60th Birthday Party

End-to-end event management support for a private 60th birthday for a
high-net-worth individual

Client: Private

Guests: 60

Brief: Spectacular 60th Birthday Party

Location: Bath, UK

The Event Brief

Our private client approached us to create a bespoke surprise 60th birthday party for his wife. The task was made all the more difficult having to do it in complete secrecy at his stunning home in Bath, England. That's okay, we thought we can do secrecy, but then when we site-visited, it became abundantly clear how difficult this was going to be.

His stunning home was located on the south side of Bath, overlooking the entire city, up along a private driveway and into his spectacular garden, which was terraced on several levels. The brief was easy, the logistics were a nightmare!

Our client was fixed on the idea of surprising the guests at every level, from the reception to the dinner, and hiding a spectacular open-planned marquee in his garden at their lower terrace. The initial problem was we didn't have anywhere big enough for the marquee, so this actually meant landscaping his garden before we could even commence considering this location. In addition, everything had to be handled into place down a steep concertining pathway. I mean, literally everything had to be walked down. We realised quite quickly this was going to take several days for the build, keeping it a surprise was going to be tricky. So we asked our client if he could entertain his wife somewhere else whilst we commence the build. This meant he had to have complete faith in our team to deliver this event within the 4 days we had available.

The Event Solution

Our client was a dream to work for, as he already had some really good, solid, fixed ideas of what he wanted the party to look like. A priority was ensuring people didn't know there was a dining space within his garden and also to include a Romeo and Juliet-themed short play. He also wanted his guests to be entertained at every point throughout the party. So, working closely with our client, we examined all the possibilities and came up with a great collection of rolling entertainment ideas.

These included:

Human statues representing Bath sculptures around his garden, which would reach out and touch people as they walked past
A bright and colourful boater wearing wearing a jazz quartet
Garden nymphs dotted around the garden, who would suddenly appear out of nowhere
A lively and comical Romeo and Juliet play condensed into 20 minutes, interacting with the audience from his balcony and within the garden and guests
We even had Manuel from Fawlty Towers, a lookalike, break up the drinks Reception and invite everybody for dinner
Finally, we had our hilarious human theatre granny waitress who interacted with the guests during dinner
Not to mention, of course, the stunning open-plan, see-through marquee, complete with chandeliers and stunning interior, that we kept hidden them, all the guests

The event proved to be a huge success and we have since been welcomed back many times to event manage for his successful company.

Where our expertise paid dividends for our client

On the face of it, this was quite a simple event and we often follow the same format: Excellent planning, creative brainstorming, seamless execution, coordination of suppliers and managed event logistics. Where our expertise kicked in was understanding the site itself and the logistics required to build a spectacular party tent without being seen. We were able to calculate exactly how long it would take to install this party and ensure there was sufficient space for all the suppliers to park their cars, unload their equipment, etc. For us, it was about meticulous planning. For our client, it must feel like a seamless, entertaining, spectacular day.

Get in touch with our events team

Are you planning a private party? Then why not get in touch with our events team on 01793 729999 or email events@planetpursuits.com