Luxury Destination Event Planning
Destination events
Luxury destination events
An event produced somewhere other than home. We design it, make it, ship it and run it — a palace in Europe, a hangar in Florida, or a field with nothing standing on it when we arrive.
What producing abroad actually asks of you
You will be signing off a venue you have never stood in, and trusting suppliers you cannot drive over and inspect. The crates have to clear customs on a date that will not move. The crew need visas. And when you finally get on site, the build is counted in hours, because the house opens to the public in the morning.
That is the part we take. The drawings are ours, the making is ours, and the people who drew it are the ones who fly out and put it up.
Anything within the realms of physical possibility
We could not get you a private table on the surface of the moon. Some things are still out of reach. But the rarest hummingbird in the Amazon, the most epic tour of ancient Greece, or Kensington Palace to yourselves — those are briefs we can take.
The part nobody sees
Four things decide whether an event abroad happens at all. We handle all four, and most of the work is done before anybody gets on a plane.
Logistics
Timelines, suppliers, transport and everything on the ground, run so that none of it reaches you.
Risk
What happens if the truck is late, the weather turns or a supplier fails. We work that out in London, weeks before we fly.
Permits and visas
Permissions, paperwork and border compliance, for people and for freight, in every country the job touches.
Flights and beds
Getting your guests there and putting them somewhere good, from private aviation down to the last transfer.
Four places we have already done this
Not a list of countries we could reach. These are jobs that happened.
Florida
Three days for Panerai, including the grounds of the Navy SEAL Museum and a table laid the length of a hangar.
Estonia
The conference for Wise, and the cast who performed in it.
Paris
A feast fit for royalty in golden Versailles.
Manhattan
New York, New York where the big lights shine and the glamour glows, for the ultimate 40th party.
Three days in Florida with the US Navy SEALs
Panerai wanted something for their most important collectors. We produced three days across Florida, including a table laid the length of a hangar and a gathering in the grounds of the Navy SEAL Museum.
How a job abroad actually runs
The idea first
We start with what the experience is, and only then go looking for the country and the site that can carry it.
A recce
Somebody from our team stands in the place and photographs it, measures it and finds out what it will not allow.
Built here
Sets, props, florals and costume are made in our own workshops in London, then packed for freight.
Landed there
We fly with it, build it, run it and strike it, alongside the local people we have chosen.
When it is a journey and not an occasion
Some of this work is not one event. Italy from ancient Rome through Florence and on to Venice — every meal, every bed, every transfer planned — is a fortnight, not a date in a diary.
That kind of travel has its own home with us.
What moves the figure
Producing abroad costs more than producing at home, and it is worth knowing where that money goes before you ask for a number.
Freight
Everything we make has to travel, be insured, clear customs and come home again.
People
Crew, cast and the design team all have to be flown, housed and fed for longer than the event itself lasts.
Time on site
Access windows abroad are shorter and stricter, so the build needs more hands over fewer hours.
Who we work with abroad
None of this happens without people on the ground. Our partners are hotels, yachts, palaces, museums, and places with nothing built on them yet.
Gastronomy
Kitchens willing to cook our menu instead of their own, and able to do it at distance.
Design
Makers and fabricators near the site, working to our drawings and our tolerances.
Planning
Local producers who know the permissions, the seasons, and who actually answers the telephone.
A destination event is still a world
Taking it abroad does not change what we make. It is the same ten design languages, built at full size, with the country doing some of the work for us.
Ancient Rome is easier on the Mediterranean. A discovery world belongs at sea.
Destination weddings
A wedding a long way from home is two problems: the day itself, and everybody getting to it. We plan both, and we design the day from nothing instead of dressing a space somebody else has already booked.
Questions we are asked before a destination brief
How far ahead do you need?
Longer than for work at home. Permits, freight and the right people all take booking. Ask early and the answer is usually yes.
Do you travel with the build?
Yes. The people who designed it fly out and put it up. That is the point of owning the departments.
Who handles visas and customs?
We do, for crew and for freight, in every country the job passes through.
Do we need a venue first?
No, and we would rather you did not have one. Tell us what the experience is and we will find the place that can hold it.
Can you work with our own local contacts?
Yes. If you already have a hotel, a fixer or a caterer you trust, they become part of the team.
What does it cost?
It depends on where, how many and how long. We will tell you early and honestly whether the idea and the budget can meet.
Tell us where, and how many
A country, a rough date and a number of people is enough to begin. If you do not have those yet, say so and we will work them out with you.