Everything you need to plan the room — not just proof it worked.
Kel's own point of view on running a great corporate event — a real planner's guide, not a sales sheet — plus the companies who've already booked him, the vendors he recommends, and a free PDF for your file.
The playbook
Work backward from last call
Set the time guests are meant to be walking out the door first, then build the run of show backward from it. Planning forward from doors-open is how a night quietly creeps past its own budget.
Entertainment goes where the room goes quiet
Cocktail hour before doors open to dinner, and the stretch between dinner and dessert, are where a room loses momentum. That's where magic and MC work earn their keep — not squeezed in as a bonus after the speeches.
One point of contact for the whole night
Five separate vendors means five separate confirmations, five arrival times, and five things that can go sideways on the day. An act that does close-up, stage, and MC hosting together collapses that down to one phone number.
Fit the format to your floor plan
Close-up magic needs nothing from the venue — no staging, no AV, no green room. A stage show needs sightlines and a working mic. Decide which one your room actually supports before you book either.
High season sells out before you'd expect
November and December book out weeks ahead of the date itself. If the event is a holiday party, start the entertainment conversation the same week you lock the venue, not after.
Batch the prizes, don't parade them
Fifty individual call-ups eats the whole night and loses the room by prize twenty. Group them into a few rounds instead — five or six names called up together — so everyone still gets their moment without turning awards into their own event.
Shrink the dance floor for awards and speeches
A huge empty dance floor during awards and speeches is dead space no speaker can talk into. Bring the floor in for that segment — a smaller, tighter footprint puts people closer to the stage, gives speakers something to actually connect with, and makes an entertainer's job holding the room that much easier.
Seat leadership and presenters where the room can see them
Front-and-centre seating for executives and anyone presenting isn't just etiquette — it's a sightline decision. When leadership and presenters are placed where the audience naturally looks, the entertainer, the speakers, and the room all benefit from the same setup.
Get the PDF
Five pages. No fluff.
A corporate event planner's guide, from a magician's perspective — the flagship case studies, the planning playbook, the client roster, and the vendor list, all in one PDF you can forward.
Who's booked the room
A sample of the companies Kel has performed for
Hotel groups, national retailers, professional services firms, tech and resource companies — part of 150+ five-star Google reviews and roughly 140 events a year. Full write-ups on the biggest of these are on the case studies page.
Vendors Kel actually calls
Not affiliates. Not a paid list.
These are the vendors Kel has watched work up close for years, across real events — the ones he recommends without hesitation, and tells to say hi from him when you book them.
Wedding & event planning
- Honour and BlessingJoanna
- Dream GroupChrissie
- Eventopia EventsLeena & Parm
- Power of ThreeeVinelli
- Cherry Wang ProductionCherry
- La Vista EventsHasti Maloufi & Melissa
Styling, venues & extras
- Blooms and PaperAyame — event styling & florals
- Spirit CruisesVanessa — venue
- UBC BoathouseVenue
- Twixter BalloonsDennis — balloon twisting
- Twistin' SamSam — balloon twisting
Photography, music & MC
- Dëmin PhotographyDëmin
- SoWeddingNick
- Vancouver MCMike Oulton — music, DJ, MC & games
The full write-up, with context on each one, is on the blog: Kel Modern Magic's recommended vendors.
Free download