Luxury Corporate Events and Galas: Royal Wedding Lessons
Summary: It should not come as a surprise to executives that some members of your team have not been exposed to formal events and the etiquette and protocol that go with them. Companies can glean valuable lessons from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and add royal touches to their events to create truly memorable experiences. You can use these events to groom, coach and prepare high potential team members to interact with top tier clients and dignitaries as your company grows.
Luxury Corporate Event & Galas: Lessons from the Royal Wedding
(c) Copyright: The British Monarchy, Official Photo, For Edtorial Use Only, All Rights Reserved, Photographer: Hugo Burnand
In North America, there was a time, not too long ago, when semi-formal was the dress code for high school dances. For church, people wore their Sunday best and ladies wore hats and gloves. This started to change in the mid-1960s. We have now had 2 generations raised in an environment in which blue jeans are the order of the day for everything from graduation ceremonies and church to the ballet and symphony concerts. In fact, in generations in which rock and roll and hip hop have been the order of the day, many are not familiar with the classics in music or art. (Public schools have cut back on music and art programmes in many jurisdictions.)
It should not come as a surprise to executives in the USA and Canada, that some members of your team in their 20s, 30s and early 40s have been raised without exposure to more formal events and the etiquette and protocol that goes with them. It is not so in all parts of the world. This could prove to be a strategic disadvantage as your company grows and your business becomes international in scope. It is important to prepare your team as one never knows in which direction the camera is pointing or what antics will be captured for the world to see:
In the next decade, as baby boomers retire, team members will be promoted at an earlier and earlier age. As your company grows, your executive team and professionals within your organization may need to interact with top tier clients in every corner of the globe. Some members of your team will need to interact with dignitaries and attend state and formal functions. What can you do to prepare your team to interact with ease and comfort in more formal settings?
- Sponsor formal and high profile events.
- Give members of your team opportunities to attend formal functions.
- Provide etiquette and protocol training.
You may want to consider adding formal touches to some corporate events and using them to groom your team. One way to do this is to incorporate some of the elements that the world has recently witnessed in the the royal wedding.
These event elements and trends aren't just for weddings but they can be incorporated into any luxury event.
- Celebrity Guests
- More Formal Dress Code
- Classical & Choral Music
- Flowers
- Gourmet Cuisine
- Formal Dining Etiquette
- Protocol and Etiquette Training
Celebrity Guests
At royal weddings, the presence of celebrity guests and dignitaries is a given. As your company grows, there will likely be a need for executives and other members of your team to interact with top tier clients and dignitaries. Give them practice by providing opportunities to represent your company at official functions, galas, polo events, equestrian events, etc. Bring former CEOs who have a high media profile back to speak to members of your team. Involve celebrities at kick-offs and other important events.
More Formal Dress Code
You may want to consider sponsoring or hosting some formal or semi-formal events and bringing an image consultant on-site to prepare and coach the members of your team.
Hats
Get it right and there will be free and positive media coverage:
What happens when you get it wrong? Negative publicity for and lots of it:
Classical Music & Choral Music
Music played a critical role in the royal wedding. Classical and choral music are important aspects of many formal events and official functions.
may want to consider taking your team to concerts, recitals and religious functions to broaden their musical horizons.
Flowers
Seasonal and organic flowers from Windsor Great Park's Valley Gardens in Surrey decorated Westminster Abbey.
Potted trees lined the Abbey with a stunning impact.
The use of fresh flowers and foliage can be used to add a natural touch and an outdoor feeling to any luxury event.
Gourmet Cuisine
The Royal Lunch Menu has some ideas that would be appropriate for luxury corporate events, formal weddings and galas.
The Royal Lunch Menu
"THE 650 wedding guests went back to Buckingham Palace to feast on a 'best of British' lunch - including bubble and squeak.
They ate more than 10,000 canapes, prepared by 21 chefs using ingredients from all over the UK.
The mouth-watering menu included Scottish smoked salmon roes on beetroot blini, roulade of goats’ cheese with caramelised walnuts, Cornish crab salad on lemon blini and quail's eggs.
Royal chef Mark Flanagan and his team also rustled up a pressed duck terrine with chutney, watercress and asparagus tart, honey-glazed chipolatas, smoked haddock fishcake, poached asparagus spears and mini Yorkshire puds with roast beef."
Read more: The Mirror UK
Here are more details about the reception and parties including menus and decorations:
"The couple emerged from Clarence House shortly after 7 p.m., before heading to the Palace with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Guests arrived at the predinner drinks reception through a candlelit walkway in the palace courtyard, welcomed by bagpipers.
They were served vintage pink champagne, peach bellinis and elderflower cocktails amid the backdrop of the palace's magnificent state apartments. Guests sipped drinks and gazed at paintings by the Old Masters, including Velazquez, Rubens and Van Dyck.
Shortly after 8 p.m., they were ushered into the palace's ballroom for dinner, the room complete with two huge thrones at one end, and an organ at the other.
"It looked absolutely stunning," said one guest. "There must have been at least 30 round tables, with 10 people on each, decorated with beautiful white flowers and candles.
"When we had arrived earlier, we were each given a little envelope with our table name on it, and the tables had a personal touch, too. They had clearly been named after places that were special to the couple and their friends."
Table names included "Lewa" -after Lewa Downs, the family home of William's friend, Jecca Craig, at the foot of Mount Kenya, where Prince William spent several months during his gap year and where he returned several times during his courtship.
There was also, of course, a "St. Andrews" table, after the Scottish university where the couple began their romance.
As everyone present at dinner was deemed "equally important" to the newlyweds, the tables were a mix of royals, family members and friends of the couple.
In keeping with the couple's "organic and local" theme, from the flowers and plants in Westminster Abbey to the canapés served at the lunch reception, guests at dinner were treated to a menu of British food created by Anton Mosimann, a leading chef and owner of the Mosimann's private dining club, where Prince William and Catherine are regulars. Dinner began dressed crab from Wales, accompanied with mini crab timbale, crayfish and prawns, described by a guest as "exquisitely delicious."
A main course of lamb filet from the Castle of Mey, the former Scottish residence of the late Queen Mother, followed, before guests were treated to trifle, chocolate fondant and homemade ice cream in brandy-snap baskets.
The meal, which lasted for about two hours, was accompanied with wines -a white Meursault Burgundy and Pomerol claret and described by another guest as "stunningly good." When the petit-fours and coffee had been served, it was time for the speeches."
Prince Harry finished off the speeches at about 11: 30 p.m., announcing to guests: "Now, we have a bit of a surprise for you all," before they were ushered through to the Throne Room, which had been transformed into what one guest described as "a massive night club."
The room, which had earlier been the setting for the formal Royal wedding photographs, now had a stage, a dance floor and a cocktail bar serving champagne, spirits and mojito cocktails.
"The huge chandelier in the Throne Room had been cleverly covered with a kind of curtain or cylinder, which had laser and strobe lights on it for the dance floor," said a guest.
"There was a huge bar in the middle of the room, lots of sofas for everyone to lounge on when they weren't on the dance floor, and a stage for the band."
At 2 a.m., waiters handed around bacon sandwiches.
The couple and their guests then made their way out into the palace gardens, where, on the edge of the lawn, just before 3 a.m., they were treated to a "spectacular" fireworks display as the couple were driven away in a convertible vintage Fiat 500 with "RAF" emblazoned on its side -albeit just around the corner as they spent their first night as married couple at Buckingham Palace.
(c) Copyright, The Ottawa Citizen
Read more:
Photos:
Formal Dining Etiquette
Definitely invest some time in preparing members of your team who will be representing your company at formal and official functions. An upbeat and enjoyable vehicle would be a cooking team building event that includes practice in formal table setting and a formal dinner or afternoon. An expert in formal dining etiquette can provide coaching and tips during this event. Then, sponsor or host a formal event to give your team more practice.
Continental vs. American Dining Etiquette
Protocol and Etiquette
(c) Copyright: MOD/Crown, UK Ministry of Defense, Photographer: Amanda Reynolds
Every formal event or official function has it's protocol. Before members of you team attend any official function, it is important to become familialr with what is expected. An etiquette coach can work with members of your team and coach them before important events. Here is what people were briefed to expect for the royal wedding
What are some do's and don't for royal weddings and other formal affairs:
Here is a summary of the etiquette guide that guests received with their invitation:
Let's end with some fun, a basic royal etiquette primer provided by Sharon Osbourne:
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