Thanksgiving

Set Your Table for Thanksgiving

This year has given our team at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center so much to be thankful for. From weddings to galas to corporate events,we are truly thankful for those who allow us to assist them in making their special day memorable. We hope you have a great Thanksgiving with your family and loved ones and wanted to share our table setting inspirations with you.

Tablecloth

Long gone are the days of plastic tablecloths – make your dinner interactive or entertain the kids by using it as a seating chart or coloring book. Or if you’re going for a fancier feel, use a woven setting or double drape the table.

Table Runner

Use these to give a sense of symmetry to your table. They work well for both round and rectangle shaped tables. Utilize out of the ordinary materials or graphic patterns to draw interest to the center of the table.

Place Setting

The trick to a lavish table is stacked dishes. Planning your dishes and how to eat them ahead of time will allow you to get creative about what they’re eaten on or out of. Also, feel free to organize napkins, silverware and seating cards to go along with your theme.

Mood Lighting

Set the mood by using candles for lighting and fragrance. Dress them in your favorite holiday food to give a more festive vibe.

Down the Center

Create a talking point for your guest to easily enjoy by cutting the table in half. Instead of one centerpiece as the focal point display a collection of festive decor down the middle of the table. This works well for long rectangular tables.

Signature Brand

Give your dinner its own signature by hanging bunting on the wall by the bar, branding the runner or painting pumpkins that reminds your guest why they’re gathering. These are also great vignettes for social media posts!

Guest Seating

Creatively use nature to guide guests to their seats – leaves, apples and mini pumpkins all make for conversation-starting name cards.

Food Plating

Sometimes the best serving dishes are other food. Wrap your hors d’oeuvres in cabbage, scoop out the inside of a gourd to hold olives or flatten the top of a pumpkin to place a tray of cheese.

Setting the Table

Creative Ways To Use Social Media At Events

Social media is an important and essential marketing strategy to promote your event before, during and after the event. With more than 1.4 billion people on Facebook, 284 million on Twitter and 300 million on Instagram, that’s a lot of people to reach! But with so much content, it’s important to incorporate creative and unique ideas to engage users and turn your event into a social success. Here are some tips you can tweak to fit your event social media planning needs.

  1. Hashtag it – Create a special hashtag for your event. Make sure that it’s unique to your event, concise and consistent on all collateral and platforms. If your event is annual, add the year to distinguish and help for further tracking.
  2. “Insta” Gratification – Give your guest the gift of instant gratification by live broadcasting the selfies they upload prior to and at the event with the appropriate hashtags on social media. This helps to positively reinforce your guest experience and interaction with your brand.
  3. You’re invited – Cause a word of mouth wildfire by asking your guests to share their RSVP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Make it as easy as possible with a few sentences to extend the invitation. Don’t forget to use the event’s special hashtag for tracking and continuity.
  4. Behind the scenes – Show them what’s behind the curtain of an event by hiring someone, designating a person on your team or recruiting your entire staff to capture behind the scenes footage. People are interested in how things are done so show them how the magic happens by exhibiting what it takes to bring everything together, how the staff interacts while the event is going on and what happens after the curtain falls.
  5. Power in numbers – Collaborate with vendors at your event to use your promotional material on their social media channels. This increases your reach and chance of being seen, followed and attended by others not in your immediate network.
  6. Feed FOMO – Play into people’s “fear of missing out” by live streaming your event. After seeing the fun with their own eyes they won’t want to miss it next year.
  7. Monkey See – Prompt people to share on social media what they find interesting by making their environment eye catching, pretty, unique, and even a little unusual. The more visually appealing the venue, the more your guest will be encourage posting. The Keep Memory Alive Event Center is a perfect example of an environment that people want to share with their followers.
  8. Tell it like it is – Let your guests’ voices be heard with a testimonial booth. Increase your control of the content by having a cameraman present to take the footage and then package the clips to use for later.

Take these tips and run with them to further individualize, promote and wow your guests with social media at your event.