Generally speaking, one wouldn’t say “company holiday party” and “circus” in the same sentence…. Unless they would. Local Chicago company, Wintrust, decided to plan their company holiday party and yearly Wintrust Awards with a old-world French circus theme. The event brought together the quirky aspects of a circus experience with the joy and wonderment of an entertaining run-of-show.
Company holiday party event planning, especially for an event like the Wintrust Awards and Holiday Party, can be daunting. Planners have to estimate costs, and find a venue that is perfect for the theme. In this case, asking the question, “Can we have aerial silks dancers suspended from the ceiling for this?!” Wintrust found the perfect team to pull it all off!
Wintrust partnered with the team at 360 Destination Group to manage all aspects of the planning process. The industrial warehouse feel of Morgan Manufacturing provided the space and rafters to hang both silk dancers, as well as hallways decked out in lush, velvety red curtains. Gold Grid Studios was selected to photograph the event.
Morgan MFG is an entirely renovated pre-Chicago Fire building, rich in history and robust in structure. When 360 Destination Group reached out to us at Gold Grid Studios with the scope, we wanted to create commercial photography that would be memorable, beautiful, and unique.
Here’s another case-in-point: those of you who plan corporate events that involve sports like ping pong or golf? Even poker and casino games? We get to channel our inner sports photographer self. Even if the end result is still stunning commercial photography that showcases the skills and prowess of your team members.
(And hey, you can always choose to only show the photographs that make you look like you’re always winning. Even if ping pong isn’t your thing. Just sayin’.)
In addition to capturing the ambiance, details, and entertainment of the night, we couldn’t help but notice the table displays. Golden circus elephant centerpieces were adorned with vibrant floral arrangements exploding from their schnoz. And the goblets added a touch of regality.
Award ceremonies are important – both for companies as well as the individuals who have worked hard to achieve recognition. Wintrust Bank was founded on the original mission that there’s still “a need, and desire, for a true community bank: where tellers know their customers by name; bankers care about local businesses because they frequent them; and the bank invests in the neighborhood because it’s actually part of the neighborhood.” We got to know many of the individuals from Wintrust by name over the course of the event. Wintrust’s holiday party brought in a number of local businesses to come together and celebrate alongside Wintrust, and everyone felt welcomed while sharing a mutual sense of accomplishment.
It’s the people of the company that ultimately make the event what it is. Wintrust is a leader in Chicago, and has a poignant history here. We wanted to show that.
Gold Grid Studios creates corporate photography that is an engaging reflection of your company, and we do it right. Because beyond the careful details of the event, there’s a story, there’s people, and there’s history.
Reach out to us if you have an upcoming event in Chicago where you want us to be your event photographers. Or circus photographers. Or sports photographers… We’ll suit up!
