Victoria Event

Location

Fairmont Empress Hotel, Victoria

Guests

100

Client Sector

Automotive

Notable Elements

Floatplanes from hotel to private garden dinner.

Whimsical surprise after party.

Objective

This group of Texas automotive dealer owners like to go big! We were tasked to create a “larger-than-life” after party that was non-traditional, unfolding in a succession of surprises from the minute guests left the hotel.

Challenges

  • Every vignette for the evening needed to be surprising, exclusive, and entertaining.
  • Dining at the beautiful Butchart Gardens required working with heritage-style architecture and lack of infrastructure to support audio and lighting.
  • After dinner party at the Fairmont Empress Hotel meant working in a non-traditional space with built-in features including lots of pillars.
  • Our “Alice in Wonderland” concept appealed to the decision maker, but it could be a risky choice for Texan Automotive Dealers.
  • Our client contracted headline entertainment separately which didn’t particularly go with the theme or the small footprint of the venue.

Strategy

  • To deliver the unexpected, we thought about how this evening would unfold from the guests’ perspective.
  • We surprised guests with float plane to Butchart Gardens for an elegant dinner event.
  • After dinner, the return luxury coaches pulled over to pick up two ‘hitchhikers”: our friends Tweedledee and Tweedledum in full costume and character.
  • Guests were delighted by the whimsical story characters throughout the entire event.
  • Large props added magic to the space and animated the “Alice in Wonderland” theme.
  • The band’s rider and requirements provided an interesting opportunity to re-think what was possible and resulted in an exclusive and intimate experience for guests in a colourful, fun atmosphere.

The Result

This lavish, Mad Hatter themed finale was the highlight of a three-day incentive program that transported guests through the looking glass and into a colorful, whimsical world where surprises waited around every corner. Guests danced amongst oversized props with the Mad Hatter and Alice, posed with the Queen of Hearts for photo ops, and reminisced to the sounds of REO Speedwagon. Our client trusted us to tie each element of the program together seamlessly, and the result is an experience worthy of the history books.

Our winners, spouses and hosts had the time of their lives! They loved every minute of it... that was the BEST final night event... Please know how much you helped me and my team create such a once of a lifetime experience in Victoria!

Your team planned and executed our client’s BEST PROGRAM EVER!

...another huge success... tremendous amount of support we received from your team in both the pre-planning and on-site execution... we were just blown away and loved seeing our vision really come to light.

PDS made this evening one of the most memorable events in the history of our client’s 35+ years of programs. As you could tell from the standing ovations on both evenings, this event was stunning and magical!

it was the best ever in the 50 years we have been hosting this prestigious event. ..the standing ovation at the end of the evening said it all!

...you ALL absolutely KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK! .... my email hasn’t stopped buzzing... congratulated us on the design, production & flawless execution of this event.

I feel so excited to share my gratitude with you all! This is exactly the partnership that I was aiming for...YOU ARE ALL MY “A” TEAM.