My first event with Glow
First official event with Glow took place on the 30th of September 2017 and the venue was in Kotka, South Eastern part of Finland. This was a Graduation Party combined with a Marketing event in honour of Mia, the owner of Glow events. Now, the reason or name of this event might not necessary sound as catching as what went down at the event but I will give you a tip, it was a crazy weekend!! Crazy in all forms of fun, glitz and glamour.
You might have imagined or expected a “traditional” or would I say academic kind of event since it was a graduation party in Finland. Or as for the marketing part, something a bit more corporate. I had many assumptions that the Finns are a bit more serious minded than it turned out. Still, I would say it was serious business because the planning and detailing was not a mere joke, and of course Glow takes business seriously.
I will break down the event into stages and segments of what went down at each moment in time and what the experience in general felt like.
Planning: The planning of the event took place before I joined Glow. I was put up to speed of what was already put in place and how the whole process would take place. This had to do with a lot of merchandise, accessories and decoration props for the event. The colours of the day were white, black and gold and all the props, I mean ALL of them had a touch of white, black and gold. There were lights, fabrics, table stands, runners, balloons, plates, cutleries, glasses, shishas, candles, decorations stands, floaters and so many other tiny details that were all matching with the primary colours of the day. We had several meetings trying to put things together and marking the checklist to ensure nothing was left out. All these items including the very fragile ones were carefully transported to Kotka which is over 250 kilometres away from Tampere In Finland.
The Venue Setting and arrangement: The venue was a nice and cozy setting located somewhere in Karhula, Kotka which had a main entrance leading to the main hall, a pool, a shower room and a Sauna. Most of the arrangements had to be done a day before, like laying the tables and setting the runners and table stands, decorating the pool side with beautiful large candle frames, helium balloons, pool drink carriers, seats and shishas. A stage and music corner was also carved out and all these angles were beautifully decorated. The shower room, the sauna and the conveniences were not left out. The general theme of the event was a little bit coded and only viewers of the popular TV series “How I Met Your Mother” could understand some small details, but the general ambience was warm and easy to fall in love with. The tiny details were chosen because it is the graduate's favourite TV show and this goes to show how any of your favourite things in life could be attached to your special day.
Arrival of guests: First set of guest arrived around 4pm for coffee, guests were warm with smiles, hugs and gifts for the graduate and were welcomed with a glass of champagne at the entrance with an option of alcoholic and non-alcoholic champagne. They were also greeted by the warm ambience of beautiful lights and low music at the background. It melted my heart to see how patiently they waited at the entrance to have time to congratulate and present their gifts. Where I come from, people hardly give gifts at the entrance. They come in straight and until they have had their fill of the day and are about leaving the event, that is when they present their gifts. I found the style here really heart-warming. It was amazing to see how many people really wanted to congratulate Mia and present a gift. A cup of coffee or tea and some cake was enough to keep guests cheerful and social. This was followed by a toast and well wishes for the graduate after which guests continued to chit chat and catch up by themselves. The cake was also unveiled and cut and the atmosphere was peaceful and easy going. Everything seemed blissful.
Dinner: Dinner was like second half of the event. Some guests stayed back after coffee and new set of guests arrived. This set were more like the young stars. Same process, warms greetings, champagne, pleasantries and then a breath-taking live performance by Stella Christine, woman with a guitar. There were five different kinds of salads and many different kinds of drinks for the guests. I believe everyone that came, ate and drank to their fill.
Side Attractions: There were also some side attractions which included a glamorously decorated bar loaded with all sorts of drinks and run by a brisk bar tender from Your Bartender for a couple of hours. This bar served assorted kinds of mixed drinks and punch drinks. Just name it, and it was served!
Secondly, there was an Instagram hashtag printer from Partyprint. This printer would print automatically pictures posted on Instagram with the specific hashtag #challengecompleted17. This was fun because beautiful and exciting moments were captured, and all the pictures were printed. There was a clipboard to clip pictures for those who were generous enough to clip theirs as a gift to the graduate.
One of the most exciting side attraction was the pool. A different kind of music played in the pool area and there were beautiful light stands, balloons, drink holders and nice seats. I call this “game on!” Where all the craziness went down. First our graduate Mia launched the pool by jumping in fully dressed and in her shoes! This brought on the energy and vibe needed for the pool area and soon after, everybody else got in the mood!
Sauna! I will not forget the sauna! There was a shower room for the sauna and to my greatest surprise the sauna and the shower were meant for both sexes. Everybody was free to take a shower or sauna at any time they pleased. It’s funny how easy it is for the Finns to get naked and hop into a shower or sauna regardless of the presence of the opposite sex. This I am sure would never happen in Nigeria! I call the shower, the sauna and the pool moment, a “Let’s get naked” moment. Now I know, that there is a “let’s get naked” moment in most of Finnish parties and celebrations.
No doubts, the event was a blast and I can bet that very few who enjoyed the beverages escaped from the weariness of the following morning. But despite of a very tired Sunday, we, the entire team of Glow were extremely pleased at the success of the event. It was indeed a wonderfull experience. This event has hopefully paved the way for many more parties to come, but also my preparedness for yet another “let’s get naked moment”. Cheers to Glow! :)
Pictures ©Ville Naumanen Photography
