Elevated Event Entrances

If you only have one chance to make a first impression, the entrance to your event has a significant responsibility. It welcomes guests and takes them on a transformational journey from the regular world they leave behind to the one that you have created for them — whether you’re hosting them from a few hours or a few days. It’s got to be special so that when they cross that threshold, they will be transported.

In this sense, we think entrances are pretty much magical. Behind each event entrance we design is a lot of creative reflection. We see the entrance as the first point of contact, the first impression, and the first moment to introduce what’s to come. 

To illustrate how a red carpet is just the beginning, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite grand entrances from recent events. You’ll see how each one sets the stage for the unique environment that lies beyond.

Futuristic Tunnel

For TechBridge’s 25^th-Anniversary Digital Ball, we offered a glimpse of the future. The entire event was designed as a futuristic utopia, and it started with the custom-made entrance, which teleported guests from the hotel lobby to that envisioned world. This moment of transition took place along a 20-ft. hallway, which was bordered by a repetition of curved entrance walls to mimic a spaceship corridor, all framed by bright white LED lights. Along the perimeter, plants and uplit lattice walls created an otherworldly effect.

We paired this with lots of lush greenery because in a perfect world, technology is enhanced with natural flora. Futuristic greeters, including humans in space-age costumes and a friendly robot dog welcomed guests to the event.

We’ve often played with this arch or tunnel entrance, and we’ve done it with a branded truss, by bringing an existing tunnel to life, or even through a monochrome combination of carpet, arch and lighting. Here are a few more of our favorites!

Summertime Speakeasy

How do you transform a rooftop venue into an underground lounge? This was our directive for a corporate event recognizing employees and clients. To get the hidden location vibe going, we relied on lots of drapery, starting with the entrance. Repeated layers of orange drapes pulled back to expose the walkway and paired with blue uplighting to create a sense of nightfall led into the artistic setting beyond.

If you’re thinking drapery is only for indoor events, think again. For a large open-air anniversary event, we used white drapery to elevate an exterior structure and give it spatial significance. In fact, when you are working with a sizable footprint, and guests might come in from any direction, creating a recognizable “entrance” helps guests feel comfortable because they understand where to start.

Creating the Roaring Twenties at a Private Home

Even without structural changes, drapery or lighting, an event entrance can take guests to another time and place with just the right décor. For a big birthday celebration at a spacious home in Colorado, we utilized the exterior and interior to create a sense of place and time.

Outside, attendees were greeted by a vintage Rolls Royce and characters in period costume. Upon entering the home, they were intercepted by a Prohibition-style bouncer who requested a password and spirited them away to a private space with bathtub gin. Or guests could stay within the grand foyer where a pianist tickled the ivories of a grand piano accompanied by a costumed singer, while a bubble installation and a champagne tower completed the entrance. Jay Gatsby himself would have felt right at home.

A Gilded New Orleans Garden Event

Elms Mansion on St. Charles Avenue offered the perfect setting for a magnificent party. In our typical fashion, we took advantage of every inch of the home’s 4,000 square feet of space and then some. With lighting as our muse, we decked it out in a thoroughly golden glow.

But how to set the stage? As guests arrived at the mansion, they entered the property through a pair of 8-ft. starburst circles, setting the tone for the spectacular evening that awaited them. This entrance was enticing in daylight, but it became truly inspiring when the sun went down. See what we mean by watching it come to life in our video recap.

Welcome Walls

We love taking a twist on putting up a wall to make it a structure that welcomes guests as much as it delineates space. Case in point, the Derby-themed party we designed to launch a luxury apartment complex. Not only dd the boxwood wall with a red floral horseshoe say, “off to the races,” it also provided a backdrop for the client logo. And as you can see, it served as a photo op, which led to plenty of exposure on social media.

Here are a few more examples of how walls and statement pieces can be envisioned as event entrances. While they always set the theme, they can take on other jobs too, like providing information, directions and interaction.

Lest we leave you with the impression that we are opposed to a red carpet entrance, let’s be clear that we certainly are not. But even when the classic carpet and stanchion entrance is what’s called for, we’ll make sure to take it up a notch.

With all of these welcomes, we made sure every guest knew something special was in store. Because the entrance has such primary power, we put a lot of emphasis on this first impression. Why just host an event when you can truly take guests on a journey to another time and place, or even another world?

Get in touch with us to make sure your event starts off on just the right note.