Production guide
What Your Montreal Corporate Event Actually Needs
Most company parties are planned around the room and the food. The sound, the lighting and the run of show get decided late, usually the week before. This is what a production supplier will ask you, in the order they will ask it.
Written for HR managers, event coordinators and executive assistants in Greater Montreal.
Sound that reaches the back of the room
One speaker on a stand at the front is the most common reason a speech goes badly. Ask any supplier how they cover the room you have.
- Speeches and awards have to be intelligible at the last table, not just loud at the front.
- During the cocktail hour and dinner, music should sit under the conversation rather than compete with it.
- The dance floor needs a different level and a different mix than the dining room.
- Wireless handheld and lapel microphones, with a spare already set up and tested.
- A short sound check that includes a real speech, before doors open.
Lighting, and why the room looks flat without it
Venue house lighting is set for cleaning and eating. The same room photographs very differently once it is lit for an event.
- Uplighting around the perimeter gives the room depth and makes phone photos usable.
- A moving-head wash and beams give the evening a shape: calm for dinner, sharper for the party set.
- A clean, tidy booth with no visible cables or tape, because it sits in front of your guests all night.
- A monogram or company logo projected behind the head table, if you want the brand visible.
- A lighting look agreed in advance rather than improvised on the night.
The run of show, and who is driving it
The events that feel effortless have a written order of events that everyone is working from, including the person at the sound desk.
- A timeline: doors, arrivals, dinner service, speeches and awards, cake, launch, party set, close.
- A bilingual MC who can move a mixed French and English room between segments without losing anyone.
- Exact names, titles and pronunciation for every award and every speaker, confirmed in writing.
- One person on site responsible for timing, and who the venue can talk to.
- A hard end time agreed with the venue, and a plan that actually hits it.
Power, load-in and access
These are the details that become a rush at 6pm because nobody asked in July. Send these to your venue now.
- Load-in time, load-out time, and who holds the key or the code.
- Freight elevator dimensions, and whether the equipment fits through it.
- Where the power is, what amperage, and whether the room circuit can be shared.
- What can be used at the ceiling, in the structure or on the walls, and what is prohibited.
- Parking and loading dock arrangements for the crew.
Insurance and paperwork
Many Montreal venues and most corporate purchasing teams will not sign anything without documents in hand.
- A certificate of liability insurance naming the venue, issued before the event date.
- A written agreement covering the services, hours, overtime rates and cancellation terms.
- A named contact and a number that is answered on the day, not a shared inbox.
- For public-sector or financial clients, whatever your own compliance team needs, in advance.
Questions that separate two quotes
Two suppliers can look identical on a one-page price list. These questions make the difference visible.
- Who exactly is coming, and have they worked in this venue before?
- Is the MC also the DJ, and are they fully bilingual?
- How many hours on site, from load-in to load-out, and what overtime costs.
- Which specific speakers, lights and microphones, in writing.
- What happens if something fails on the night, and what is standing by.
Planning a December party?
Everything above is either something we bring or a question we put to the venue, and we will tell you which is which before you sign anything.
Check availability for your date
Send the date, the venue and the guest count and you will hear back within 60 minutes during business hours, with what the room actually needs.
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