Beechwood Cancer Care had always been close to our heart here at Saving Grace Events. The theme ‘An Afternoon in Paris’ had already been agreed, and Beechwood brought us in to bring this theme to reality. Beechwood wanted to maximise fundraising for the charity and also satisfy expectations of existing supporters, whilst also generating new interest and potential sponsors.
So, as promised we brought Paris to Manchester! We created a traditional Parisian street as the centrepiece to the event, complete with Arc de Triomphe and Champs’s Elysees. We accessorised the event with authentic looking street signs and lanterns, and the Parisian street also doubled as a catwalk and central stage. The whole atmosphere oozed Parisian charm! To maximise fundraising and add an extra dimension to the event, a Parisian market flanked the far end of the room, where guests could buy gifts, jewellery etc.
The catwalk design spanned the length of the room to ensure that guests had a premium view, regardless of the table location and all guests could interact with the immersive, pop up entertainment throughout the afternoon. Entertainment started with a Parisian Street-Style, 3-piece jazz band and was followed by can-can dancers, fire breathers and renowned singer Paul Pashley’s velvet tones.
We worked closely with Mark & Spencer and popular clothing brand Forever Unique for a catwalk show. Charlotte Tilbury also provided the glamour for make-up. We choreographed a 20-minute sophisticated but fun, high-energy fashion show and managed the show back and front stage. We were working with both professional models and survivors of cancer, so our job was to make them look and feel incredible and give them the confidence to take on the catwalk and they most certainly did!
We love an after-party, so we treated VIP Guests to Parisian themed cocktails up in the skyline bar. The stunning views, overlooking the city with Jazz singer Jane Ralph, kept the party going into the early evening.
We received some amazing verbatim feedback from guests at the event. The overwhelming response was 90% of guests said they would definitely return next year and it was a well put together and sophisticated event! We also added an additional revenue stream by suggesting a live auction item which raised £2500 that otherwise wouldn’t have been raised for the charity.
Beechwood Cancer Care
Charity
