Mid-March, winners of the ACE awards took the stage at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. To enter, each contender was asked to identify the two events the company completed that it felt best represented the company, as well as challenges and favorite aspects.
Throughout the year, Catersource.com will profile the winners and nominees of the 2017 ACE awards. In the next installation of our series, we are placing a keen eye on Kristin Banta Events who took the ACE award for Event Operations under $2 million in the West region.
Events • West region • Operations under $2 million • Kristin Banta Events
From Runway to Altar: A Black and Gold Affair
“We chose this wedding to represent our company because this couple was not only very unique, but they were one of the best brand alignments we've had to date,” said Kristin Banta, Creative Director. Forward-thinking and out-of-the-box, this incredible couple was risk-taking at heart, “and while they were extremely hands-on throughout the process,” added Banta, “they trusted us to do what we do best, which is plan, design, and produce original content.”
As the team at Kristin Banta Events got to know the couple, they learned about their unique qualities and incorporated their style and interests into the wedding. While one half of the to-be-weds was more structured and simplistic, the other favored the lavish and opulent. Those two aesthetics could easily work against each other, but the team found a way to develop a cohesive design that was stylistically reflective of each groom.
Throughout the planning process, Kristin Banta Events worked diligently to stay within the client’s tight budget without straying from the original vision, provocatively designing each space to offer both drama and intrigue. From food and beverage to lighting, décor, and entertainment, every detail of the wedding was carefully curated with no detail overlooked.
Each space offered a simple yet striking design incorporating only two colors: black and gold, along with one single element installed en masse for dramatic effect.
Challenges
This event was challenging from both a design and budgetary standpoint. “The couple we worked with had large ideas for their dream wedding but not quite the budget to support it,” said Banta. “And while the concepts they offered were inspiring and exciting from a design standpoint (which offered us a lot of creative freedom), the ideas were also very broad scope, somewhat random, and difficult to achieve given their budget.
“We were challenged to develop a design that streamlined their ideas in order to create a cohesive concept, while still achieving their vision and finding creative ways to maintain their bottom line,” she mentioned.
Cocktail hour: back bar displays 40 fish bowls, each with a single Black Moor goldfish.
Favorite touches
Entirely comprised of only gold and black decor and accents throughout four unique spaces, all elements were inspired by aspects of the couple's journey together. There were a number of elements incorporated into this event that the team felt were innovative and outside of the box. Some of these original features included:
• A triple-length cocktail bar featuring 50 feet of backwall shelves placed end-to-end with oversized bubble bowls, each housing one single black goldfish.
The runway-inspired aisle featured black velvet fabric
500 yards of luxe black velvet lined the stairs and hallway and continued all of the way down the aisle and draped the altar (as shown above)
• A four-post ceremony arch draped in luxe black velvet which continued all the way down the aisle, through the halls of the mezzanine and down the stairs, measuring 500 yards in length. This guided guests from the pre-ceremony cocktail hour into the ballroom ceremony.
• A dramatic three-lane runway-style processional featuring the 16-person bridal party, thoughtfully styled in couture black gowns and tuxes, gold accessories, and high-fashion hair and makeup individually curated for each.
During the first course, a digital mapping of Turkey was projected
A 360 degree digital projection mapping of Japan was shown during the second course
• A four-course dinner featuring elaborate 360-degree digitally mapped scenes of Turkey, Japan, Spain, and Mexico (all inspired by places the couple traveled together). Looking to stimulate the five senses, guests were immediately immersed in a one-of-a-kind dining experience upon being seated, transporting them to each country to via sight, sound, and taste.
The Black and Gold afterparty featured Love Wall backsplash, gold dancefloor, and paper airplane installaton
• An art installation comprised of 100 black paper airplanes dipped in gold which was hung in a distinctive flight pattern within the skylights above the dance floor.
• A black and gold graffiti “Love Wall” was featured as the backsplash for the custom stage.
The afterparty featured a beehve backbar unit and gold decor
• A black beehive-styled after party backbar featured a unique collection of items including guns, gym shoes, stilettos, boxing gloves, initials, and other inspired decor items, all painted solid gold.
All photos courtesy Kristin Banta Events
Next week on Catersource.com: Kristin Banta Events’ Asian Voyage Sail-Away Party
