It's All About the Location

Stunning Nikki Beach Style Beach Party

It was Christopher Buckley who said "With real estate, it's location, location, location" and of course there couldn't be a truer adage for planning an event. When a client approaches me with a brief for a beach event it's not necessarily a given that the party will be on the beach or even on the sand, but the location and proximity to the sea will play a big role in the atmosphere of the party.

Israel has a 196 km long Mediterranean coastline with beaches that vary in width from less than fifteen meters to broad expanses of sand that can comfortably accommodate one thousand guests or more. (We also have some 50 odd km around the Sea of Galilee and another 14 km of coast at the Dead and Red Sea together.) Some Mediterranean beaches have rocky cliffs and steep precipices with a drop to a narrow strip of sand and others have vast areas of fine white sand and no cliffs at all. Some beaches have car parks at sea level and others have lifts that go down a rock face to sea level. To complicate choices more, it's not only the geographical and geological traits that we need to look at for choosing a venue.

There are approximately ten licenced venues along our coast line most of them located between Ashdod in the south and Dor beach further north with a couple more in Haifa. The various licences are managed by the local authorities but the laws defining what you can and can't do on the beach apply countrywide. Along this coast line are also tens of large lycra tents erected by events companies without permits and offering an assortment of bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings and raves.

Venue without a licence on northern beach

Of course doing an event in an unlicensed venue risks incurring huge fines and being shut down. My clients, Moti and Yana approached me with a very short brief for their son Ilai's Bar Mitsva party, "We have 180 guests" they said, "100 adults and 80 children and we want an elegant beach party which is chilled and laid back for the adults, with the best food and something to keep the children busy."

 As an event planner, helping my clients make the right venue decision is critical since it’s often the largest expense and sets the scene for an unforgettable guest experience. In bleak contrast, choosing the wrong venue can result in a party that falls flat. So to help my clients choose the perfect venue, I build a list of possible venues based on varying factors: For Ilai's beach party these are some of the factors we considered.

• The guest list adults/children/mix of adults and children - Most of Ilai's friends were the children of Moti and Yana's friends ~ I thought that the venue should be able to host and seat everyone together
• Will the adults and children be partying together or in separate areas and what is better?
• The view, the seascape and the backdrop
• The size and capacity of the beach and does the location on the beach and shape of the sandy area invite good social exchange (L shaped areas or long corridor shaped areas do not enhance a good party vibe) disjointed areas are only good when you want to keep the children in a separate area or have separate activities happening simultaneously
• Budget restrictions, venue licences and venue insurance
• Reputation of the venue (goes without saying run for your life if a venue has a bad reputation)
• Accessibility, especially if you have guests with special needs, parking options and technical needs
• Security - is it possible to keep the beach secure and is it a private beach?
• Restrictions (such as noise or photography restrictions)

I always personally visit each venue before presenting a short list of venue options with pros and cons to my clients and always make sure that they are part of the decision-making process.

Moti and Yana had started thinking about the venue a couple of weeks before we met. They had visited Gan Gili at Kibbutz Sdot Yam and Banana Beach, Michmoret.

Gan Gili is a stunning venue with a large grassy area and a small narrow beach. It is possible to erect shade on both the grass and the beach however the two areas are on different levels and divided by narrow stony steps. A party here would not feel unified and creating shade in two separate areas did not seem friendly even to a very generous budget. Gan Gili is a private venue with a private grassy area; the beach is public but tends to be quite quiet.

Gan Gili, Sdot Yam

Banana beach in Michmoret has a wide expanse of sand, a restaurant, a secluded, shaded wooden deck and some permanent sun shades on the sand. The deck and the sand are separated by 6 narrow steep stairs. Here too the two parts of the venue, where the adults would eat and chill and the area near the sea where the children's activities would be located were distant from each other preventing a "single unified event" vibe. Moreover Banana Beach is a very popular beach and crowds flock here on Friday afternoon exactly when we were planning the party.

Banana Beach Michmoret

Feeling that neither of the venues they had seen were ideal for a party where all there guests were chilling together, I took my clients to see Banana Beach Neurim in Chavatselet Hasharon just ten minutes south of Michmoret. This beach is a secluded,licensed, public beach located below a lovely rocky cliff which provides a pretty backdrop.

Banana Beach Neurim Havatselet Hasharon

There are beautiful sandy cliffs on the southern end of the beach, some natural boulders and plenty of space to erect a tent to provide shade for 200 guests, adults and children together. While the half level up paved area, just above the beach is exactly where we needed it for back kitchen, luxurious mobile toilets and one more half level up provided more space for the location of our generators in a spot that would not make sound pollution at the event.

The inspiration for "elegant laid back beach party" was the gorgeous chain of Nikki beaches in Saint Tropez, Marbella Barbados and Miami Beach and we decided to create a Nikki beach that would look perfect in Mykonos shades of blue.

Nikki Beach Barbados

Opting for white, stone and cream furniture Yana asked us to add turquoise vases and decorative elements with other shades of sea blue. The highly talented designer and decorator Chris Weys, turned Yana's vision into a stunning, sophisticated and elegant reality.

Two immaculate white tents provided bright shade for an abundance of lounge areas.

A huge square bar decorated with lush fruit and plants was strategically placed in the centre of the tents. Guests helped themselves and ate some of the decor.

Of courses if you are offering tropical cocktails you need to have the appropriate drinking vessels for them and we offered cocktails served inside pineapples and coconuts.

A "Billabong shop" provided our guests with azure towels, stunning Cuban hats, cotton beach wraps, sun screen, floats & armbands, board games, buckets & spades, ball games and more.

Billabong style beach "shop"

We kept the children fully occupied with volley ball, water-slides, paddle-ball tournaments and a sand-castle building competition.

We brought in super-chefs, Paul Assenheim and Talia Pevsner from Better Together to put together a concept and we asked Peter Hummel purveyor of fine foods to supply the meat. In the end our chefs created a mix of an American steak house with a small fish and seafood village, combined with some really great street food.

The Menu

The American steak house bistro

Just great cuts of meat and cold beer with a few brasserie specials.

Pistachio crusted Lamb chops

with Parmigiano-Reggiano and truffle fries

Café de Paris

36-day aged sirloin steak served with crispy French fries and two classic French sauces.

Prime rib

Prime beef cut of the bone

Served with roast vegetables, Jerusalem artichokes, beets and turnips

Peter Hummel's Cuts

A selection of Peter's favourite cuts of meat including hanger steak and homemade sausages

Steak tartar

Classic French steak tartar with capers, garlic, shallot, pickled cucumber a raw quail’s egg yolk

Chicken Caeaser skewer

Grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, , cherry tomatoes and crisp croutons on a skewer, served with individual Caeser dressing

The Beach Fish Bar

Great , raw fish and lots of frozen vodka

Chirashi sushi

A beautiful buffet served on crushed ice with chefs making individual bowls of warm sushi rice covered with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, red tobiko and Crispy salmon and with all the toppings, avocado, snow peas, asparagus, nori seaweed, sake, mirin, soy sauce spicy mayonnaise, wasabi and ginger

Fish bar

White bait (baby anchovy) deep fried and served with tartar sauce

"Barbounia" (Red mullet) with ouzo and garlic

Hot fish bar

White bait, red mullet sardines and fresh anchovy deep fried or grilled, served with cold sauces

All served with a fresh Mediterranean salad of tomatoes, cucumber, radish, red onion, parsley, garlic lemon juice and olive oil, cut on buffet with tahini and freshly grilled Italian tomato bread.

Authentic Gyro and Meze bar

Cooked on the beach, served in authentic Greek pita with ouzo on the side

Lamb and pistachio gyros served in authentic Greek pita

Our own lamb shoarma infused with whole pistachios and carved from the machine

Served with tehini, Tzatziki, Israeli salad, cabbage salad, homemade pickles, amba, tomato salsa, two kinds of harif. served in authentic Greek pita

Chicken Souvlaki

Chicken thigh skewer cooked on the grill, garnished with cool Tzatziki and served with or without fresh warm pita with grilled eggplant, burnt onions and tomatoes and a thick white tahini. Giant jars of homemade pickled cucumber

Vegetable and sides

Mountains of fresh vegetables with cold gazpacho and guest choice salads.

Mezes

Fresh fish ikra with chopped onions and hot peppers on the side

Tailed artichokes plancha cooked with extra virgin oil

Homemade lamb and rice stuffed vine leaves with lemon vinaigrette

Baked whole cauliflower with raw tehina and date honey drizzle

Chargrilled eggplant with mint and garlic

Spinach cakes and tzatziki

Selection of olives

Desserts

Served all day

Desserts served from a display fridge

A huge selection of French pastries, Mille-feuille, Macaroons, Tarte tatin, Raspberry tart, lemon meringue pie, coconut mousse with a cold mango surprise, éclair au chocolate/ coffee, Caramel mousse, Chocolate gold cakes and a fabulous DIY Bar.………Dip it yourself ~ Make your own mini magnum bar ~ Chocolate and vanilla ice-cream bars, hand dipped in white or dark chocolate and these both sprinkled and coated to order with over 20 toppings, chocolate flakes, salty caramel crunch, coco pops, sea salt, white chocolate curls, mini M&MS, honeycomb, roasted almonds, cornflakes, peanut butter balls, spicy chilli, Oreo crumbs and more.

True to their promise, Paul and Talia made this an unforgettable culinary experience and a whole lot of fun.

The location was perfect, the atmosphere was laid back and chilled, the decor was both beach and elegant, the sea view spectacular and the food scrumptious. Of course in the end my opinion is only secondary; the most important thing is happy clients and guests.

So the morning after, when this arrived in my whatsapp "Guys everything was amazing, each one of you did a really great job. The event was flawless seriously. Everyone... we are super happy! Thank u so very much, it was beyond our expectations, it was amazing!" I knew I had produced another lovely event.

Live Productions ~ No Ordinary Event