Plan a professional holiday party like the pros with Bronson van Wyck and Fiona Leahy
‘Tis the season for holiday hosting, toasting, and promoting your business with an event that’s both classy and on-brand. If you’re at the helm of navigating a professional soirée at the year’s end, Paperless Pro has everything you need to prep and plan for a memorable (and very merry) holiday party that can serve as both a thank you to your loyal clients, customers, and colleagues alike, and a preview of what’s to come for your company.
Paperless Pro—Paperless Post’s new suite of features designed with professionals in mind—offers advanced customization and management tools to help you plan successful, impressive events that keep your brand at the top of guests’ minds from start to finish.
Whether you’re celebrating an exciting product launch with a glam winter gala, throwing the annual company Christmas party, or hosting a press or PR event that will have guests buzzing with cheer, Paperless Pro can elevate any special holiday event.
To find out how to turn any holiday party into an unforgettable branding moment, we spoke with two sought-after professionals—Fiona Leahy, an in-demand event planner known for hosting elaborate, elegant parties for celebrity clientele and the NYC fashion elite, and Bronson van Wyck, one of the world’s leading experts on hospitality whose entertaining style blends elegance and charm—to score their top tips and tricks for festivities that help you grow your brand.
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Increase your brand recognition
When planning a holiday party, incorporating your brand’s essence, personality, and identity should be at the top of your to-do list.
“I really love embracing a brand’s identity and creativity,” Ms. Leahy says. “For example, I would use an element of a brand’s aesthetic and heighten it for the holidays with a save the date, menus, etc. Visually replicating a brand’s aesthetic and using the creative elements from a brand’s DNA helps to create a successful and authentic event.”
Mr. van Wyck adds that brand recognition is important, but it’s a delicate balance. “Rather than overwhelming guests with overt branding, the magic often lies in subtlety,” he says. “Think of it as weaving your brand seamlessly into the fabric of the event, with discreet touches like branded cocktail napkins, logos on plates, or blind embossing on printed materials.”
You can also start highlighting your brand before the party even starts by uploading your logo, photo, and color palette to your corporate holiday party invitations, replacing our header logo with your own on your event page, and delivering your invitations in a fully branded email for a cohesively on-brand invitation experience.
Master your guest list
Brand or corporate events often have higher stakes when it comes to the guest list. Impress your VIP party-goers with seamless logistics, communication, and check-in.
With a knack for orchestrating large-scale luxury events with star-studded attendees, Ms. Leahy shares her key to success: “We always have a ‘facebook’ for seating, arrivals, and departures.” The facebooks include images of the guests so hostesses are familiar with who is who. But, she adds, “A brand event doesn’t have the same degree of familiarity. You have to pay particular attention to seating and other elements to do with VIPs to ensure a seamless and successful event.”
Mr. van Wyck adds that your guest list can serve as an extension of your brand at the event. “Brand events feature meticulously curated guest lists that revolve around attendees who effectively embody their desired image. Within these curated lists, a further layer of exclusivity often exists—VIPs who typically include industry influencers, key clients, or high-ranking executives. VIP guests are accorded distinct privileges, such as designated seating, exclusive access, or personalized experiences. As such, it becomes imperative to track their arrivals and monitor their whereabouts throughout the event,” he shares.
To help keep everything organized, Paperless Pro offers convenient guest management features, such as Guest Surveys you can send with your invitations to gather useful info like meal preferences. Or Guest Tags, which allow you to group your guest list into helpful categories, like ‘VIPs’ or ‘London Team’. You can also check guests into the party on-site using our app’s Guest Check-in feature, which can also come in handy later for sending out post-event ‘Thank you’ messages to attendees.
Serve up your holiday party with a side of hospitality
Both of our party pros agree that adding small touches of personalization goes a long way—and that, above all else, your event should be authentic to your brand. “There’s no one type of festive!” says Ms. Leahy. “If you are a minimalist brand, stick to that. Keep things authentic, but most importantly fun and on-brand.”
Of course, you want your guests to remember your holiday party long after it’s over. When it comes to making your party memorable, little details make a huge impact, says Mr. van Wyck, who insists that even “small touches of holiday hospitality” can make even the biggest events feel intimate. “Perhaps it’s a treat left on each place setting—something that guests can take home as a reminder of the event. These tokens need not be extravagant; a simple, thoughtful gesture suffices to convey that genuine consideration was invested in every detail,” he says.
Creating a Custom URL and adding password protection is another simple, yet sophisticated detail that takes your event from ordinary to exclusive. In addition, upgrading to Paperless Post Plus allows you to add even more fun, branded event details with Premium Blocks, where you can include photo galleries, speaker bios, accommodation information, and more, without cluttering your holiday party invitation.
Brand your holiday party with Paperless Post
The holiday season is the perfect time to gather your clients, customers, and community and celebrate a year’s worth of achievements—as well as all the excitement that lies ahead for your brand. So pop the bubbly, prep your nice list (and your guest list), and start planning your professional holiday event with the help of Paperless Pro. Merry everything!
Invite guests to mix and a-mingle with festive designs you can email, text, or share.
