The best tips for planning Outdoor Balloon Decor for a Party
It’s May here in Michigan: the air is getting warmer, the sun is staying out a little longer, and that means it’s finally that rare moment in time where we can throw parties outside!
Now I’ve been around the block a time or two: the bots have been to (on average) about 300 events per year. I’ve not only been the face painter or balloon twister at these events, but I’ve also been the decorator time and time again. No matter which hat I’m wearing when I’m planning an event; whether I’m the decorator, face painter, balloon twister, mom, wife, sister, daughter, business owner, or friend: I know that it can get a little stressful and overwhelming from time to time.
Allow me to share with you some of the things that I feel are really helpful and important to think of when planning for an outdoor event when it comes to booking balloon decor.
So: You’ve picked the perfect space to throw your outdoor event…
Now you are ready to start planning what your event is going to look like.
What can you do to make this successful (especially when working with us?)
Determine what is most important for your decor.
Some examples include:
Having a grand entrance
Having a space to take photos in front of
Having a backdrop to open presents in front of/cake smash (ie: a focal point)
Centerpieces
Beautifying/Distracting from an eyesore of an area
Directing Traffic
Decorating the Sweets Table
Using balloons to add ambiance (just plain ole “adding pops of color” around!)
Once you have a good idea of what you want to achieve with your decor - you’ll want to determine your initial budget. If you’ve got champagne taste and a beer budget: we’ll direct you to our grab-n-go’s. But we try to ease you into the cost: remember that we aren’t Party City or Dollar Tree (but the quality of our work isn’t anything like you can get from either of those places either, is it?)
Consider that sun exposure!
While you might LOVE the idea of having an organic balloon arch over that garden pergola for your 1pm tea party: did you realize that the pergola is not covered by any shade? And that your party is going to be at the time of day when the sun is the hottest?
Yes, our balloons are high quality, professional grade and are made for outdoor decor specfically. We actually do quite a few things to condition the balloons for outdoor decor before we even inflate them that can help keep them alive longer. However; the sun is still hot, and dark colors attract the UV rays right to them.
If at all possible for outdoor decor: having your balloons in a shady area is best!
However if you love that matte finish - the constant sun exposure will surely give you that look quickly.
Think of your color palette…
I also know that you requested that we use chrome gold, black, tuquoise, and dark purple for your color palette on that half arch over the garden pergola. That sounds like a really lovely color palette - really it does. But did you know that darker colors have a higher popability rating in the summer? The gas inside of a balloon will expand in the heat (whether that gas is air or helium), which means that when the heat is on those balloons: they’re more likely to pop. So on that super non-shady pergola, the sun is just beating down on these balloons because the sun is naturally attracted to those darker colors.
I’m not saying that black isn’t an option: I have my ways as I said earlier.
Some balloon colors we suggest avoiding on those hot summer days include: black, navy, dark blue, dark green, brown, dark purple, dark gray, and any chrome. We love to tell our clients to stick to light balloon colors on those hot summer days and to avoid using mylar foils as much as possible.
It’s a great idea to have a few colors on stand-by that you are ready to sub out or to be open to our suggestions.
Trust us - we know what we are doing.
Check around the space for possible obstructions
This is an important step. You’d be surprised how often something wasn’t mentioned to us before we got on site, or how often something wasn’t described quite as it was until we got there.
The two installs above are great examples. The photo of the Greek Easter event was a very last minute order from a client. (I think that their original plan had fallen through to decorate their dessert table).
They reached out to me the day of the event and I happened to have an opening that afternoon. However - in all of the haste: photos that were sent to me were not very detailed and did not include that there were extremely thorny bushes surrounding the table that they wanted balloons draping over. (I know you can’t see it in the photos - but trust me)
I had to think quickly on my feet when I got on-site (the installation was happening at the start time of the party so guests were already there when I was there installing)
I had to think of a way to make this organic table arch drape over these desserts elegantly (and the desserts were already set up on the table when I got there (this is also not ideal —- having the table empty is ideal lol) and therefore I could not move the table to get around the thorny bushes)
Of COURSE it was extremely windy so my balloon bags were blowing everywhere and I was solo installing because it was a last minute booking… oof that was a rough install.
I digress… my point is: had I known before I got on-site that there was a LITERAL JUNGLE OF THORNY BUSHES SURROUNDING THE TABLE I was installing this on: I would have built this differently prior to my arrival.
The client however did love it - and so did everyone else at the Greek Easter Party in Troy: but it was a lot of stress to get that install done quickly.
The install on the garden pergola arch might be a little easier to see: at the tippy top of that arch it might look like there’s a tree in the background - but it’s actually a huge thorny vine growing out of the top of the pergola. The client had sent me photos of the arch beforehand and wanted balloons on it - (can you see in the original photo?) I asked about vines and if they were soft or pokey: they replied soft, (And honestly in that photo they didn’t look quite so large to me… I thought that it was a tree in the background)
When I got on-site I was shocked to find that the vines were HUGE and thick on top of the pergola. I had to take apart a good chunk of my balloon garland so that everything would fit… a few balloons popped while I tried to fit it on there… it was a little messy. haha. BUT it came out pretty nice.
This all leads me into my next point… which is…
Take clear photos of your event space
Here is an example of a great client who had photos ready to send to us right away. We were able to determine from her photos what we needed to build, we were able to create a mock-up for our reference, we built it in our workshop, transported it, and installed it on-site. (The mock-up doesn’t even do the real thing justice, does it?)
Back to the sun exposure thing really quick…
The photo above of the organic balloon half arch that was installed on the porch was taken just after we finished the install before the sun had hit it at all. The house was west facing, and we finished installing this at 10am. You’ll notice above how shiny the balloons look. Below, the party has started after 1pm: the balloons have been exposed to the sun a couple of hours. The balloons have a matte finish (this is due to the balloon oxidization)
Howell, MI: Emma is surrounded by her dad, aunt, grandpa, and an amazing organic balloon arch at her grad party from Hartland High School.
If you don’t have photos to send to us right away - don’t hestitate on inquiring about an event with us! Having photos really helps us see the space: while you might have an idea of what you want - we have eyes with balloons in them already. When we can see the area: we can see the the balloons shaping the space. But if you can’t get us photos until later - that’s all right. If your budget allows for our white glove services you might be entitled a complimentary site visit.
The photo of the Rainbow arch in Detroit on the stairway below was done without any perfect photos of the space we were decorating and we had zero measurements. The client reached out to me and said that she was renting and Air BnB. She sent me the listing and I looked through the photos and picked a spot that looked like it would be a good spot for the balloons to go… and kind of figured out what-ish size to build within the client’s budget. I got on-site and I made it work. The only photo that I had of the stairs were from the side… so I lucked out!
Some quick notes on why you shouldn’t use helium balloons outdoors:
You can’t control Helium Balloons outside, which means they will:
Blow in the wind
Therefore they aren’t going to stand up straight for photos
Not a great idea for centerpieces if you want a uniform look
The ribbons will tangle
Hot mess.
Hit people in the face
Hit obstacles like fences and other possible sharp objects and pop
Expand in the heat
That means the helium isn’t going to last as long on a hot day, and the balloons will fall much quicker than an air-filled design.
Fall when it rains
Yeah - that’s right… so here in Michigan when the weather is 100% predictable I think it’s definitely your best bet to just head to Party City and save your money and ask them for some helium balloons for your outdoor party. I bet it’s not going to rain or be extremely hot. Our air-filled designs aren’t going to look better. You’re right.
That’s usually enough information to inquire about outdoor balloon decor!
Hopefully that gave you some food for thought about having balloon decor outdoors! Inquire with us and let us help you create the perfect event!!! Click here to inquire or click here to see some of our best decor.
