MSU Broad Business College Donor Dinner | East Lansing, MI

When the MSU Broad College of Business approached us to provide all of the floral and design for the events surrounding the Minskoff Pavillion unveiling, we couldn’t jump at the opportunity fast enough! Most notably, we did a bespoke, sophisticated design for the Alumni and Donor Dinner.  Although I didn’t graduate from the MSU Business College specifically (though in retrospect I probably should have), anything MSU is near and dear to our green hearts at All Grand Events + Floral.

MSU Broad Business College Minksoff Pavilion Dedication Alumni/Donor Dinner | September 2019

 

Here’s the amazing thing about corporate events, we get a LOT of freedom to design after being given an initial budget and color palette. We got to order custom-made linens for 2 of the 3 events we designed… We got to have basically full say in what the centerpieces looked like (as long as they were green and white; duh?), what table numbers were used, and actual flower choices within each centerpiece.

My absolute favorite part of the whole design were two freestanding greenery columns flanking the entryway (looking good, Sparty!) Our client asked if we could provide lit trees for the entryway, and I instead suggested these showstoppers! We covered the chicken wire covered pipe & drape poles in gorgeous Southern smilax from East Texas Smilax, then popped in, bleached Italian Ruscus, sword fern, and white snowberry on site. They were truly remarkable, and were very unexpected for the guests as they walked in.  The nice thing about freestanding columns like these, is that they are relatively mobile with the correct tools. Something like this could easily be transported from an entryway to a stage, or from a ceremony site to a reception site for dual purpose use.

Takeaways from this stunning, corporate event: 

1. It is possible to make table numbers large and clear without having them overwhelm the entire tablescape design.
2. It is possible to take an idea like potted trees with string lights and reimagine it to be something people will remember and talk about.
3. It’s amazing when your client tells you guests from your event were saying this was like their dream wedding.
4. It’s so important to make sure you get photos of your corporate events. For this event, we brought in Cayla from Johnson Photography. She was incredible, and so are her photos. Most corporate events have photographers, but their sole job is to capture images of the guests and the speakers and your designs will never be captured other than in the background in most circumstances.

 

Floral + Design: All Grand Events + Floral // Photography: Johnson Photography // Venue: James B. Henry Center of MSU/University Club // Linen/Chair Rentals: Special Occasions