The biz of kids event styling is growing ever so popular, the idea of creating a wonderful, magical space for your child to enjoy, with particular attention given to ensuring all the props and goody bags harmoniously blend together is an absolute must these days!
The desire to create an ‘Instagramable’ event is definitely on the rise, you only have to scroll through your socials to realise it’s a growing trend. Zurri sat down with Mary Ronis to find out the dos and don’ts of creating an Instagram worthy event!
What do you see is the biggest celebration within the children’s event industry?
Hands down Christenings and birthdays on an even scale. Birthdays have gotten a lot more popular. First Birthdays are huge, usually birthdays that follow after that are not as big. Milestone birthdays 16th, 13th, double digits, are also quite big but it also depends on the individual client. Christenings and other religious celebrations are also pretty big on the spectrum.
Where to start when planning an event for your child?
First thing is getting your date and guest list, then deciding on a venue is next taking into consideration whether you want to host your event indoors or outdoors, sit down (well, obviously Covid now so we all have to do sit down). These are the elements that you need to think of, these are the foundations. Then it's time to decide on a specific theme based on a character, a television show, movie, cartoon, Disney there are just so many themes you can choose from.
A lot of people love the themed parties but there is also an audience who don’t have a character theme in mind and will opt for a theme based on colours. They will come to me and say, we don’t have a theme but I love tones of blush, white with hints of gold for example and we will work with that. This will be what drives your invitations and the styling of your event. Once this is decided, you can start booking in all your suppliers and then really there is nothing more to do then wait for the day.
Some people are savvy and can do it themselves. If you engage a stylist they will do the work for you from sourcing venues to setting up on the day! That's the beauty of hiring someone. You can be rest assured most of the work is a non- headache and they will deal with it all for you.
What are the must haves and things we shouldn't miss when planning our perfect event?
The cake! Your cake is your center piece and where you are usually going to take most of your family photos so the cake has to be something quite beautiful, as well as the area around the cake. My biggest thing is tablecloths and linen, if your napkins and tablecloths are beautiful everything else is going to look beautiful.
Best place to draw inspiration? (other than yours and our Instagram page)
Pintrest and Instagram accounts (like ours! yay) who showcase party inspiration. My number 1 is Pintrest, I like that they email you suggestions and sometimes you'll see something you would never usually think of but it inspires you to do something different.
Average cost of a children’s event?
Average cost these days is around $5000 across the board. Take into consideration also, these COVID times have meant that we are unable to get the normal supply of usual decor like ribbons and flowers for example which has driven the price up for these items. This means you end up paying a lot more for things like florals, sometimes almost double.
What’s the process like when a client reaches out to work with you?
I am very transparent upfront, so I'll provide my fees and booking form detailing everything my service covers then we meet and discuss, what they like and which direction they want to go in. I will then design a mood board and go back and discuss with the client their choices and come up with a concept that's unique just for them. I stay in contact with the client throughout the entire process and may meet again before the event to finalise all the details. I offer a full service which means I will liaise with suppliers, venues, organise run sheets and catering. We come in on the day set it all up and pack it all down once its all finished! (isn't this just icing on the cake?)
xoxo