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How to impress with a business dinner

Business dinners are a great way to combine relaxed fun and entertainment with professionalism and networking. They offer guests a chance to mingle, catch up, and learn more about each other in a more casual environment than the office or board meeting scene.  

A business dinner might be planned to celebrate milestones; to thank and recognise clients, customers or staff; to introduce new products, services, or ideas; or simply to continue with long-standing traditions. They offer guests a chance to let their hair down while also cementing your brand identity in their minds.

Some things to keep in mind when planning a business dinner to impress include:

Venue

First things first – a great venue will delight your guests as soon as they arrive. Perhaps the venue is in a gorgeous location, is modern, sleek or awe-inspiring. Ensure your guests enter your business dinner with a smile on their face.

Entertainment

For a business dinner, an engaging or classy choice of entertainment is best, such as a presentation by a motivational speaker, or a smooth and slow band to set the mood.

Catering

Impressive food doesn’t need to be oysters or caviar. Your chosen venue may offer dining specialties that can give your dinner a point of difference. Often, the most impressive options involve presenting tried and true favourites in new ways.

AV and styling

Advances in audiovisual technology mean there are endless ways to inspire guests at a business dinner. From lighting up the tables in your brand colours, to projecting your logo onto the walls – there are no shortage of ways to thrill. Add this to themed styling and decor, and your guests will be talking about this dinner for weeks to come!

Contact us today to start planning your next business dinner!

What style of catering should you have at your event?

Food has a special place at all events; it brings people together in a fun and engaging way, and will give your guests a culinary experience to remember. The catering at an event can make up a large portion of your budget, so you want to make sure you’re choosing the right catering style for your event type. When matched with creative audiovisual elements, your choice of catering can further enhance the wow factor.

Here are some of the most popular catering styles:

Banquet Dinner

A banquet style dinner is a more formal, sit down catering style. It usually includes a set amount of courses, for example; entree, main, and dessert. Everyone at the table gets their food at the same time and you can spread out activities such as speeches, awards, entertainment or dancing in between courses. Banquet dinners are a great opportunity to dazzle your guests with pin-spotlight lighting on their individual tables, which can also be coloured to match your brand or theme.

Cocktail

A cocktail catering style means your guests have the opportunity to mingle and network while finger food gets served around the room. It’s a great way for people to interact and network with each other throughout the event, and an optimal choice for adding music to complement the atmosphere.

Food Stations

More and more we are seeing special food stations set up in event spaces. This could mean a dessert bar, a juice station, or a tapas section. Guests make their own way to each station and choose what they like. Food stations can be set up to go along with a more traditional style of catering such as a banquet, or as stand alone catering. Creative lighting and theming can help enhance food stations, creating further appeal.

Whatever you decide, we’re sure your event will be a treat for the tastebuds! Talk to us for more ideas.