Draped Canopy with Satin Linen

Here's a recent event Party Production Rentals did for a family who wanted to hold an elegant celebration at their home in Rancho Santa Fe. 

Canopy Draping
The standard "work horse" canopy in the party & event industry is a frame tent.  These are assembled at the job site and are very functional for providing shelter.  

There are different ways to dress up a canopy, but one way that provides a very elegant touch is by draping the inside of the canopy top with a tent liner - as shown in the picture below.  We draped the canopy and covered the poles in white so that utilitarian aspects of the canopy are not visible.  These element do add expense to the canopy, but for the right event and budget, it's a great touch. 

Satin Linen
Another standard in our industry is the use of polyester blend fabric for tablecloths.  They are cost-effective and come in a variety of colors and sizes.  However, there are many "specialty" fabrics that make for great table linen as well.  One of our favorites is satin.  Satin linen provide timeless elegance with their silky look, and they draw attention to themselves because of how they catch the light.  This client went with turquoise satin tablecloths and napkins to compliment their dramatic centerpieces and silver Chiavari chairs.  The effect is dramatic! 

Backyard Wedding for 250+

If you have the space - and especially the setting - a backyard wedding can be a really special event.  We recently did a wedding in the Crest area of El Cajon that took advantage of the great views and the large yard this house had to offer.  The clients wanted to transform their dirt pad into an elegant yet comfortable venue for their daughter's wedding.

We put up 2 canopies in an L shape to wrap around their house and provide enough coverage for the 250+ guests.  We covered the ground with over 4000 square feet of green turf, which really transformed the dirt pad.  Inside the canopies, we strung ping-pong lights with paper lanterns, which creates a festive environment and gives off plenty of light. 

  

They had a sufficient budget to do the event right, but as always, there were trade-offs in the areas that were more important to them.  For example, they opted for basic plastic chairs and dressed them up with chocolate brown sashes, but went with a satin tablecloths and napkins for elegance.  They opted not to drape the inside of the canopy (ceiling), but had us cover the canopy legs in white as a more visual element.  This is a delightful family, and we enjoyed working with them to help them meet their goals. 

Overall, I think we were successful in achieving the feel they were going for.  According to the bride's mom, we had exceeded their daughter's expectations... and that, after all, is what it's all about.  

Party Production Rentals provided all the party gear you see in the pictures... canopies, tables, chairs, dance floor, lighting, linen, flatware and china - all except the flowers and centerpieces (though we offer centerpieces as well). Let us know if we can help you plan your dream backyard event. 

Birch Acquarium - Miracle Maker's Event

A few new nights ago we had the honor of attending the Rady Children's Hospital Miracle Maker's Appreciation Event at Birch Aquarium. "Miracle Makers" are corporations or community groups that raise more than $5,000 in a year to help fund the great work that goes on at Rady Children's Hospital. 

We've been to these events in the past, but this year's event was especially exciting for us.  First, Max and Jake's Big Race - an organization we run with our friend Jerilyn Hammerstrom (Max's Mom) - was recognized at the event for be a top "Community Miracle Maker."  Through Max and Jake's Big Race, we've raised over $150,000 for Rady Children's Hospital over the last 4 years. 

Second, our rental company - Party Production Rentals - was used to provide all the rentals (tables, chairs, linen, umbrellas, P.A., glasses, etc).  Normally we don't get to see the events our team sets up, so it was fun to be able to stay and enjoy the great party with the rest of the guests.

And third, it was at Birch Aquarium, where the view and the exhibits provide a beautiful and enjoyable backdrop for many types of events.  We've not only provided rentals for a number of events there, we've  attended many events there.  The guests always seem to enjoy the space, and we certainly did the other night.

Here are a few pictures of the set-up.  Let us know if we can help you with an event at Birch - or your next event for your non-profit organization. 

More Events, Ideas

We've been quite busy recently, so I haven't been as active in getting blog posts up.  However, I wanted to take a quick moment to post a few recent pictures.

Here's one from Cuvier Park in La Jolla that our operations manager, Kim, took. This is a fun pattern that's great for a smaller ceremony like this one for 40 people. 

These are from a canopy set-up in Lakeside for a wedding reception, as we were setting up.  (Unfortunately, I don't have pictures from the event when all was done, but I hope to get some.)  This 40x60' canopy features a liner, pole draping, chandeliers, and a black under-lament to serve as a floor over the dirt surface.  The happy couple were both musicians, so they had a prominent stage with large dance floor for music to play a big role in their reception.  They used satin chair covers to add a little extra elegance.  This set-up is more affordable than you might think, so give us a call if you'd like to discuss something similar.

Here's a recent table that Paula set up for a client featuring a colorful organza overlay.

Here is part of the set-up from a health fair we did last weekend.  They were going to have some kind of fun Spanish dance on the stage.  We set up more chairs and booths inside the gymnasium. 

Of course, it's graduation season, so we've been keeping busy with those as well.

Banquet Tables Make for an Intimate Gathering

We recently had our older son Nate's First Communion.  Following the mass, we had a small group of friends and family over for brunch.  Nate picked out the menu, of course, complete with bacon, breakfast potatoes, cinnamon rolls, black berries, croissants, and a few egg dishes.

When we entertain at our house for a sit-down meal, we like to have everyone sitting down at the same table if possible.  This gets challenging when your guest count starts getting high (or you don't have the space), but we've done it for as many as 26 at one large "table."  When we've had 26, it was actually six 6' banquet tables put together, but it makes a much more intimate event when you get everyone at the same table.  It's fun to be able to see everyone.  This is especially nice if there's one guest of honor, as everyone will get to sit at the table with him or her. 

For Nate's brunch, we had 18 people, and we used two 8' banquet tables together with some umbrellas alongside to provide some shade.  We all got to see Nate, who insisted on sitting at the head of the table for his special day.

Overall, the brunch was a great success!  This set-up works well for dinner parties, baby showers, wedding showers, birthday parties, and more.  You can use 6' or 8' banquet tables and put them together - the # would depend on your space and how many people you want to fit.

You can also put 2 tables together to make a wider table if you're serving family style or need more room at the table.  You can see this table is much wider, but it's simply 2 banquet tables together. 

These are just a few ideas to get you started planning your next intimate gathering.  Let us know if we can help.  Keep in mind that Party Production Rentals has more than just tables and chairs, but linen, china, market umbrellas, lighting and much more.

Event Pictures!

One of the caterers we work with just sent over a batch of pictures she's taken from recent events we've done with her company.  Here are a few:

New Rental Products

Paula and I just got back from the American Rental Association's Rental Show in Las Vegas.  Besides taking in some good shows and food, we purchased some new equipment for Party Production Rentals from the many vendors who show off their wares at the show. 

We frequently rent serpentine bars to clients who want to have a nice serving beverage serving station at their events.  We now have 2 additional bar solutions in the same price range (see catalog):

The 4' bar doesn't require linen and comes only in the black above, but the 6' bar with linen can come in a variety of colors depending on the feel you want for your event.

We've also been expanding our lighting options.  In addition to having the ability to design a custom lighting package from basic to elegant for all types of events, we have a new lighting option for our canopies:

This is a simple, but interesting lighting option that is cost-effective and provides a good amount of light for smaller canopies (e.g., 20x20, 20x30).

We also get frequent requests for backdrops for events - to go behind a stage, cover a wall or unseemly area, or section off a room.  As a result, we purchased our own pipe-and-drape, with both black and white draping.  The panels are 8' high and come in sections of up to 10'.  Each section rents for $55.

We also purchased a new podium to go with our growing selection of audio/visual equipment. 

There are more new products to come, so stay tuned - and feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about any of these items.

SoNo Park Holiday Fest - Success in the Street!

It's now been a few weeks since we put on the SoNo Park Holiday Fest.  The event was a street fair in North Park benefiting McKinley Elementary, and we had 3 goals:

1. Raise money for McKinley's arts and music programs - our target being at least as much as we did in 2009 with the Chili Cook-Off and Arts and Crafts Fair.
2. Draw in the community to support McKinley.  The school had a tendency to hit up the school families over and over again. We wanted to start an event where the community would pay to participate, and we would build a knowledge and experience base to do it again in the future.
3. Last but not least, put on a fun event! We wanted attendees, restaurants, bands and vendors to want to do it again and go away talking about it so they'd draw in even more people for the next year.  They'd also see what a special school McKinley is because they do this kind of event.

I'm pleased to say that met all 3 goals.  Having goals really helped us focus our efforts and to set expectations with the McKinley PTC and participating businesses.  It's also a basis for us to say we were successful.  While we haven't completed the final accounting for the event, we've surpassed last year's fund-raising from the 2 events we replaced by more than $1,000.  We wanted to get at least 1000 people to attend from the local community, and our best estimate is that we had more than 2000.  And while the "fun" aspect is harder to measure, the anecdotal evidence suggests people had a great time.  We received many compliments from a broad range of participants, such as "This was the best street fair ever!"  Perhaps most importantly, we learned a lot, and we have many insights that will enable us to make next year's event even more successful - especially financially.  In light of our fun goal, we may have erred on the side of providing too much value.  Something for us to consider.

I'll go into some of learning at a different time.  In the meantime, here are some pictures of the event, and I've highlighted some of the gear provided by Party Production Rentals: beer tent, belly bar with linen, stage, canopies, pop-ups, tables with umbrellas. 

Party Production Rentals for Your San Diego Party Rentals

Party Production Rentals is proud to announce we have expanded our outstanding San Diego party rental service to reach more of Southern California. We're now serving San Diego to Riverside and from Long Beach to Palm Springs and everything between. Whether you're having a Special Event, Private Party, Wedding, Corporate Event or a Romantic Dinner when it comes to your party rental needs we are here to help. Our experience means that you will be 100% satisfied.

Now, for your convenience we have a new party planning form to plan your event needs. Please browse our catalog, then go to the form and select the items you need, enter your information, and one of our experts on San Diego party rentals will contact you within 24 hours to help you with your party planning.

We look forward to servicing you!