Country venues

Now for the wow!

So you are a busy professional/working mum/chatelaine of a lively household. And you have this big event coming up - a wedding/barmitzvah/milestone anniversary. You are looking for something on top of a first-class meal in lovely surroundings. You want pizzazz, sparkle, that element of surprise. And you want to enjoy your own simchah without being stressed up to the eyeballs.

Enter the event planners. These are the people who make it all happen and make it memorable. People such as Antonia Voss and Lucy Davis of Peppermint Diva Parties and Events, who have logged up several hundred events, from a nightclub installed in a stately home for a 40th birthday party to a press launch for a new fashion range.

"This is a bespoke, concierge-style service," says Antonia. "We have clients who give us six weeks' notice and leave it all to us, apart from the guest list. We have those who know exactly what they want, but have a couple of slots for us to fill in. We have people who want us to flesh out their ideas and people who want us to provide the ideas."

She and her team usually suggest three or four scenarios in the first instance. If these don't appeal, they come back with more. "It is best not to throw out too many ideas at once," Antonia says. "It becomes confusing.

"Say a bride doesn't know where to turn for a florist. We may know 30, but will suggest the three or four we think suit her best. And we don't just give a list. We take her to them all, so she can see what they provide."

Antonia has 12 years' experience as an organiser of VIP events, while Lucy was a Europe-wide fashion show producer - they combine contacts and talents from their different fields, from tango dancers to pop singers. And they are always on the lookout for new talent and a new trend.

Burlesque, cabaret, table magicians, jazz bands, photo booths, candy floss machines, dressing-up boxes of outlandish hats, glasses and capes - there are ideas galore for people to sift through and add their own. If you have children involved, they can produce their own entertainment masterpieces.

Lauren Hilton, at Pink Truffle, is another experienced practitioner of the hospitality art. She started 10 years ago, working in restaurants and catering before setting up in events. "I must have done hundreds, including all the top London hotels and Paris," she says.

Her work is more private than corporate, though she has devised a corporate event for 2,000 guests. She reckons her toughest job was for the global director of an international company, hosting 25 VIPs for a de luxe stay in London. But she has also organised reunions for renowned international families and is in her element with the wedding/barmitzvah circuit.

Lauren works through the many contacts she has amassed over the years, to make the right choice for you, aiming to simultaneously inspire and calm you. She sees to the backstage detail, so that you, the hostess, can concentrate on your guests.

These professionals see themselves as stage managers, who make it all happen seamlessly.

Behind the scenes they check that everything runs smoothly with the caterers, the band, the toastmaster - more reliable and effective, in their experience, than many a best man - and all the rest of the cast on your special occasion.

Caterers can also offer a planning service, based on their long experience of events.

Tony Page for instance, has a team of dedicated planners to take you through the timing of your event and to hunt down any hard-to-find extras - party favours, flower arrangements, a string quartet or a high-tech sound system.

Event-planning charges are usually based on an hourly fee, covering the time spent to locate and book elements of your function.

Clients should be given the cost of each element - band, entertainer, yarmulkes, whatever - so that they know just what they are paying for. Transparency is important in this field, says Lauren Hilton.

Events planning has a long history. The Roman Emperor Nero obviously had an planner at his famous dinner when rose petals floated down from the ceiling. As the perfect host, he just carried on enjoying himself with his guests. But that was truly a wow! moment.