be an occasion to mark any number of things. It can be used to solidify relationships between clients and your company, introduce you to new clients or be introduced to new movements in your particular industry. What doesn't change is that it takes an awful lot of money and time to put on a successful event. Successful planning is the key to a memorable night. Hold a brainstorming session early on in the planning stages, thinking about what you'll need and what you want out of the night. Here are a few things to remember when planning your corporate event.

Theme your event. This can be uncomfortable if to forced, so keep it light on the theme, have a general idea behind the event, not a strictly-enforced dress code. Your clients and staff will not want to turn up to a corporate function dressed as a fairy, no matter how much you might want them to.

Mixing business and pleasure. Your event is for the enjoyment of your guests, don't make it a dry affair with constant business talk. Have some fun elements to your function.

Food and beverages. This is the reason most people stay at events as long as they do. Have this sorted out by professionals. See if the venue can sort it out for you or if they can recommend a good company to use.

Food. Planning food carefully can save time and money. Using set menus will eliminate the risk of running out of food like a buffet may.

Beverages. You should decide early on what kind of beverages will be served at your event. Alcoholic or not? What percentage. Consider if there will be children or young people at the function.

Audio visual production. What really makes an event is the entertainment you can offer your guests and that is all channelled through a good audio-visual system. Here's a few things to consider: PA. This is the bare bones of any audio visual set-up. If your event involves awards, speeches or (heaven forbid) karaoke, you will need a PA. This is simply a set of speakers with an amplifier and mixer. Microphones can be run through the PA along with background music and soundtracks to visual components of your night.

Projectors. If your event has a visual element to it, the best choice to go for is a roof-mounted projector. This can be synced up to your PA system and will provide high-quality pictures projected onto a large area.

Lights. Nothing sets a mood better than a good lighting set up. Consider the theme of your event and try to organise a light setup that matches it. Remember that people want to eat their meals without lasers flying about, so be sure you have the lighting for the evening planned out.

Corporate events are an fantastic way to grow your company's profile and put the message out there to existing and potential clients that your company is the best at what you do. They are cost-effective ways to impress, entertain and introduce, and it pays to invest the right thinking into planning.