Seasonal Events: Planning Events In Spring, Summer, Autumn Or Winter

Seasonal events: Tips for all seasons
If you haven't yet decided when to organise your next corporate event, there are several things to consider. 

Some important seasonal event factors may include choice, budget, location, type of venue space, availability, holidays and important events, weather conditions and venue suitability for the seasonal theme.

Summer events dos and don'ts

A summer event is always a highly popular option for a corporate event.

Why? 

Because the sun is shining, you can have an outdoors event (and at night as well) and you have an enormous range of venues to choose from. And let's face it, everyone is in the mood to party!

Do

• Be flexible if your favourite venue is booked out - have you thought about booking a mid-week event to secure the venue of your dreams (and save money?
• Consider organising a corporate event around Christmas-time if you'd like to invite your clients' or employees’ family to maximise the holiday spirit!
• Remember that mid-February summer events are more expensive for floristry thanks to the rocketing price of roses and so on at Valentine’s Day/
• Allow time for items to be custom-made, especially if the firm closes for several weeks over Christmas/New Year

Don't

• Think you're restricted to beach themed events - you could have a wonderful outdoor festival event theme, in a park or garden, or set your corporate event in an historic venue
• Delay in securing your venue - competition is fierce for summer events
• Dismiss a summer corporate breakfast - the sun rises early and it's less hot for clients - plus it frees them up to attend lunch, cocktail and late night parties
• Forget to give your clients lots of lead time and send the invitations (electronic or paper version) early to ensure a high rate of attendance for this busy event season

Tips for a gorgeous autumn event

Why are autumn events such a good seasonal event option?

Autumn celebrations offer warm days and crisp evenings and seem especially made for rustic affairs in barns, vineyards, orchards and farms with the bounty of harvest time.

What a wonderful theme for corporates to celebrate their bounty and good fortune with clients.

After November, did you know March and May are the next most popular months for the event industry in Australia?

Do

• Consider an outdoors event. The gorgeous golden-red leaves will give you amazing visual content for your social media
• Consider organising an event at lunchtime if you love that sumptuous yet rustic harvest feast look with lots of communal tables
• Check if Easter falls on your event weekend as this can drive up prices, and reduce hotel availability.
• Be prepared for surprisingly hot days for an autumn event, especially in March. For example, Melbourne hit a maximum of 40.8C on 8 March 2016

Don't

• Forget that autumn is the traditional time for food & wine festivals, so you could combine your corporate event with a visit to a festival for your special clients to create a weekend to remember
• Feel you must choose the traditional autumn orange, red and brown colour scheme if they're not your favourite colours - or worse, it's your competitor's colours! - as it's a time of year, not a mandatory colour theme
• Dismiss the idea of having an event interstate - for example, Brisbane offers warm days with low humidity so you get the sunshine without the perspiration
• Forget that Mother's Day falls in May which can make it a more expensive than usual date for booking restaurants and florists, and some of your clients may have to decline your invitation due to family commitments.

Prepare your dream corporate winter event

Traditionally, winter-time is the event industry's low-season in terms of popularity for corporate events between June and August.

But this is a great thing! Choosing a winter date might seem like a surprising choice for a seasonal corporate event but no-one said you had to sit and freeze outside.

If you're searching for a venue space (especially between September-March) and it seems like everything's booked out or getting wildly expensive, consider setting your event for winter instead. Here's why.

Do

• Consider that booking a winter event can give you the most choice, the biggest discounts and the best availability for your favourite suppliers as well as better access to the normally booked-out high profile suppliers
• Realise that you can afford to invite up to twice as many guests as it would cost you for a summer event, and more guests will be available to accept your invitation with fewer events during winter
• Remember that winter days are shortest in late June so anything arranged for outdoors must finish at around 5pm in Melbourne
• Consider using more foliage and greenery for your decor- or silk flowers - as fewer fresh flowers are in season in winter

Don't

• Feel you are stuck to a winter wonderland theme if that doesn't appeal to you - as long as you and your guests are warm and toasty, you can choose from many themes and colour schemes
• Forget you can dress up your tables with glossy, colourful Christmas ornaments if you like the idea of Yuletide in July theme
• Forget a winter event is the best time to book an historic venue with a real, roaring fireplace, and covering your tables in masses of pillar candles
• Dismiss booking out a beach resort if it's a three-day event as even if guests can't suntan by the pool, they'll enjoy the activities and spa facilities on offer and chance to relax 

Get ready for spring corporate events

In the closing days of winter, everyone is excited about the upcoming spring weather and all the exciting events to attend.

As an event organiser, spring gives the biggest choice of flowers coming into bloom then and spring symbolises growth - a wonderful metaphor for a business.

The days are getting longer and hey, even if it's a cliche, in spring a single person's thoughts do turn to meeting someone so everyone is in the mood to circulate and accept invitations.

Do

• Enjoy that spring features the biggest range of flowers for your corporate event, including one of the most popular, peonies (from late October to December) 
• Realise that you must book your venue far ahead as spring is so popular
• Remember that with the extra pollen in the air, a garden-based spring event may be a factor to consider if you have guests with allergies 
• Avoid booking a late November corporate event if you have many employees and clients family with teenage and/or twenty-something children doing exams around that time as they and their parents will be stressed!

Don't

• Feel you have to stick to pastel shades just because it's spring
• Forget to check what date Grand Final is as you don't want to lose your (male) guests' attention as they check their phones for updates during your event - unless of course, you're hosting a corporate box at the Grand Final!
• Forget to organise wet weather contingency plans if you host your event outdoors as rain is common during spring 
• Forget the Spring Racing Carnival and its huge range of events causes event hire companies' products from lighting to furniture hire to be booked up way in advance.

Were you thinking on supplying your own food for your event? Discover 10 Melbourne event venues which allow external catering teams.