Show Pony Events recently had the privilege to work with Priceline Australia on styling their annual Priceline Pharmacy National Conference that was held at various venues around Canberra. This was a massive 4-day event with almost 500 delegates from around the country, 5 installations, 4 dinners and 2 years of planning!
Events included an exhibition, conferences and incredible dinners at various venues such as the National Museum of Australia and the National Arboretum Canberra amongst others.
Day 1 – The National Portrait Gallery
The week began with a VIP dinner for a small group of people from within the Priceline organisation and held at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
The styling brief was to be elegant, understated and to ensure a focus on native foliage and florals. Linen was a stone linen fabric paired with emerald velvet napkins. Table styling featured the use of an eclectic range of vintage and cut-glass vases with the feature foliage being dollar gum, yellow Billy buttons and hints of rich red florals.
What we loved about this event was the use of the cut crystal vases on each table that gave a lovely old-world feel and worked beautifully with the blonde timber tones in the foyer of the National Portrait Gallery.
Day 2 – The National Museum of Australia
For the next event on day 2, the theme was ‘The Great Aussie Icons’. Set at the beautiful National Museum of Australia, this was to capture all things Australian – from the performers to the styling to the stage being set like a desert scene at Uluru.
Our favourite part of this setup was definitely the stage! It looked amazing and was the focus point in the room with the moveable stage pieces built to resemble the colours and shapes of the Olgas and Uluru.
The colour selection was right on point using sand coloured linen paired with dark timber Bentwoods and illuminated Aussie Icon motifs on every table.
Day 3 – Pialligo Estate
The evening dinner for day 3 of the 4-day Priceline Pharmacy National Conference was held at Pialligo Estate. Due to the large number of guests attending (460), the vision was to use several event spaces at the property and create a journey throughout the evening for guests.
As guests arrived, they made their way into the Fields Restaurant for pre-dinner drinks. This space was transformed into a boutique old-world style piano bar with key elements in this design brief that included rich red velvets with a “Bellagio” feel, red velvet antique lounge range, vintage suitcases converted to coffee tables and rich red roses throughout the room with the focal points in the space being the baby grand piano and luxe photo wall to set the mood.
Guests then made their way out into a custom built clear top marquee. The brief here was for a relaxed but luxe country vibe. The team created this using recycled custom timbers, gold pressed tin bars and wicker lounges. Catering for this space was also relaxed featuring a grazing station in the centre of the marquee.
And for later in the evening, the main restaurant at Pialligo played host. Noting the permanent decor already in place within the restaurant, the Show Pony Events team was mindful not to compete with the feel of the room but rather complement it by introducing our beautiful custom-made black herringbone tiled bars as the food stations for the service of the main meal. We also installed a black pressed tin bar for drinks service and our sleek modern pedestal bar range with slate grey toppers to complete the look. A dance floor was setup with a DJ providing music while the guests danced the night away.
A dance floor was also installed and a DJ provided music that guests danced until late.
Day 4 – The National Arboretum
The finale of the Priceline week-long conference was a dinner at the incredible The National Arboretum.
The client brief was the ‘Class of 1982’ to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of Priceline Pharmacy in Australia. The colour palette was to represent the 80s and to ensure we captured the vibrancy and neon lights that were quite prominent for this period along with a focus on hot pink to pay tribute to the Priceline brand.
Guests arrived through a 3m high colourful organic balloon arch stepping straight into the Class of 1982 glitter photo wall created by our team.
Table styling was all about focussing on neon lighting and hot pinks. The styling teams final collaboration for the tables was to pair black sequin linen with black tiffany chairs. Each table featured our new custom-made black orbs centred on each table which were lined with hot pink neon strip lighting which illuminated the floral centrepieces which hosted pink carnations and baby breath – a nod to the popular flowers of the 80s. The entire back wall of the room was draped in a black sequin with neon lighting panels for effect.
Jillian Hart, Owner & Director – Show Pony Events
“460 delegates, 5 installations, 4 dinners and 2 years in the making. I had the absolute pleasure of working with Show Pony Events in delivering a massive 4 day event. Bianca, Jillian and the team worked tirelessly to deliver the creative aspect of all the events within the program. The event was postponed in 2021 and we were able to seamlessly pick up where we left off in 2022. Every problem had a solution, the crew were cheery and helpful and the looks they created were beyond my expectations.”
Andrew Balnaves
Photos by: HollWill Photography
Caterers: Ginger Catering
Planning a corporate event? Whatever your event, be it a gala dinner, awards night, product launch, activation or fundraising event, we are dedicated to providing a high-quality professional service. We can custom design and create settings that will make your event unique and reflect your brand.
