Four worked evenings
What five hours actually looks like.
People book an evening and then wonder what happens in it. These four are built from the briefs we get most often, with the times we would really put in a timing plan — including the unglamorous parts, like the moment someone has to decide about the weather. Your own plan is written with you and the venue, and that version is the one that counts.
Company evening 5 hours
The night that has to fit three speeches in it
The most common brief we get. Everyone is coming, two or three people have to say something, and nobody wants the evening to turn into a meeting with canapés. The answer is to put the talking early and keep it short, then let the room loosen.
Formats that suit it
The timing plan
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15:00
Bump-in starts. Tables, lighting and the chip desk go in while the venue finishes the room.
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17:30
Technical check finished, timing plan walked through with your contact and the venue manager.
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18:30
Doors. Props chips handed out at the desk, photo corner open and staffed, warm playback.
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19:10
Host opens from the microphone. Three speeches back to back, 12 minutes in total, finished before the food.
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19:30
Seated service by your caterer. Playback drops under conversation level.
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20:30
Tables open. Teaching round at roulette, blackjack and poker, then rotation.
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22:00
Lighting state changes, the floor opens and the DJ takes over from the tables.
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23:30
Last call, host closes, house light up in two steps. Bump-out until 01:00.
Private celebration 5 hours
The anniversary with three generations in the room
A private host, a mixed-age guest list and a hard requirement that nobody is left sitting at the edge. The programme stays gentle, the room carries the occasion, and there is always a second thing to do for anyone not dancing.
Formats that suit it
The timing plan
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14:00
Bump-in. Long-table dressing, festoon and the photo corner go up first so the room is finished early.
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16:45
Light check in daylight and again with the blinds down, because a Southland afternoon lies to you.
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17:30
Doors. Acoustic playback, photo corner open, host greets at the entrance.
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18:15
Long-table service begins. First interlude from the host between the courses, five minutes.
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19:30
Second interlude: a 20-minute table game that works sitting down.
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20:15
Floor opens with a slow first half hour, seating kept along the walls.
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22:00
Host closes with a thank-you on behalf of the hosts, then music to the finish.
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22:30
Bump-out begins once the last guests have gone through to the bar area.
Company day 5 hours
The daytime one, where the weather gets a vote
A company day on a field with family invited. Two plans exist from the start: the one on the grass and the one in the hall. The decision point is written into the timing plan with a time and a name against it.
Formats that suit it
The timing plan
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08:00
Bump-in on the field. Stations marked out, shade structure up, generator placed and tested.
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10:30
Weather decision point. Your contact and our coordinator confirm field or hall, in writing.
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11:30
Open. Host welcomes from the sound point and reads the rotation off the published timetable.
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11:45
First rotation across the stations, crew on every station, scoring board live.
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13:15
Shared break. Your caterer serves, the programme pauses rather than competing.
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14:00
Second rotation, with the quieter stations weighted for the groups who want them.
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15:45
Final round with everyone watching, then standings and a close from the host.
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16:30
Bump-out while coffee is still going. Site left as we found it.
Team night 4 hours
The short one, for a team that wants a result
Four hours, under 40 people, and a scoreboard. This shape suits a team that has just finished something hard and wants an evening with a beginning, a middle and a winner — then dinner, then home.
Formats that suit it
The timing plan
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15:30
Bump-in. Stations built and tested, clock and scoring screen mounted.
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17:30
Doors. Host splits the room into teams of four to six and runs the rules in under ten minutes.
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17:45
First block. Visible clock, crew resetting behind each rotation.
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18:45
Standings go up. The host sets the difficulty of the next block from how the room is doing.
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19:30
Food break, your caterer serves, scores stay on screen.
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20:15
Final block and the decider, then the standings and the close.
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21:30
Programme ends. Bump-out until 22:30.
Nothing here is fixed
How a plan gets bent to fit.
The order of the parts
Speeches can come before the food or between courses. The main activity can open the evening or close it. The only fixed rule is that a teaching round comes before a rotation.
The level of the tasks
Puzzle and quiz difficulty is set with you, and the host can change the weighting mid-evening if one group is running away with it.
Pauses
The programme pauses for dinner and for speeches rather than competing with them. A 20-minute gap in the plan is a decision, not an oversight.
The finish
The finish time belongs to the venue. We build backwards from it, and if you want it extended it has to be agreed with the venue first.
Three questions
About the evening itself.
Are these timings fixed?
No. They are worked examples. Your own timing plan is written with you and the venue, and it is the only version that matters on the night.
Can the order of the blocks change?
Yes. Speeches, food and the main activity can move around each other. The only hard constraints are bump-in, the venue’s finish time and the fact that a teaching round has to come before a rotation.
What happens if the night runs late?
The finish time in the agreement is the venue’s, not ours. If you want to extend it on the night, it has to be agreed with the venue first, and extra crew hours are invoiced afterwards.
Describe your evening.
Tell us what has to happen in it — the speeches, the dinner, the finish time — and we will send back a plan shaped around those.