Present: MM (social chair), EM (vice-president), MW (third year rep), BC (ball manager), LF (third year rep), AB (first year rep), SA (second year rep), PJ (third year rep), IR (second year rep), GZ (first year rep), MR (first year rep), JO (Formals manager)
Absent: N/A
Apologies: AK (president), TG (second year rep)
Settings: Conference room – getting ever more cosy
PROGRESS REPORTS FOR MICHAELMAS BALL ‘18
AB: Coaches. Lees coaches weren’t that nice, and then there were some other ones who were dodge. £3410- 5 coaches to take us there and to take us back. But we can get it down if we don’t have the early take back in the evening. And that was for the maximum. It was £1800 last year- but we had a lot fewer people. We will message them again after we know ents numbers and hopefully get it down more.
IR: Photographer sorted. £20 an hour and it’s the same guy as last year. 6.30/7pm-2am Have emailed the fashion show videographer but he’s not got back yet. Hoping he could come during dinner and until 1am.
SA and MW: AR ents- their quote was better and they were easier to get contact with. Looking into white icecream, photobooth and candyfloss. All of that plus staffing is £1150 plus VAT.
J Clark amusement things- we are getting big rides from them but they keep ringing them.
Doughnuts for just showing up – £200.
Emailed someone else about the photobooth and chocolate fountain but they haven’t got back so started to look for random things.
We were thinking of a scene for the photos and they have ice thrones which everyone quite likes. BC mentions that they are a good idea but we have to spend £450 on that website to make it worth it. Might come back to this after we know how many ents tickets we’ve got.
Centre pieces could be oil lamps and fake snow and Christmas tree balls.
LF: Emailed the security company from last year. They recommended 5 members- one for each room with two floating. It would have been £800 for 6, so £650 for 5. They said it’s 1 staff per 50-75 guests.
ACTION POINT: MM is going to look into how many people Hardwick normally recommend.
ACTIONS POINT: LF is going to email St John’s Ambulance.
PJ: Contacted DUPO who would do an 8 piece. They might do it for free ents tickets which would be great. Could get microphones to make sure it projects around the room.
Kinky Jeff and the Swingers- £175 per hour. Have them playing as we go into the dining hall. Then do a set later. Don’t know how they would think about hanging around until the ents people got there.
ACTION POINT: PJ is going to contact the jazz society to see if they want to play some things other than the main stage.
Velvet Riverside are £100 an hour but seem flexible. But could play after Kinky Jeff from 11-12.
EdM is a good DJ and can play from 12-1.30am.
Only issue here is making sure that the stage is up in time and the tables are clear.
BC reads out an email from A? from Production:
BC: We told her our theme and this is what she got back with. Doable wardrobe. Have hangers above people’s heads with coats. Bar can have ice fringe. Ice tunnels. Snowflake projectors. Trees. Fur garlands. Hanging props hanging from partition tracks. Centrepieces – white twig trees with lights. Looking for small lap posts. So you don’t actually see the winter bit until you get past the foyer. Outside music.
IR: Is there a way to make the room smell? Because we haven’t done that before.
GZ: Is going to look into diffusers.
IR: Think Ustinov have white branch trees.
LF: Or maybe ask Castle.
ACTION POINT: Someone is going to look into ice sculptures.
MW: have looked up what the girls – LF: Healing cordial, S?: magical horn and bow and arrow, PJ: gets a horn. Could use this some how? But Turkish delight is nicer for the gifts.
MM: Singing waiters? Not waiters. But they dress like them.
IR: Went to an 18th once where it was a caricaturist.
MM: We had them at freshers. Not sure about them.
Everyone likes the idea of not having to engage if you don’t want to while they are eating- sometimes an issue when the singers come around.
BC: Have got a quote for an ice queen on stilts and it’s £185 but we haven’t seen photos yet. And she’s a multi performer and she really wanted to do a fire performance later on and we don’t really want that. Think we would rather focus on decorations rather than this.
MM: Dodgems have been booked and so has the big swings. MM has dreamt about this going wrong.
MW and PJ: Worried that the vegan and veggie options are not enough to fill someone who is drinking.
MM: It seems like there is going to be a pretty standard menu.
ACTION POINT: GZ is going to be in charge of making a snapchat filter.
JO: Pine cones?
Everyone: ahh yes.
ACTION POINT: AK’s mum is going to do place cards but we are going to write our own names.
IR: what is the table plan going to look like?
BC: The venue has offered to do this for us, or we could.
MM: Might be able to get her friend to come up with an app so that people can put in the name of a person they want to ‘note’ and then their table number will come up. Is everyone game for us to pay her if she does this?
Everyone: Yas.
MW: we can colour the candy floss and the chocolates.
AOB
JO RE: the First Formal
JO: Would like a drinks reception, and have nice centres.
MM: The Principal has told us that we are going to have a new ticketing system.
JO: We want to have a photographer. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much more expensive.
MW and AB and MR and GZ are happy to help out.