Posts in category: News

A very welcome trend in the events industry is hearing from both private and corporate clients who want to host their events in charitable venues. By this, I mean venues that give back in some way, have a charitable and sustainable arm and offer a circular investment.

Many venues are taking note of this and revisiting their policies on charity and sustainability which is brilliant to see, resulting in many offering events spaces at a reduced rate, or even free space, for select events with a charitable angle. Alternatively, many are partnering or affiliating themselves with certain charities or causes in order to give back and support through money made on their events.

It is refreshing to see that the days when pure commercial goals were paramount in event spaces are distant and, thanks to the rise of awareness about causes and sustainability factors, event spaces are offering more of an organic and holistic approach that benefits many more people than themselves.

People wanting to host events are incredibly in-tune to this and their demands are, rightly, high. People are not entertaining venues who do not have a charitable facet or who don’t have sustainability high on their agenda. Instead, due to the pool of venues and new offerings, they take their business elsewhere leaving these venues dangerously exposed and looking out of date.

As event professionals, understanding the venues we work with and their sustainability and charitable agendas is high on our list and we always ensure that they are on point with our values and clients’ needs as well as keeping up to date with the ever-evolving developments and implementations. We are proud to work with venues to educate and support on these areas which is so rewarding, as even the smallest changes and in-roads can make huge differences.

Here are a few examples of what venues could be doing immediately:

• Swapping out all plastic where you can
• Changing your electricity supplier
• Affiliating yourself with a charity – a local one to the venue often works really well
• Aligning your values as a venue
• Setting out exactly how you will give back – this doesn’t always have to be monitory. Could you donate unwanted food to a food bank, for example?

These are all relatively small things but things that your clients, and potential clients, will love you for and could be the difference in them choosing your venue over a competitor. It can feel like an enormous task, especially with phases such as ‘net zero’ banded about, but we are all here to support each other and learn as we go by taking things step by step.

So, if you are a venue who would like to discuss your charitable angle more – we would love to help. Do get in touch and together we can ensure each and every venue is doing as much as it can for the greater good. And who doesn’t want that?

There is no denying that the pandemic was pretty brutal for a lot of us, and most definitely for the events industry. However, one of the good things to emerge from it is the sense of camaraderie and community from both businesses and customers. For many of us, it meant we got to know our fellow businesses in our vicinity and what was there under our noses that perhaps we hadn’t taken notice of before. This is certainly true for me when I launched the wine and cheese packages, as it allowed me to work with some exceptional local partners and get to know their businesses and, I’m happy to say, I still work with them today.

From a customer perspective, lockdown gave us the opportunity to get to know the businesses that were super local to us, rather than our go-to ones when we jumped in the car. Many of these businesses went above and beyond to ensure we were looked after by sourcing stock, selling much-needed items and meeting the demand that many of the bigger names just couldn’t do. And this hasn’t been forgotten.

With this is mind, one of the wonderful trends to emerge already this year is the way venues in the same location are working together to collaborate and offer people something extra special. Many businesses who complement each other are joining forces to offer fantastic 360 events packages allowing clients some incredible multi-layered events.

A great example of this are the businesses near the beautiful Mayfair Townhouse in London. This is a gorgeous building stooped in history and offers a fabulous bar as well as meeting rooms and bedrooms. However, only a stone’s throw away is the Curzon cinema, so by these two businesses working together, they can offer clients a very tantalising private screening event with dinner and drinks and somewhere to stay all in one. This is hugely appealing for brands who perhaps have a product launch or a film to show as every aspect has been catered for. As an events planner, we can step in and add extra layers too when needed, such as booking a great restaurant for dinner, all in the same area and all in the same ilk as the client’s brief and budget.

For those venues that maybe aren’t buddying up yet, there is a desire to do so and we are helping a lot with that. As events professionals, we make it our business to get to know the many great venues and their offerings. It is getting increasingly rare that one venue can cater for all a clients’ requirements as many are so complex, so it is up to us to find more than one venue that will seamlessly transition to make the event as magical as possible. This could be finding a great space to host meetings or presentations during the day, but then afterwards finding that perfect private dining room for guests to enjoy dinner and drinks, followed by a boutique hotel for a nightcap and to stay.

Often, it can be left to team members to source venues and this can often be overwhelming, especially if they don’t know an area. We take all that stress away and build a perfect package in line with your brief and budget.

I really hope the emergence of collaboration between venues keeps growing and many more like-minded businesses collaborate and showcase each other’s services to their customer base. Support and championing are definitely the order of the day!

There are some incredible new venues opening in 2022, and I cannot wait to explore what they have to offer and get my creative juices flowing for the best events and experiences to host there! 

Here are a few of my favourite new venues: 

One Hundred Shoreditch, London  

Yes, I know London is not short of a hotel or two, but this new offering in the heart of Shoreditch looks something extra special! Housing 258 bedrooms, six restaurants and bars with one boasting a panoramic view of East London, the plans are big. Alongside this, it has five meeting and event rooms catering for intimate and large get togethers as well as its One Hundred Room which boasts floor to ceiling glass and breath-taking views. 

I cannot wait to visit this one and check out the décor which is promised to be full of pink marble and bright spaces, with a big focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing.  

Fairmont, Windsor Park  

This has been a long wait. I remember seeing the computer images of what the interior and exterior of the hotel would look like, and I now can’t wait to visit. It’s top of my list!  

Dripping in decadent luxury it is huge! Located on the edge of the gorgeous Windsor Great Park, the hotel is surrounded by 40 acres of grounds, including a beautiful lake. It offers more than 200 rooms and suites that ooze soft tones and textures, and also houses a spa and wellness centre boasting state of the art innovation with luxurious and decadent surroundings. 

In one wing of the hotel, they have 15 meeting rooms catering for all needs as well as a massive ballroom that can host up to 700 guests. This will be such a fantastic addition to the area and I already know, I’ll be organising events here!  

Art’otel, Battersea 

Another London venue set to open this summer is taking up residency in the former power station development at Battersea and features skyline floors, rooftop pool and bar and a destination restaurant and bar. This is the group’s first UK hotel, and it promises to be brimming with art-inspired interiors and décor!

OWO Residences, London 

This is going to be London’s first Raffles Hotel featuring nine restaurants and bars and an immersive spa. The building itself is completely iconic having been the Old War Office. Having stood at Whitehall for over 100 years, people including Sir Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming have all walked the corridors of what was the Ministry of Defence headquarters.  

The new space will have 125 rooms and specific event spaces. I can’t wait to discover this new gem in London town!  

Chateau Denmark, London   

This is a spot with quite some history as it was inspired by the birthplace of the British music scene – Denmark Street in London, where The Rolling Stones recorded their first album, the Sex Pistols once lived, and it was rumoured to be where Ziggy Stardust was created. This new space boasts 55 bedrooms and apartments, named ‘session rooms’. Each have their own individual stories and are divided by four narratives: vintage gothic, timeless grandeur, modern psychedelia and punk now.

Due to open in the spring, Chateau Denmark is being lauded as the largest immersive space of its kind anywhere in the world! I definitely will be making sure I am one of the first through its doors!  

If any of these sound up your street for an event, please do get in touch and we can get planning!

The Countdown Summit in Edinburgh is underway leading to COP26 in Glasgow and I cannot wait to hear the speeches, promises and commitments from world leaders regarding sustainability, net zero and climate change. 

I cannot wait to hear from the people coming together for The Countdown Summit as it promises to unveil some imaginative and scalable solutions that we all need to turn the tide on climate change and create a healthier and more equitable world for all. 

As they say, a net-zero future is possible which is why the Summit is being held as a gathering for politicians, business leaders, policy makers, scientists, Indigenous leaders, artists, philanthropists, youth activists and others to organise and work together to make that future a reality. I will definitely be listening intently. 

COP26 is the headline act where world leaders will gather in Glasgow to discuss how to collectively tackle climate change. The top line aims of the conference are: 

• To secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach 
• Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats 
• Mobilise finance 
• Work together to deliver 

These are all huge asks so it will be fascinating to hear what the various leaders have to say and what barriers will be in place in order to achieve it. Even though these aims don’t obviously impact the events industry on the surface, when really thought about they are very impactful indeed.  

In the past few years there has definitely been a sea change in the events world as both organisers and clients are demanding each event to be as sustainable as possible. This goes far beyond just replacing plastic straws. There are intricacies in terms of digital footprint, having a clear transparency on your supply chain and the layers that go with that as well as researching venues thoroughly and knowing what to ask, look out for, question and change, where possible.  

In reference to the ‘adapt to protect communities’ point, this means that we have to build and maintain reliant infrastructure in order to protect our lives and where we live, and this goes down to the smallest of detail. For us, I have to ask – what could we do better? What systems does Lucy Claire Events have in place to be as sustainable as possible in order to lessen the damaging impact on our world and each other?  

These are big questions and ones I will be thinking about very carefully. So, will I swap my petrol car for an electric? Will I aim to radically reduce my travel? Will I just use British suppliers? On this last point, I am pleased to say 99% of the time I do, but it needs to be a conscious 100% going forwards.  

As a business we really need to know our suppliers and their methods of working even more than we do already and understand their values and commitment to net zero and if we can work together to achieve it.  

Lots of food for thought but we are so ready for it!  

So, I can’t lie, the past 18 months have been incredibly challenging for me and Lucy Claire Events. It has been a case of digging deep and surviving but now with things (everything crossed) getting back to normal, I can finally take a breath and look back with a sense of pride, as I not only got through it, but I surpassed our abilities, added new skillsets and showed some dogged resilience to boot. 

I finally took some time to reflect recently and I have to say, I’m pretty chuffed with myself. And trust me, I don’t normally say that! It has been tough no doubt but in a weird way – I am further along in my business than I ever would have been if it were ‘business as usual’. I have managed to rebrand and get a new website that truly reflects me, and Lucy Claire Events and I have become consistent on social media. This is something that I knew was so imperative to my success, as many of my potential clients check my social before my website and I get a lot of comments and people finding me this way.  

Alongside this, I have organised alternative events, to those that were supposed to happen, with very short lead times and transitioned live events to online with a hugely fast turnaround due to the government guidelines changing and the goalposts moving. This includes a client’s conference and exhibition that was moved four times and pulling together a brand-new event in only a week – that was, thankfully, a great success.  

A big achievement for me was to look at alternate routes to market. Last autumn I collaborated with two local businesses, Woodchester Valley Vineyard and The Cotswold Cheese Company, to produce a beautiful hamper for both private and corporate clients, together with an optional online Cotswold wine and cheese tasting. This was a huge learning for me in light of logistics and packing and shipping perishable goods – I will never forget just being surrounded by boxes, cheese and wine at home and taking great pleasure putting the boxes together! I will also never forget the barriers when trying to ship a few boxes over to Europe, and the odd occasional courier problem around the UK – one time I spent a Sunday dropping off 11 hampers around the south of England!  

Over the past 18 months the events I have organised and hosted have not been huge, as many of my clients have preferred to wait for the return of live events. However, I have loved those that have hosted these smaller events, as they have put their teams and staff at the heart of what they do. We have worked together on their team socials and looked at different ways to entertain their clients to ensure they know they are supporting them. It’s been a challenge coming up with innovative ideas to engage, support and entertain, but we succeeded, and have some very happy clients and guests.   

During this time, I have worked with some fantastic new clients and had the opportunity to network far more than I had before. It’s been wonderful making so many new connections, meeting new industry friends and new clients, especially locally – something we just wouldn’t have been able to do if things were normal.  

It’s been tough, no doubt, but there are some really amazing things to have come out of this time and I have to say a huge, massive thank you to my clients, suppliers and connections for your continued support and belief in me and my business and, even when things were tough, you stuck with me. 

With many of us opting to stay home for our holidays this year due to the travel uncertainties, the beautiful UK is getting some love.

Here are my top 3 staycation locations – do let me know any hidden gems that you love.

The Cotswolds

I have to start with where I live as it’s just stunning & never fails to impress. Filled with chocolate box villages such as Bourton-on-the-Water & Castle Combe, this area of natural beauty is steeped in history with famed artists & authors being hugely inspired here. There are many a wisteria-laden cottage to fawn over but for me, the real beauty is being on the rolling hills & in the heart of this gorgeous land.

Robin Hood’s Bay

For those of you who haven’t heard of Robin Hood’s Bay near Whitby then please do check it out. This beautiful little fishing village is pretty magical. Filled with hidden nooks & crannies from the days of the smugglers, its cobbled streets & little bays are hugely charming.

Isle of Wight

It almost feels like a proper holiday when you have to get on the water so why not pop over to the Isle of Wight for a few days? If you fancy spoiling yourself, do check out the gorgeous North House in Cowes a 14-bedroom bolthole by the sea with a restaurant only serving locally sourced produce.

As the world plans to re-open, a lot of us will be looking for a bit of much needed R and R, and to treat ourselves after what has been a challenging year. I love organising retreats for both corporate and private clients and getting creative to make it a special experience for all.

Here are a few venue recommendations in my local area – the Cotswolds – and an extra one in Essex; a beautiful island retreat! All of these will provide a superb location for a wonderful getaway with colleagues, clients, teams, family and friends. Do let me know if we can help you organise your next retreat or getaway, as we would love to add those extra special touches for you. 

North Cadbury Court  

This is a gorgeous spot for a touch of decadence and grandeur. Owned by the Montgomery family who are world famous for their Cheddar cheese, this stunning Grade I 16th century country house stands in 1,500 acres of beautiful parkland and gardens in the glorious Somerset countryside. Conveniently close to the A303 it is just two hours from London by car, and 1hr 40 mins by train. 

With 25 bedrooms, a beautiful ballroom, lawn tennis courts, lake, roof-top golf tee, indoor swimming pool and spa, and on-site activities including swimming, golf, bumper balls, fishing, pedalos, tennis, croquet, archery, basement casino and disco, this is a fabulous spot for a team off-site, family celebration or reward event.  

Wasing Park  

A recent visit has turned this into an absolute local favourite of mine. Situated a few miles from Newbury, Wasing Park is just beautiful with so may opportunities, and the ideal country retreat.  

Famed for hosting fabulous weddings, the estate has some wonderful spaces ideal for meetings, teambuilding activities, bespoke experiences and of course wellbeing with a variety of spaces beautifully suited. It is the best location to be at one with nature and stay in a mix of wonderfully designed bedrooms, each one unique.  

I love the outdoors and walking, so the many hikes on the estate and along the nearby Avon and Kennet canal is a real draw for me. For keen anglers, you can bring your own equipment and enjoy fishing one of the stunning woodland lakes.  

Cotswold Park Barns 

Another favourite of mine! Located in the heart of the rolling Cotswolds close to Cirencester, this beautiful family-owned and run converted barn is a wonderful spot for both corporate and private getaways. With a fully functioning conference room, meeting lounges and 10 bedrooms with stunning countryside views, it is the ideal venue for those wanting a proper break, or team get together.  

Thyme 

Another local gem of mine, Thyme is a restored historic Cotswold manor and farm. It is a wonderful family story where a passion for the land, food and entertaining, merges with a love of local heritage, beauty and conservation. Working with the historic buildings and the farm that surrounds them, they have created a delightfully thoughtful and special place with love and attention lavished on every detail. The perfect option for a relaxing getaway with family or a team off-site with its spa, stunning gardens and on-site cookery school. I would definitely recommend a visit! 

The Farncombe Estate 

Perched high above the village of Broadway lies the Farncombe Estate – a glorious sprawl of forest and field, riddled with rambling trails and cycle routes, and home to Dormy House, Foxhill Manor, and The Fish.  

Whether you are looking to get the team together for a much-needed working retreat coupled with some fun or enjoy a marvellous mini–break with a loved one, this 400-acre estate is a fabulous option. With wonderful accommodation, including a collection of treehouses, a spa, gardens, and a variety of delicious restaurants, it should be on your list! Do give us a shout if you would like to find out more. 

Pauntley Court 

Nestled in the west of the Cotswolds, this stunning and unique country house dates back to the 1350s. Sitting in large grounds Pauntley Court is a very popular wedding destination, but the family also opens its arms and hospitality for weekend breaks and getaways. They very much mix 5-star amenities in a wonderful rustic and historic setting – it is your home away from home. On a recent site visit my creative juices really did start flowing as there are so many opportunities. 

Osea Island 

I just love this place! The options are endless, and with the possibility of having the island exclusively to yourself, I think Osea Island in Essex is an idyllic haven for a retreat. Basking serenely on the Blackwater Estuary, it is just a little over an hour’s drive from London. 

Accessed via an ancient causeway built by the Romans, the enigmatic tidal road opens at every low tide for a period of 4 hours when cars can be driven across. At high tide, there is a river taxi service from the mainland – the boat journey taking about 10 minutes. 

Osea has a fascinating and colourful past echoing back some 5,000 years and is a fantastic place to get away from it all. Catering for retreats, team offsites, bespoke experiences, private get togethers, parties and weddings, Osea Island is definitely a very special option for your next retreat.  

It is Valentine’s weekend coming up and unfortunately the restaurants won’t be filled with couples staring gooey eyed at each other over a lovely meal and instead, people will be celebrating at home. 

Having this restriction can make you feel like it’s easy not to bother (I totally hear you!), but there are some fantastic businesses out there that are offering some lovely Valentine’s offers and gifts, so why not only treat that special someone, but support a few small businesses too?   

If you are a bit take-away-ed out, and up for spending a bit more, there are a number of restaurants that have put together some beautiful Valentine’s offers. I love what Applebee’s Fish, a gorgeous restaurant in Borough Market, has put together – a luxury seafood platter with matching wine to be delivered with full instructions for a real treat. Also, it’s worth checking out your favourite eateries and chefs as a number of Michelin-star restaurants are offering meal kits to enjoy something special. 

Aside from a gorgeous meal, there are a lot of small businesses creating offers just for Valentine’s – below are a few of my local favourites who are also nationwide too. Do seek out and support local if you can.   

Blooms By Charlotte – one of my favourite Cotswold florists who is producing some exceptionally beautiful bouquets for Valentine’s! Who doesn’t like receiving flowers?!  

The Cotswold Candle Company – this gorgeous business produces some wonderful candles and reed diffusers and have launched an exclusive Valentine’s candle that smells amazing! You can buy from Polly direct online. 

Priscilla’s Kitchen – this lovely local coffee shop in East Garston (West Berkshire) creates some stunning hampers filled with local produce all presented so beautifully. 

At the moment when things are a bit tough, some other ideas could be to offer your partner an afternoon off (home schooling parents I am talking to you!) where you look after the kids and let your partner go for a long soak / read a book / watch a film and have some time for them, or why not arrange a surprise Zoom call with special friends and family?  

And for those who are single – there is no reason not to treat yourself, or a friend, and make them feel special. 

Little touches and thoughts go a long way at the moment and often, they cost nothing so please do have a wonderful Valentine’s whatever you decide to do. 

Our precious events industry has taken severe knocks in the past year and events as we knew and loved them are no more with many professionals waiting in the wings to start working in the industry they love again.

I can’t lie, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster the past year working in events with a lot of anger, frustration and sadness seeing friends, colleagues, venues and organisations suffer and fall. There is a deep feeling that this could have been avoided with better guidance and leadership, which make the emotions even more raw, but sadly we are where we are and we have to try and regain some semblance of our industry from the ashes.

What comforts me is the power and magic of events. There is no feeling like it – being with your group of people, sharing an experience in that exact moment and celebrating the emotions that go with that. I talk a lot about making memories and events do just that. When you think back to your happiest of times, I bet events feature highly. It’s that sense of occasion, celebration, togetherness and euphoria that is so powerful and so hugely memorable.

I have no doubt in my mind that the events industry will be back stronger than ever as soon as allowed, but there will always be a sadness about those that didn’t make it. I hope more than anything they reincarnate into something bigger and better. We are all seeing an almost chomping-at-the-bit desire to connect and be together from both private and corporate worlds and gone is the need for physical things and their once grave importance, replaced with the desire to be with those we cherish.

Even though the ever-present pandemic has been uncategorically rough on most of us, the glimmer of positivity for me has been people’s realisation of their need for others and their need to experience, laugh, sing, dance and just be together. We were in fear of the perceived need for things replacing what really matters – connection, and I cannot wait to organise amazing events for people to be together. It’s going to be emotional!

In the midst of lockdown 2 and with the wintry weather, we are spending so much time at home. Even though Netflix is helping us through to an extent, there is nothing better than old school entertainment and yes, I’m talking games! 

As an events planner, over the years I have been charged with organising games for groups of friends, family and colleagues. Whenever I organise games, something magical happens – people start smiling, their whole body language changes and a sense of childish excitement and competition takes over. 

Playing games is something innate in us from when we were children; it conjures up magic and experiences that just can’t be replicated with any amount of technology. In the current climate we are living in, so many of us, understandably, rely on something else to entertain us; the box in the corner, the screen and external influences. However, if we can back to basics so much joy can be gotten from it. 

What games did you used to play as children? Was it the board games classics such as Monopoly or Scrabble? Did you play cards? It is worth revisiting what memories you have and see what you can bring back within your own home to spend time together, physically and virtually. 

I am loving putting games together for teams of people and recently hosted a few Around the World events virtually for teams. This was a nerve-wracking experience as it was down to me to transfer these skills virtually, but luckily, due to huge planning and preparing, the events went really well and people enjoyed them greatly.

In all my events that I am working on currently, games play a big part and I wanted to exclusively share with you a game that never fails to generate a great reaction – The Hat Game!  

Number of players:  

4 minimum – no maximum  

Methodology: 

Each person writes on little pieces of paper names of people – can be dead, alive, famous, biblical, people in group playing etc. Basically anyone! 

To begin with, everyone writes 5-8 names, depending upon how long you want game to go on for and how many people you have and then divide the group into teams of at least 2 people. 

All pieces of paper with names on get folded and put into a ‘HAT’!   

One team at a time takes it in turn to try and guess as many names/pieces of paper as possible in a minute.  

 How do they do this? 

One person is describer, the rest are guessers: the describer has to describe the person on the paper without mentioning their name or using abbreviations, letters in alphabet, etc. 

After a minute they stop and keep a tally of what they have. They don’t put the names back in. 

The hat then passes on to the next team and so on until no more names in hat – the winning team is the team with the most names guessed 

Tips to enhance the game: 

Put all papers back in hat 

Start a second round of the hat game 

This time the describer can only use 3-5 words 

Do let me know what games you play and any new ones I should know about! And if you try the hat game, do share how you enjoyed it!