Gala dinner planner for your Maison's evenings, from seating plan to last car

Let's begin with a brief

Luxury by the Lake works as a gala dinner planner for the seated evenings Maisons give for their clients, a launch or an anniversary, in Geneva, Paris, Dubai and the resorts in season. You set the guest list and the tone; we take charge of the venue, the set, the light and sound, the table and the timing, up to the last car.

At a glance

What

organisation and production of gala dinners and evenings, from feasibility study to wrap-up: gala dinner, launch evening, private reception for a Maison, company gala

We handle

venue, scenography, light, sound and video, catering coordination, seating plan, guest welcome, protocol, guest transport, show control

Where

Geneva, Paris, Dubai, worldwide

Responsibility

sets reused, LED on the venue's grid power, meals and furniture given away, a CSR report for each evening

Who

a joint venture of Pelichet Expositions (Geneva) and a Paris-based production studio

Contact

contact@luxebylake.com · 111 avenue Victor Hugo, 75016 Paris · Pelichet Expositions, Route des Jeunes 55, 1212 Grand-Lancy (Geneva)

Gala dinner: what the evening needs

We settle a few points with you early. The venue comes first: its capacity seated, its kitchens or the space for a caterer, the access for deliveries, the time the build can start. The seating plan follows, with the protocol your guests expect, where the speakers sit and the line of sight to the stage.

During the evening, our team runs the welcome and the cloakroom, cues the speeches and the performance, times the service with the kitchen, and plans the departures so that cars arrive in the right order. Behind the scenes, the show caller holds the running order and talks to each department on the same channel.

You see all of this in advance, in a technical plan and a running order that you approve line by line. On the night, one person answers to you for the whole evening.

The set and the table

We work from your studio's drawings, or with art directors and scenographers from our network when you prefer to hand over the design. Joiners, metalworkers, upholsterers and florists build and dress the room; lighting designers light the table, the faces and the pieces on display.

We hire furniture, textiles and tableware rather than make them, and design the sets for several lives, stored in Geneva between seasons. After the dinner, materials, furniture and meals that can be given away go to partners chosen in advance. We run LED lighting on grid power in place of generators wherever the venue allows. We apply the principles of ISO 20121 to each evening, and the estimate carries a CSR section.

A good evening comes from people who love their trade, working for the object and the guest.

Gala dinners in Geneva, Paris and on the lake

In Geneva, a gala dinner can take a palace hotel on the quays, the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices on the Rhône, or the Lausanne, the boat the CGN offers for private hire, with up to 500 guests seated; our luxury event planner Geneva page covers the watch calendar around it.

In Paris, the Hôtel de la Marine, the Monnaie de Paris, the Grand Palais and several hôtels particuliers open for private evenings; our event production studio in Paris page lists them. In winter, we take the set up to Gstaad, St Moritz or Crans-Montana for a dinner in the resort.

Gala dinner Dubai

A gala dinner in Dubai follows the season. From November to March, the evening can take place outdoors, on a beach terrace or in a desert camp; from June to September, it moves to a ballroom or to Dubai Opera, whose auditorium converts to a flat floor for a seated dinner. During Ramadan, dinners start after sunset. Your pieces and sets travel from Geneva with Pelichet Expositions. Our corporate events Dubai page covers venues, permits and the Dubai Watch Week calendar.

Our standards, from brief to debrief

1. Brief: guest list, tone, date, city. We send back our understanding in writing.
2. Feasibility and costing: site visits, technical plan, seating plan, itemised budget.
3. Preparation and delivery: suppliers, permits, build, rehearsal, show control on the night.
4. Wrap-up: budget closed, feedback gathered, archives handed to the Maison.

For a large gala, a full team works for you: project, creative, production and operations, each with its lead, and one voice for the Maison. For a dinner of a few dozen, a single lead holds project, production and technical, and more of the budget goes to the table and the guest. When the gala closes a launch day, our product launch event page covers the day itself, and our corporate event production studio page covers dinners for your teams and partners.

Confidentiality

For a Maison, the guest list is confidential. We sign a non-disclosure agreement before anyone on our side sees it, keep it with the few people who need it, and release images of a build or an evening only with your written consent. The work we produce for a Maison belongs to the Maison, which decides in writing what may be shown or said.

Frequently asked questions

How many guests can you seat at a gala dinner?

As many as the venue seats with comfort and service in mind, from a private salon for a few dozen to a ballroom or an exhibition hall for several hundred. We shortlist venues for your guest count, visit them with you, then send a seating plan and a costed technical plan.

How far ahead should we book a gala dinner?

As soon as your date and city are fixed. Counting back from the date, the venue comes first, then the set, whose drawings need your approval before the build. Rooms go early during Watches and Wonders week, the busiest weeks of the Paris calendar and Dubai Watch Week, so we start scouting straight away.

Can you work with our chef or caterer?

Yes. We coordinate with the venue's kitchen, the caterer you choose or a guest chef, and time the service with the speeches and the performance. The menu, the wines and the service style stay your decision; we take care of the logistics around them.

Do you handle seating and protocol?

Yes. We draw the seating plan with you, manage the welcome, the cloakroom and the placement of speakers, and plan the departures with your drivers or a transport company we book for you. Protocol for official guests follows the rules your team gives us.

What happens to the set after the dinner?

Hired furniture and tableware go back to their owners. Sets designed for several lives return to storage in Geneva for another evening. Whatever can be given away, from materials to meals, goes to partners agreed with you before the event.

What does a gala dinner budget cover?

Each line on its own: venue, set, light, sound and video, catering coordination, staff, guest welcome and transport. You choose where to spend, on the table, the set or the music, and we show you the effect of each change on the total before you decide.