Annual Gala — Energy Services Company

The challenge

The client came to us six weeks before their event date. Their original agency had withdrawn from the engagement due to an internal dispute, leaving them without a venue, no confirmed vendors, and 320 employees expecting an event that had been announced to staff months earlier. The existing budget was firm. The date was not moveable.

Our approach

• We started with a venue call within four hours of the first meeting. Three downtown Edmonton hotel ballrooms were available at six weeks out; we shortlisted two and had a site visit the following morning. A contract was signed within 48 hours.
• We ran parallel vendor tracks from day one — AV, catering, entertainment, photography, and florals all briefed simultaneously rather than sequentially. At six weeks, there is no time to confirm one vendor before approaching the next.
• The client's internal events coordinator stayed involved as a communication bridge to staff. We took full ownership of the production side, which let her focus on the internal logistics — guest list, dietary collection, and table assignments.
• A detailed production schedule was shared with all vendors at the two-week mark. Every vendor arrival window, tech rehearsal time, and service cue was documented and agreed in writing.

Outcome

• —The event ran on schedule. Dinner service started four minutes late, which was recovered by the end of the first course. No vendor issues during the event itself.
• —The client's CEO gave a 12-minute closing address that had not been in the original run of show. We had built in a 15-minute buffer for exactly this kind of addition.
• —Photography and the highlight reel were delivered within five business days. The reel was used in a company-wide internal communication the following week.
• —The client rebooked for the following year before the invoices from this event had been paid.

"We handed them a crisis and they treated it like a normal project. Six weeks is nothing in event planning terms and they never let it show."

Director of People & Culture — Energy services company, Edmonton

Yes. Tell us the date, headcount, and what you are trying to achieve. We will come back with a plan and a realistic cost estimate based on your specific situation.