We spent an evening in with friends from The Source and their partner brands, all whilst live on Facebook. In case you missed it, here’s the roundup of what went down, together with the video at the bottom.

Meet The Source – London’s Premier Event Planning Inspiration Platform

The Source was born out of Aron and Talya’s frustration at seeing clients and friends struggling for inspiration. As international event planning veterans, they dreamed of a collection of innovative brands, all handpicked and trustworthy, which anyone could visit to develop their event planning ideas.

What makes Aron and Talya so perfect for The Source?

Aron Schlagman is the Founder of WHiTEPAPER Events – one of the most popular Event Design, Production and Management companies in the UK. I’d say he’s the king of the Disneyland Effect – if anyone can transform every single aspect of a venue to match a theme, it’s Aron. I’ve seen Aron dream up a Ski Chalet in July; a magical world of unicorns, swans and LOTS of pink and even 3,000 hanging origami birds for some recent events. Just like in Disneyland, every detail is thought through to enhance the experience – with not a Starbucks Coffee or Haagen Dazs Ice Cream in sight – so too Aron’s events bring dreams and magic to light.

Talya Zysblat is always at the other end of the phone with her limitless wisdom and advice for events. I don’t know quite how she does it – but apparently a degree in Event Management, together with being a Mum of 4, helps! Talya’s on the hunt for the best brands out there and is the one who invited MAGNIV in, but best of all she’s also happy to take the time with everyone to chat about events. If you’re party planning, you can book in for a complementary chat and Talya will listen to your needs so that she can pick out of the Source suppliers those that suit you most.

So who else was at The Source Garden Party?

First up, we were lucky to have a tent from Stretch & Tents, because about halfway through, it poured! Miranda explained to us all about the variety of tents they stock and how they can be configured to all shapes and sizes. We had open sides but were still protected by the rain and often they’ll look at the weather forecasts in detail (even the wind!) to decide if last minute they need to close a particular side by stretching the tent down to the ground. Stretch & Tents can work with any type of surface; Miranda’s team had used special weighted boxes as last night was on AstroTurf which can’t have pegs in them.

Beyond Repair Dance – Draw Your Guests In With Immersive Dancers

If you’re thinking dancers just do shows, think again. Jane’s 8 performers, all trained dancers, many with further training in cirque, acrobatics and other specialist skills, create bespoke acts that enhance your event experience – just like lighting, music and flowers in a way. Whether it’s a ribbon dancer in an outfit that matches the wallpaper or an aerialist to wow your guests as they enter, adding human movement to your décor takes the effect to the next level. Dancers can be used to achieve many things – Jane explained to us how recently, two of her “human disco balls” were used to bring all the guests from a reception at a corporate event into the next room – no announcement needed, just a mesmerising, immersive experience. The Beyond Repair dancers specialise in bespoke solutions, so the dance fits perfectly into your event.

You can view more of their fabulous performers on the Beyond Repair Instagram.

The Pizza Project – Yeah, Wood-Fired Pizza at Your Event!

When Jonny from the Pizza Project turned to me and said “Can you give me a hand lifting something please?” I was like, sure. When he said, “You’ll need these gloves and it’s about 80KG” I was like, urmm…. I guess? But when he said, “It’s for Pizza”, how could I resist?

The Pizza Project make great Pizza at your events – it’s super fast and super tasty. They’re able to suit a whole host of dietary requirements, including sourcing Hallal Meats. They’ve got ovens in different shapes and styles, for indoor and outdoor use.

The Chefs all have at least 6 years in hand making pizza with a wood fired oven but beyond that, they’re fun, easy-going guys who will slot right into any corporate function or special occasion.

So if your main course is served at 20:00 and you’re expecting your wedding guests to dance into the early hours… I can think of a great midnight snack.

The Floral Pick ‘n’ Mix by Gabriella Shemtov Floral

Much like MAGNIV picked up a popular idea from Israel, headhunted the experts and launched the concept in the UK, Gabriella – a wedding florist who creates some of the most stunning décor – has launched a Floral Pick ‘n’ Mix and we’re betting serious cash that this will be a serious trend in no time.

Corsages for the ladies, Buttonholes for the men and just like everyone else who we saw last week, a completely customisable service. The flowers used for the Pick n Mix are all high-quality fakes – so as well as great fun to produce and looking fabulous in pictures, your guests get to take home souvenirs that haven’t wilted or fallen apart.

What’s more, the flower bar can be designed to match your theme – so whilst we saw a set up that would suit a rustic wedding nicely, there are more available.

Balloon Inspirations – You’ve Never Seen Balloons Quite Like it

What do you think of when you hear balloons? Probably children’s birthday, maybe foil helium and maybe even modelling into animals, hearts and flowers.

Think again. Tope and the team at Balloon Inspirations, now in their 26th year, use BALLOONS to transform event venues. With small, medium, large and ginormous balloons combined, Tope creates magical effects which you could never imagine.

Sure, there’s the classic, fun and full of colour configuration like we had last night, but there’s so much more. Think reds, greens, golds and silvers for Christmas, whites for a cloudy effect and themed balloons – like the bingo numbers we saw at a recent event.

Balloons work really nicely in any space, whether it’s to fill a big ceiling, create a backdrop behind a bar or even decorate a grand piano. They also combine well with lighting, spreading lights around softly and smoothly.

Before we move on, check out this balloon wall… wait for it 😉

Photomagnets – A New Wedding Entertainment Idea?

If you weren’t live, click below to watch the video – we come on at 23 minutes. But if you’d like a roundup of what we discussed, here goes:

As Talya put it, magnet printing at events is pretty new in the UK – which is great, as we’re just starting off the trend. But I had to admit that it wasn’t a brand new idea or invention; photomagnets are incredibly popular in a few other countries, notably Israel, the USA and Australia (you’ll have to watch the video to hear my terrible Australian accent). Adam, Eli, Ben and I noticed that it never took off in the UK, so we decided to launch it ourselves – bringing our combined experiences in growing businesses to the table, it was pretty much a guaranteed success. From the first meeting in a Costa Coffee in Leeds, to where we are now with 20 employees and growing each year, it’s pretty awesome. In fact, it’s “magniv”.

What does MAGNIV mean?

“Magniv” is a Hebrew word – a slang term that doesn’t literally translate but means “cool”. For example, if you were to go to a party, having never seen photomagnets before and notice our magnet board with your stunning photos on it, you might say, “Wow, Magniv!”. Then if 7 years later, someone over at your house saw the magnets on your fridge and said, “Wow, these magnets are from Alex and Jessica’s wedding, which was like, 7 years ago – they’re still so great!”, you might reply, “Right? it’s magniv!”

How does printing magnet photos at weddings and events work?

We’ve got a team of professional magnet photographers. We hunted high and low and roped in a group of fabulous, full-time wedding and event photographers who take clear and crisp photos of your guests being gorgeous.

Our technicians then print those photos off as magnets and they go on a board for your guests to collect!

We had a few questions from live viewers:

Sharon asked if the magnets can be themed – they sure can! We’ve got two graphic designers who work on each event to create a frame for all the magnets. If it’s a wedding or private party, we’ll match your event theme, colour scheme or stationary and if it’s a corporate event, we’ll use your brand guidelines.

Eitan asked what happens if there’s more than one person in a picture. It’s a great question which we came across during our MVP phase. The solution we came up with is that our technicians look at the photos and try to guess how many copies are needed. If there’s one family in a photo, all living together, we’ll print one photo. If there are four friends in a photo, we’ll print four copies. But of course, if you need more copies of a photo, just hand it back to the photographer and we’ll get it reprinted on the night!

The Best Magnet Photography in London?

Whilst we were there with all the magnets on the board, Aron took a couple off to look at and feel. In his words, our MAGNIV magnets are really good!

A lot has gone into getting our photomagnets to where they are today. We first prototyped in late 2016; we ran our MVP all through 2017 and the beginning of 2018 and are still continuously improving through R&D. We use state-of-the-art portable sublimation technology for printing; our magnets are custom manufactured for us and all of our team members go through a standardised training program. All in all, we’ve got the ultimate formula for magnet printing at weddings and parties!

To summarise, we had a great evening in with The Source and loved seeing some of the other emerging creative event brands. If you’re planning an event, click here to browse the website and don’t forget to watch the live video below!