an unforeseen party obstacle

I just wrapped up a busy and successful weekend.  While most of our clients live inside of the loop, one of repeat clients owns a gorgeous home in the suburbs where we have been a part of numerous events.  This client taught me what it means to be flexible.  They also taught me the importance of having a backup plan.  It seems that we are always running into hurdles when we work with them.  For example, it almost always rains during the setups.  If it’s not raining, it’s freezing cold.   The client travels internationally, making it difficult to schedule meetings and even harder to reach them when we need to make a crucial decision.  The guest count will shoot up within 48 hours (or less) of party time, causing us to scramble in a hundred directions in order to secure food product, alcohol, rental equipment and extra hands to help put it all together.  After planning 5 events with this client, I have learned to sit down and try to anticipate every single situation that may occur.  I wonder if the guest count will triple, or if the client will request a very rare bottle of cognac at the last moment, or if suddenly we will be asked to bring in an element of decor that we had not previously included.  I’ve begun more than one phone call to a vendor with the following phrase, “I know this is an unusual and very last minute request, but I really need you to make this happen!”  There is always something!

For the next few posts I will show you the various events we have executed with this amazing and challenging client.  A Fare Extraordinaire was happy to be a part of hosting a Charreada, a small seated business lunch, a Christmas Eve family gathering, a New Year’s Eve bash, and a “pre-wedding” wedding reception. 

Until then, I will introduce to you this client’s most interesting “party obstacle.”  His name is Bambi, and he can really make it difficult to set up an event!

I took this photograph from my car window the first time I visited the home of my client.  There were animals all along the driveway.

I was slightly alarmed when I got out of my car and saw that I had sparked someone’s curiosity.

Evidently I was the only one who was nervous.  As you can see, he was not shy!

Soon I was officially introduced to Bambi.  He was only months old in this picture.  We became fast friends.

Fast forward 9 months, I ran into Bambi again!  I was excited to see what a handsome young man he had become.

I quickly became less excited when he began biting my jacket zipper.  He did this nearly each time I tried to pass him to get into the home.  Alas, the setup had to continue, we had a party to throw in less than 2 hours!

Look closely at the picture above.  To the right is the building where we actually hosted the party.  To the left (partially hidden by trees) is a large white kitchen tent that we used to stage equipment and prepare the food.  Note the small slit in the white kitchen tent that is open for my staff to enter and exit.  Notice that Bambi is sneakily perched right next to it, awaiting each staff person so that he could head-butt them!  This is not a typical part of an event planner’s job.

Bambi caught me by surprise as I was walking out of the tent toward the event space.  This picture was taken just before I had some staff take him back to his barn for the duration of the event.  I am happy to tell you that the event went off without a hitch, and I can’t wait for the next post!