What a "View" with Barbara Walters!

The SLC staff had the pleasure of meeting a broadcasting legend on Monday, February 19th in East Peoria. Barbara Walters was the keynote speaker at the annual Creve Couer Club's George Washington's Birthday celebration. What an awesome experience it was to meet such a wonderful woman! It was hard not to think of all of the famous hands that had met Ms. Walters' before mine, how cool! Janet Jackson (a very talented local artist) created a very neat, original centerpiece for the event as well. Janet utilized real cherry tree stumps with cherry blossoms and green moss surrounding them. She then cleanly placed an axe into the top of the centerpiece which on the handle the words "I cannot tell a lie" were embedded; very original! We also implimented a warm lighting design which encompassed the entire ballroom of the Embassy Suite's facility. We mounted several LCD projectors from the ceiling which projected a powerpoint presentation showcasing several well-known figures Ms. Walter's has interviewed over the years. We also placed a huge 20'x 24' trussing structure behind the stage and then outfitted it with projection scrim. This is where a customized gobo with an awesome image of the Murray Baker bridge was projected. The bridge artwork was created by yes, the one and only Janet Jackson. What a milestone in our companies' career! We're off to Texas for a wedding; please check in for more posts.

Annual Night of Hope, 2010

We had the pleasure of working with the American Cancer Society as they hosted their Annual Night of Hope Gala at the Paradice Hotel and Casino last weekend. The Aphrodisiacs band traveled from Chicago to play for several hundred disco lovers who danced the night away under our newest concept in lighting, a trussing square. This thing is cool! We've designed the square to be placed over the dance floor area and added intelligent (moving) lights, LED fixtures, strobes and a huge mirror ball. If you are looking for something really different and unique for your event, this is it! We're the original lighting company who brought the concept of lighted trusses to the area and now of course everyone has made the look their own. Now we've brought even more concepts to the area via the trussing square as well as the option of adding a customized, lighted/draped bar service area and a draped dance floor area! It's exciting to offer so many different choices to our clients and to stay fresh as the industry/market leader. We are also looking forward to presenting a few more tricks we've hidden up our sleeves in the upcoming weeks of the year; please check in often to see what new, fun things pop up on our blog. Thanks for checking in!

Bill Brady at The Double Tree, Bloomington.

We spent Tuesday, February 2nd at the Double Tree Hotel in Bloomington witnessing history in the making. Bill Brady's campaign took over the "pre-event" area of the conference center in it's quest to secure the Republican nomination to get Mr. Brady into the Illinois' Governors seat. We were asked to team up with our pal Tim from Absolute Light & Sound (who took care of all of the AV requirements of the evening) and add a bit of color to the space. We created a custom gobo specific to Mr. Brady's campaign and projected it predominately for all to see. We used red and blue to tie the event together with color and give the room a very patriotic feeling as everyone watched Mr. Brady speak about his plans for the future of Illinois.

Banister Loves Kerker!

I wanted to post a few photos of a wedding we did last Fall as I just found a few photos of this particular event. We worked with Lisa Regan on this beautifully planned event which was a new experience for us. The bride had a very modern sence of style which was fun to work with. Shelly had a very cool monogram in mind for her reception so we duplicated the design and projected it proudly above the head table; this was a great focal point for the room. The wedding party and guests alike danced into the late hours of the day which ended with a bride and groom happily married. Thanks for having us Shelly and Nick!

Up Town at the New Marriott...

Saturday January 23rd, 2010 will be a date that I will remember for quite some time. That's the date when we first worked with the new Marriott's staff located in up town Normal. The Marriott opened her doors to bid a heart felt "thank you" to all of those who worked so hard to land this beautiful property in our town. Dave, Joel and Stephanie spent many hours grooming the ballroom into a lavish, contemporary experience for their guests. We were asked to join the process and to provide many elements of the decor such as a customized bar, a trussing square located over the dancing area, gobo projecting, pin spotting (well, you get the idea). This has got to be one of my favorites based on the room layout, colors and the overall attention to detail given by the Marriott's staff. I'd say if you've not booked a venue for your event, you'll want to give this place a very serious consideration as it's fabulous. Thanks for having us Dave, Joel and Stephanie! My staff and I are looking forward to our next visit you your wonderful facility.

Saturday, January 23rd brought typical Winter weather, you know cold, windy conditions that make you wish you were in a place like Aruba! Well for our clients Angela and Michael who were married there earlier this month, we created a bit of Aruba back home here in Illinois at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria. Angela and Michael wanted to offer a taste of sun and sand to their friends and family who weren't able to attend the ceremony in the Caribbean. The two enlisted the help of Lisa Regan from Happily Ever After Weddings to create a sophisticated, fun experience by bringing in many key elements such as live fish, star fish, palm leaves and fish netting. She accomplished a "perfect" look of a destination wedding by using white folding chairs, brilliant table linens as well as fun table placements. My staff and I had the privilage of providing production and disc jockey services for the day as well as creating a customized tiki/cabana/arbour bar for drinks to be served from. We also created the mood by slowing transforming the room from a bright "blue sky filled" day into a warm sunset by utilizing our LED panels. Once the sunset occured, we projected the wedding ceremony for the guests to see. What a fun time! Thanks for having us Mr. and Mrs. Moriartity! It was our pleasure to work with you on your special day! Congrats and good luck in the future.

A Very Happy New Year!

I want to begin our first blog posting of 2010 by thanking all of the clients we've had the privilege of working with in 2009. Over the past twelve months we've enjoyed seeing many brides, grooms and their families enjoy one of the best days of their lives and are honored to be chosen as one of the vendors to provide services for their events.

For the new year we've added two brand new production options for our clients to choose from. First we're introducing the option of customizing your bar service area. Our staff can create many different "looks" for your bar area. Your guests will enjoy the opportunity of receiving their beverage served from a unique, custom bar designed to be something different than the normal eight foot table with warm drinks piled upon it. Secondly, we've added a twenty two by twenty two foot trussing square. The trussing square is eleven foot tall and is outfitted with many cutting edge lighting effects. Once constructed over the dance floor area, your guests will enjoy the "club like" experience of dancing in the middle of moving light, colors and patterns. Both choices are options our clients can utilize in making their event a refreshing, new experience for their guests. Please take a look at the gallery section of our web site for photos of both the trussing square and bar service areas. To find out more, please give us a buzz!

Thanks to all who stopped by our booth on January 10th at the civic center. The "Wedding of a Lifetime" wedding show was a huge success for us and our guest Save the Date. We asked Beth from Save the Date to join us to add a little flare by placing her beautiful linens, centerpieces and floral arrangements throughout our space. Thanks for joining us Beth!