Treasures of the Deep: An Auction Theme Plays off Underwater Mysteries
I love this guy! Themed actors served food, drinks, and greeted guests
My team and I worked an event in southern Virginia which was one of the most attractive events I’ve ever attended. It wasn’t a large audience — the crowd only numbered around 225 — but the decor and atmosphere was exquisite! It was one of the more magical auctions I’ve attended.
The theme was Treasures of the Deep.
All-things-of-underwater-intrigue could be found here. The dark, mysterious, quiet of the ocean seemed to come alive in this auction fundraiser.
The venue itself was a fitness facility – not that you could tell. The gym had been converted into a ballroom, thanks to the help of drapes and generous lighting. Here are some of the elements which made this event so eye-catching.
1. Lighting
Lighting makes this basketball court look almost ethereal.
It doesn’t make financial sense to pay for an outside lighting company at every auction, but if your budget allows, it can have a wonderful impact on the mood and feel of your event.
The bonus of having a company provide mood lighting is that you can also have them set up canned lights on the silent auction table.
Can lights allow the room to be slightly dark (such as in the silent auction room where guests are mingling), but allows the silent auction items to be easily seen. All the better for bidding!
At this auction, the underwater feel was created from shifting blue and green images on the wall. It appeared as though one was watching a stream of filtered sunlight dance on the ocean bottom, then disappear, only to reappear on a different part of the wall or table.
The bar was covered in nets and underwater treasures. Note the costumed bartenders.
2. Costumes for workers
The bartenders, servers, and greeters were all in some sort of costume. Some were dressed as pirates, others were in a more general South Pacific native costume.
Remember that costumes don’t need to be elaborate. A vest and a hat often work just fine. Naturally, if you want everyone to be identical, you’ll have to provide the costumes. But if you’re comfortable with people generally looking like they blend into the theme, some of your volunteer workers might have bits of costumes at home they could wear.
3. Props
The bar, the food stations, the bathrooms and seemingly every fixture had some sort of prop to support the underwater theme. Fisherman netting, shells, and dried seaweed were used were generously used.
4. Centerpieces
In this case, the eerie, beautiful underwater inspired centerpiece was a collection of bottles and vegetation.
I’m not usually entranced by centerpieces, but at this event, I couldn’t help but admire how creative the florist had been to create such elegant focal points for the tables.
Every centerpiece was different.
Some were more traditional centerpieces, whereas other tables had collections of items one might imagine to be found on a sunken ship, like unusually shaped and dark-colored bottles. Collections of shells, starfish, and stones were scattered about the table.
For those tables with a “living” element, the predominant vegetation looked like sea grasses. Other centerpieces consisted of arrangements of unusual plants that were reminiscent of an underwater garden.
Even if one was not using a florist to create these items, I can imagine that many of us might have our own treasures from the sea that we’d be willing to loan to the gala for the effect. I know I have a small collection of blue bottles that would tie into this theme quite well, now that I’ve seen it done!
5. Music
The combo provided background sound.
A steel drum and guitar duo set the mood as soon as guests walked into the facility.
As a reminder, this wasn’t a beach theme … it was an underwater theme … so the music was a bit more mellow than what you might hear at a beach party. The group didn’t opt for a full-blown steel drum band, but a simple combo did the trick.
For more photographs of the event, scroll down this blog post. You can see additional ballroom shots, centerpieces, and food stations.
(c) 2005-2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC
 This was a shot of the ballroom from the back of the room. The Powerpoint presentation was broadcast to either side of the podium. |
 The food station in the silent auction area was draped in seaweed. |
 Another bar in the silent auction area had a distinct pirate theme. (Maybe that's where they served the hard liquor and rum punch!) |
 Each centerpiece was different. This one was more "traditional" in that a vase held the contents, but the contents themselves feel at home in this underwater theme. |
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