Just took a call from a client that wants to add pipe and drape to her package for a wedding we are doing in May. I've never done P&D before (didn't tell her that of course) and responded that we would need to meet at the venue again to get dimensions and location to get a quote. The reception area is 4000 sqr ft. Her objective is to add a focal point for the head table which is 12ft wide.
Based on what I've read up online so far I could either buy a kit with drapes or have my wife make the drapes and I buy a frame/base system. I do plan to get add a photobooth to my services late next year so the investment would be leveraged there if possible.
Looking for opinions as to whether or not its better to buy a package or is getting frames and doing the DIY route feasible? OR do I need to outsource this piece.
Drapery is an interesting creature. I treat it like an animal, because no two setups are the same. Drapery is very fluid, it is a living breathing organism that has a mind of it's own. It takes experience to know how to tame it and make it do what's necessary. At first it looks simple and profitable, but be careful because if you buy the wrong fabric or hardware it can cost you in the beginning. I had to keep turning down clients for drapery and I couldn't stand it. We own over a hundred LEDs, it made sense that we eventually get into P&D. So, I made the plunge when a client specially requested drapery and breakup patterns. It was 2 different heights of fabric with a total of over 150 feet. The cost to get the job done was over $4,000 in hardware and fabric from OnlineEEI. After all the services we broke even on the event, it looked amazing:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...102704718.8113.106608759371619&type=3&theater
I learned A LOT:
- which fabric to use
- WHAT FABRIC NOT TO USE
- best fabric/hardware lengths to order
- best colors to order
- how to transport equipment
- how to setup
- how to check inventory based on room dimensions
- tricks to keep poles from showing
- how to do doorways
- best practice for keeping panels clean
- secret tools to make and use
Marketing and positioning the drapery came with time. Soon we were doing wall drapery every weekend. We owned an arsenal of bases/uprights/crossbars/panels and much needed "doo-hickeys". Next trend we noticed is that clients kept calling us about ceiling treatments. It was the same thing, we had to keep turning them down. I'm not going to lie, ceiling draping looked EXTREMELY intimidating. After turning down about 50 opportunities I get a call from a bride looking to do a very large $6,000 drapery/lighting package. Once again, this was intimidating... the bride knew EXACTLY what she wanted, she even sent me a photo:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5HWTpCXBHo/TsPaN6R6pQI/AAAAAAAAAos/GtEhUkAI_Zc/s1600/2009922171329.jpg
and I said yeah, we can do it (gulp)... The bride got excited and said she was going to book, I started to panic quietly in my head.... This was the make or break moment, and going against my natural instinct I booked her. Knowing I had to deliver, I dedicated an hour a day researching how to pull off this specific look. After hundreds of phone calls and dozens of fabric samples from vendors, it came time to purchase specialized fabric. This was not the cheap stuff from OnlineEEI. This new silk fabric cost around $5,000, and it was dropped off at our warehouse the week of her event. We spent days cutting and organizing rolls upon rolls. I was constantly triple checking measurements, going back and forth between the scissors and the paperwork. One wrong cut could cost hundreds in wasted fabric. The next day we left to setup the package, this was the point of no return.
The drive was the most stressful part of the weekend. The venue was almost 3 hours away from our studio. The whole time I kept going over everything in my head, making sure I was prepared for every possible situation. I brought with me every "doo-hickey" known to man. We had enough people, (I kept it a slow weekend on purpose) we had plenty of time. We scheduled 2 days for our drapery/lighting setup. The place looked desolate when we arrived. Desolate isn't the word to describe it, intimidating would be more fitting. Just to think that we were going to be held responsible for making this place look like everything it should be.
Before
http://www.lightupmyevent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2012_08200088.jpg
To make it more stressful the client and the entire bridal party was there during our setup, watching our every move. They were anxiously awaiting the transformation, it was like a game show for them. I wasn't worried about the 40 DMX controlled uplights, the 300 feet of wall draping, the photo booth in the hallway. the 8 crystal chandeliers, or the 4 platinum spot 5r's. I was concerned with the dynamics of attaching this drapery to the ceiling:
During
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...5834771942.260039.164469221942&type=1&theater
It's not easy to do what you see in the photo above. Just trying to figure out how to get that high safely was something that was handled months prior (were we going to rent a scissor lift, should we buy a scissor lift, does the venue have scaffolding, can we access it with a ladder, what height). It only took a couple of hours to get it up. As soon as I saw the drapery from the ground, I felt on top of the world! It was one of those moments where you prove yourself wrong. The bride just finished having her hair done and stepped into the room minutes later. She was floored, it was exactly what she wanted:
After
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...5834771942.260039.164469221942&type=1&theater
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fhk0btZHrk
Another setup
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151010061236943&set=a.485834771942.260039.164469221942&type=1&theater
Working with this stuff is surreal. Getting into it is definitely not something for the faint of heart! It's not like offering photo booths or uplighting. It takes money, time, sweat, blood, and patience. I would advise about 95% of the people to stay away from this!!!!!!! You definitely need a huge storage space to just to work this fabric. Some pieces of fabric are over 75 feet long! It's not like you can just measure/fold that many yards in you your front yard (no pun intended). You have to be in an environmentally controlled building so the fabric stays clean. What if it rains the entire week of the event how would you do inventory?
Also it requires a lot of time to problem solve the setup. If you don't do this full-time you won't be able to give each client your undivided attention. You can very easily screw up a package and piss off a client with a large budget. Just imagine if someone wanted to take you to court for $5g's and all the money from the package is tied up on drapery. I am grateful to say that all our clients have been extremely satisfied with what we have given them. I hope this has been helpful.
