By Jacqui Saxon, 32 years in balloon décor, with displays built for The Rolling Stones, Coca-Cola and Amazon. Last updated: 19 October 2026.
You need four things: the date and venue, your brand colours, the effect you want the room to have, and your budget. Tell me those four in ten minutes and I will come back with a design, a price and a plan, with no back-and-forth over specification you do not have time for.
Why four is enough
A lot of event managers think they need a mood board, a floor plan and a Pinterest folder before they can even pick up the phone. You do not. Thirty-two years of doing this has taught me which questions actually matter, and the rest is my job, not yours.
The four things I need
1. Date and venue. Where it is happening and when, including ceiling height and access times if you know them. If you do not, I will ask the venue directly so you do not have to chase anyone.
2. Brand colours. Your exact palette, or a logo I can match to. This is the difference between a room that looks like it belongs to your event and one that looks like a generic party.
3. The effect you want. One sentence is plenty, such as “make the entrance stop people in their tracks” or “give the stage some presence without overpowering the speakers.” I turn that sentence into a design.
4. Budget. A range, not a precise figure. It tells me what scale to design at, so the first proposal you see is one you can actually say yes to. If you are unsure what is realistic, my balloon décor cost guide sets out typical prices.
What you do not need to know
You do not need to know balloon types, arch structures, or how long an installation takes to hold. You do not need a supplier’s-eye view of the industry, because that is exactly what you are handing over. Your job is the brief. Mine is turning it into a room that gets a reaction.
What does a ten-minute brief look like in practice?
DM Keith Motors called on a Thursday evening wanting Halloween-dressed showrooms across three dealership sites. Brand colours, the dates and the effect they wanted: that was the whole brief. The showrooms were fully dressed, on brand and on time, within a day and a half. That is what a ten-minute brief, handed to someone who has done this for 32 years, actually gets you.
The values bit
I work in biodegradable natural latex, never do balloon releases, and take everything away afterwards. Leftover balloons are recycled through a national company that specialises in recycling balloons, and the helium I use is recovered as a by-product from MRI machines. It is a values thing, not a marketing line, and it costs you nothing extra to ask for. There is more in are balloons bad for the environment?
The honest answer
Four things, ten minutes, and I take it from there. That is what “hand it over” means in practice: you are not managing a supplier, you are briefing an expert and getting a finished room back. See my corporate event décor page, or call 01709 789 333 when you are ready.
Quick answers
The date and venue, your brand colours, the effect you want the room to have, and a rough budget. Everything else is the decorator’s job to work out.
No. A one-sentence description of the effect you want is enough. Photos or a mood board help, but they were never required.
Fast. DM Keith Motors gave me a same-evening brief for Halloween-dressed showrooms across three sites, and they were fully installed within a day and a half.
A range is enough. It tells me what scale to design at, so the first proposal fits what you can actually spend.
