SAN FRANCISCO—How do you impress a crowd of seen-it-all socialites when two of the city's most high-profile galas are held just two weeks apart—oh, and you're in charge of designing and producing both?
It's a challenge the team at Blueprint Studios faced head-on this year. The San Francisco-based event company has long partnered with the San Francisco Symphony on its annual Opening Night Gala—and this year also won the bid to produce the San Francisco Opera's lavish centennial Opera Ball, taking place just two weeks earlier.
Blueprint's creative director, Shannon Gurley, was acutely aware that many of the same patrons attend both events, so it was crucial not to recycle ideas in spite of the tight time frame. “We had to make sure the two events were distinctly different, but both at this high level that would impress a very seasoned crowd," she explained.
To pull it off, the entire Blueprint creative team ideated together in the beginning, but then split off into different groups to ensure that both events received equal attention. "Everything was totally separate," Gurley noted.
The resulting events both drew a who's-who of the city's elite, with the San Francisco Opera Ball on Sept. 9 taking on a 1920s-inspired theme to celebrate its centennial, and the San Francisco Symphony Gala on Sept. 23 adopting a whimsical, forest-inspired style inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Scroll down for a look inside the two glamorous, black-tie events.