How To Budget For An Immersive Event

Trestle tables of bread and produce down a lit stone cloister, a hand cart parked under the vaulting and a man standing behind it.

Budgets

What an immersive event costs

There is no price list here and no per head figure we can hand you. What there is, is a range, and it is a wide one. You could invest £5,000 and ask us to dress your home with props, or you could ask us to build a world, produce it and take it into the millions. And the best bit is, we can do both.

The three rough levels

A piece of itFrom £5,000

Styling

Props and dressing brought into something you already have.

Theme, design and entertainmentFrom £50,000

A theme, carried the whole way through

A theme worth committing to, the design to carry it the whole way through, and performers moving through it. This is where most people find us.

A fully immersive world£500,000 upwards

Designed, built, cast and produced

Made as one piece of work, and into the millions if the story asks for it. This is the one people talk about for years afterwards.

How we charge

A planning fee: a minimum of £15,000 + VAT, or 20% of your overall budget, whichever is the greater figure.

That is the fee for a full, end-to-end project: we design it, build it, cast it and produce it.

We take briefs at other budgets on request. Where we do, the fee is smaller and relative to the work involved.

On signing

The deposit is due when contracts are signed, before any development work takes place.

Fourteen days before

Any balance and outstanding fees are due fourteen days before the experience takes place.

The discovery call

Complimentary. Take all the time you need.

Seen from above and behind, four harpists on a balcony playing over a blue lit hall of laid tables, icicle lights and white floral installations hanging above it.
Four harps on the balcony, and the hall laid out below them.

Five things that decide the number

  1. Stepping through the wardrobe

    You are inviting passengers to step ‘through the wardrobe’ and believe they’re somewhere else, even if it has been created for them, so maintaining the illusion is crucial. A higher investment opens more doors, exclusivity and moments of brilliant believability.

    A performer in a red and black feathered headdress and beaded costume spinning two lit fire staves, greenery and guests behind her.

  2. Provenance is power

    If you are in love with the idea of creating an Art Deco immersive experience, we will use objects that are from the Art Deco period, not reproductions. Whether these objects are from our vast collection, or we’re sourcing antiques on your behalf, we will use your budget wisely.

    To achieve greatness in immersive design, the big set designs are only successful when accompanied by smaller details, so this is an area to really consider when thinking about your investment.

    A gilt ormolu mantel clock, a brass candlestick telephone, a lantern, an armillary sphere and coloured glass bottles gathered along a polished mahogany sideboard against damask wallpaper.

  3. Keep it real

    To achieve believability, authenticity is fundamental — you cannot rely on a ‘scotch tape’ fix. The magic happens in the detail and quality of the production, and the bigger picture can only be appreciated when supported by solid, budgeted for, REAL foundations.

  4. You must consider a 360° perspective

    Immersion isn’t achieved from one perspective. It is multi-perspective, multi-sensory, 360°. If your brief is a once in a lifetime adventure to see the Northern Lights, followed by a gastronomic dining experience atop a glistening table of ice carved from the side of a glacier, then this is your brilliant perspective that we can bring to life.

    There are tonnes of moving parts to creating sublime, life-changing moments, and each investment dictates what is possible.

    Looking down the length of a palace library from a balcony, fluted columns and a carved ceiling above, an organ at the far end and guests gathered around a lit bar below.

  5. Immersive is not theming

    There is a huge difference between a ‘theme’ and an ‘immersion.’ A theme is the initial idea, whereas the immersion is the developed detail behind; the world we create together. The bigger your investment, a more expanded world of believability we can create, with flourishes, access and layers of magnificence. One budget could allow for beautifully 2D printed wallpaper of a Provençal vineyard, whereas an immersive budget would allow for a physical 3D interpretation brought to life.

Our access and unique connections

To be able to do what we do we must collaborate, and we are proud of the relationships we’ve made over the years. These special bonds throughout the world enable unprecedented and exclusive access to private properties, extraordinary experiences and that extra special magic that money alone can’t buy.

Unique Venues London

A timber veranda in low sunlight, planted pots along the boards and a swing seat at the far end.

A note to consider

This guide is a starting point for further discussion, and the wonderful thing about immersive design is that ideas evolve from a single thought into a fully developed concept as the process moves forward.

Creativity doesn’t have to break the bank, but with intelligent planning, we can create exceptional results.

Where to look next

  • The ten worlds

    Ancient, fantasy, gastronomic, high society, horror and five more.

  • Design services

    Departments spanning stagecraft, lighting, set and scenography, wigs and costume.

  • Case studies

    Jobs we have already produced.

  • Immersive food

    Storytelling and gastronomy together. Priced separately, so ask early.

Get a figure for your brief

A date, a number of people, and a budget if you have one.

Start your enquiry

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