The Sound & Light Hire Company Supplying Sound, Lighting & Stage for Birthday Party in Surrey
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Things have been so busy here and the Sound & Light Hire Company that we haven’t had time to tell you about a celebration we supplied equipment and event services to back in March. We were tasked to provide the sound, lighting, and stage for a joint 30th and 60th birthday celebration of a mother and daughter.
So without further ado, let’s tell you all about it!
Surrey Event Company Designs and Delivers Ultimate Birthday Party
As mentioned above, we were contacted by a private client concerning a joint birthday celebration at Surrey venue whereby we are the preferred supplier for all manner of event production services, namely sound, lighting, and stage hire. After being passed on their details by the venue, we immediately got in touch with the individual client to set up an initial chat and a site visit.
We arrived on-site and got to work straight away on securing the exclusive use of one of the “wings” of this prestigious venue, which our generous venue partner kindly offered without any quibbles. By doing so, we gained the freedom of the entire space so that we could work on setting up (and disassembling) equipment unencumbered by the presence of other guests. In case you were wondering what we mean, the venue in question offers hotel accommodation as part of their multifaceted operations.
The premise for this birthday celebration was simple but elegant. Much like the singer Sam Sparro, this party was going to be dominated by a “Black and Gold” theme. One we’d worked out the finer details of the brief with the client, it was time to go away on work on creating a completely bespoke proposal for the client.
Our in-house design team got to work straight away and provided the client with a 3D render of the venue to visualise how our technical equipment and design choices would look when in place. She was thrilled with what she saw and gave us the go-ahead to get to work organising the logistical and technical aspects of pulling it off.
Surrey Stage Hire For Joint Birthday Party
Once the morning of the party rolled around, it was time for the hard work to start! We started by setting up the drapes which were to be hung up around the perimeter of the grand hall. We used lightweight black and gold clothes, unsurprisingly, to match the theme given to us by the client. We then completed the overall look of the venue by placing LED-lit furniture, such as cubes and poseur tables strategically across the grand dining hall, ready to be turned on and set to gold colour once the guests began to arrive.
While the brief included all aspects of event production, our primary emphasis was on the sound, lighting, and indeed the stage elements of this party. Our primary focus after making those nice preparatory touches to the venue was to get to work constructing the stage.
In terms of the stage we provided, the client opted for our suggestion of a 6m x 4m stage hire package, which had been tweaked to include 1m legs to elevate the booked live band well above the ground. Our bandstand-style stage comes complete with handrails, steps, and the legs mentioned above. Our stage crew had certainly eaten their Weetabix on this particular morning as they managed to erect the stage in under an hour, even though there were added customisations required to accommodate the additional height of the stage.
Once the stage was nearing completion, the focus then turned to erecting the truss structures upon which the lighting fixtures would be rigged.
Event Company in Surrey Provides Lighting Hire for Birthday Party
As touched on, the next stage was setting up all of the lighting equipment for the evening’s entertainment. Once we have erected a stage-based truss, we started adding the lights. What we supplied was an iteration of our live band lighting hire package, with a few extras. We started with eight Showtec M800 Tour PAR cans to wash the stage in a range of colours, but then we also added a couple of moving head fixtures, and Equinox Revolution disco lights, a couple of lasers, and a smoke machine to help bring the best out of the lighting equipment.
As mentioned, the live band were going to be followed by a DJ, so we needed to have lighting equipment capable of showing off both set of entertainers. There are nuanced differences between the two, with DJs having a strong preference for lasers over more traditional stage lighting options. Since we had all angles covered, there were certainly no complaints from either entertainment act!
Dotted around the rest of the venue, we supplied wireless LED uplighters to set the mood and ambience for the evening. In case you hadn’t already guessed, the colour for these uplighters was a suave shade of gold, very much in keeping with the theme! We ran these from the outdoor entrance of the wing of the venue sectioned off for us, right through the foyer, and into the grand hall where the main festivities were taking place.
Finally, we set up a variety of pin spots around the room to beam sharp beams of gold light against the back drapes and black table dressings.
While the lighting technicians were busy setting up all of these fixtures, our sound engineers were working just as hard setting up all of the sound requirements for the live band and DJ.
Sound & Light Hire Company Provide Sound Equipment Hire for Surrey Party
While the stage and lights were crucial, there wouldn’t have been much of an event without us providing top-of-the-range sound equipment for hire. Concerning the sound requirements, they actually started outside of the main hall.
As highlighted above, there was an entrance foyer where the birthday guests arrived, checked in their coats and accessories, and grabbed a glass of bubbly before making their way into the grand hall. The client requested that we had some form of sound equipment in there along with the uplighters to get guests in the party spirit! “No problem!” we replied.
We set up a couple of EV ZLX 12P active PA speakers that played a phone-based playlist chosen by the event host. The client said the small but very powerful speakers helped to get guests in the foyer in the right mood for the evening and helped to invoke the spirit of the planned festivities. The desired effect was achieved with the help of the golden glow coming from the ensemble uplighter lighting arrangement.
Next, as you might not be surprised to learn, our focus was very much turned to the stage. Again, we had to cater for two distinct types of act, a live band and a DJ, which required a hybrid approach to the sound.
Initially, our attention was paid to the requirements of the live band. We set up a range of state-of-the-art kit, including an arrangement of d&b Audiotechnik Q1 Midtop speakers, Qsub bass speakers, and D12 power amps. This premium sound arrangement ensured that the band had crystal clear vocals and booming, immersive bass for the audience to enjoy.
We also supplied the following supporting sound gear:
- Speaker stands
- Mackie Pro FX12 Live Band Mixing Desk
- Shure SM58 Microphones
- Shure Drum Kit Mic
- K&M Microphone Stands
- Proel D2 DI boxes
- All the power & signal cables
- 3.5mm aux cable for laptop/phone playback while the band took a break
Waiting in the wings, we also had our team on standby on the evening itself to reconfigure the existing sound setup to better accommodate the DJ and integrate his personal equipment. Amazingly, he hadn’t yet worked with d&d audiotechnik speakers on any of his gigs. Let’s just say he’s now very much a convert and understands why we place so much faith in this industry-leading brand!
On-Site Event Services Support
The time for the evening’s proceedings came, our on-site team took over to ensure everything ran smoothly on the night. We had one of the team on the lighting desk to choreograph some dazzling lighting displays both for when guests arrived, during the live band performances, and he handled the DJ set too.
On the sound side, we once again had one of our experienced engineers on the mixing desk, overseeing the initial soundcheck, and then subsequently handling all of the mixing during the live band’s performance itself.
Both employees were also on hand to answer any questions, and our sound guy helped fix an issue with speakers the initial foyer reception when they stopped playing. As it turned out, it was nothing to do with the speakers. Rather, someone had pulled the cable loose from the phone that was connected to the speakers, stopping the playback. It was merely a two-second fix, but that’s what our team are there for!
Excellent Feedback for Sound & Lighting Plus Staging Hire in Surrey
While we are a business that operates to make a profit, there’s nothing better than receiving excellent feedback from a client. In this instance, it’s fair to say our client was pretty gushing in her compliments. Given that we received this text on the same night as the party, it’s fair to assume a few wines had been consumed!
Either way, our client sent us a text after arriving back from the party. She said:
“Can you pass on my thanks to everyone at the Sound & Light Hire Company who made this birthday one that I’ll cherish for the rest of my days. From the moment I walked into the venue, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The drapes worked exactly as envisioned. The lighting was just as dramatic as promised, and, well, what can I say about the entertainment show you produced for us? Superb!”
We actually met the client (who was one of those celebrating a birthday) the following morning, as we finished up the deconstruction process. While she won’t mind us saying she was a little worse for wear (we have her permission, promise!), she was no less grateful for the hard work we had put in to make it a success. To be fair, some of us were pretty tired too (it was a late finish), but her praise really put the icing on the cake.
Use the Sound & Light Hire Company to Plan, Design, and Oversee Your Event Production
Here at the Sound & Light Hire Company, we are a Surrey event company that can easily take care of all technical production aspects for your event. Whether it’s a birthday party or a wedding, we can provide the sound, lighting, stage, and all kinds of other event production elements such as furniture and LED video screens.
If you want to enjoy the ease of working with just one Surrey-based company for all of your event production needs, then don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 8611136. We can walk you through the entire process and offer a range of options suitable for your specific occasion. Crucially, we can also provide the on-site support you may require to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.
Even if you need advice, just give us a call. We’ll here ready and waiting to help your event become a rip-roaring success!
Come and get in touch about your next event, we look forward to hearing from you soon.
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