Let's Start at the Beginning

Welcome to the Golden Age of the Biltmore resort in Phoenix, Arizona. During the final night reception for this leading financial services provider, 1,000 guests were swept back in time where they lounged on the Squaw Peak Lawn alongside famous guests such as Marilyn Monroe, Chuck Berry, and James Dean. Creative attention to detail made all the difference in weaving this enchanting night with the captivating history of the Arizona Biltmore. With a 360-degree rotating stage, living mannequins performing a surprise flash dance, and an authentic drive-in, guests were enthralled with a night of fascinating elegance and excitement.

Keep Calm and Glam On

While the Squaw Peak Lawn is large, as with any grassy space, there were multiple divets and holes to consider. To overcome this, we strategically placed décor such as the cars, tables, etc. so that this was unnoticeable to our guests. The lawn is also shaped similar to an octagon, with a long narrow space at the rear. We made the space functional by developing a drive-in concept, which allowed us to place the 15-ft. raised LED screen at the furthest point, then expand the seating and cars as guests moved toward the center of the event.
Speaking of the center of the event, we wanted to create a 360-degree rotating stage to serve as its enthralling epicenter but that lawn space is occupied by a working fountain. Unwilling to part with our dream, we prepared numerous diagrams and held multiple meetings with our production company and the resort to craft and execute our vision for this custom-built stage.

A significant amount of time was required to load in the lighting and stage for this event, but we could not begin construction as early as we needed to. We negotiated a schedule and agreement with the Arizona Biltmore to start load in on the night of our guests’ arrival for their program, while they were at an off-property event. The construction had to resume very early the next morning, since the only path for the forklifts was directly through the space we were using for two other events that day. Due to our extensive professional experience, our detailed load-in schedule took this into account and allowed us to get all of our gear onto the Squaw Peak Lawn and have the rear loading dock clear in time for our other events.

The Final Exclamation

The positive feedback we received from our clients and the guests themselves was overwhelming. Our client thanked us repeatedly and said she didn’t think refreshing the program and the final night event would be possible, but that she was absolutely wrong. To quote our client, “Some people look for beautiful and exciting places in the world, others make the world beautiful and exciting.”

An existing fountain where we want to build our custom 360-degree rotating stage? No sweat. A final night reception filled with elegant and intentional design with surprises at every turn? It’s what we do!