The 6 Step Formula to Designing Events that Actually Feel Good
Not Just a Pretty Space But A Party, Wedding Or Corporate Event That Your Guests Feel.
At Feel Good Events, we design events that guests actually feel, from the energy when they walk in to the way they talk about it months later. We call it the Feel Good Formula, a proven 6 step method built on 30 years of real world party, event and wedding experience. At Feel Good Events, we have deep insight into what makes people relax, connect, and have fun in an event space.
Whether you’re planning a wedding, a birthday, a corporate function, or any life celebration, this is how we help you throw the best party of your life.
Our Feel Good Formula is a proven method for designing events that feel as good as they look.
From DJ to Designer of Emotion
The story behind the Feel Good Formula
We used to call ourselves decorators. But decorating is just surface level. It wasn’t until I’d done thousands of parties, weddings, and events that I realised the real magic isn’t in what something looks like, it’s in how it feels.
My journey started over 30 years ago, not as a stylist or planner, but as a DJ. Back then, if a party felt flat or the dance floor was dead, I’d assume I’d picked the wrong songs or missed the mood. I’d replay the night in my head wondering what I could’ve done differently with the music to lift the energy.
But after DJing more events than I can count, something clicked. I started noticing a pattern in the best nights. The ones where the dance floor was packed, guests stayed late, and everyone left smiling. These events had a buzz, a vibe and a feeling that was hard to explain, but impossible to ignore.
And I realised that feeling wasn’t just about the playlist. It wasn’t always how much money the host or couple spent on the event either. In fact, some of the most expensive weddings and corporate parties were the least fun or felt very flat, while smaller gatherings absolutely went off. It wasn’t about how many guests were at the event either. What made the biggest difference was often the stuff people overlooked.
- The layout of the room
- The lighting and temperature in the room
- Whether there was too much furniture or not enough space to dance
- If the night ran too long with speeches and no time left for dancing
- If guests were overfed and sluggish or left waiting too long between formalities
- The age and mix of guests and what they were wearing
- If the event was inside or outside, during the day or at night
It got to the point where I could walk into a venue and predict almost instantly how the night would play out, before I’d even played one song. And that’s when it hit me that great events aren’t about one thing. They’re about everything working together. Their about intention and planning for fun or the type of vibe you want and not just about hoping for the best.
That’s when I started looking for patterns. I began paying closer attention to what actually worked and not just visually, but emotionally. What helped people connect? What built energy and momentum? What killed the vibe? Over time, I refined these observations into a repeatable process.
When we started Feel Good Events, first as a hire and decorating service and then expanding into full styling and planning, we finally had the tools to shape every part of the guest experience. We weren’t just reacting to the atmosphere anymore, we were designing it. We stopped styling just for pretty photos, and started styling for people.
That’s how the Feel Good Formula was born. This six step method is to design events that spark emotion, build energy, and leave guests feeling amazing from the moment they walk in to the moment they leave. Yes, the photos still look great. But what your guests remember most isn’t what the room looked like. It’s how it made them feel.
The Feel Good Formula
A.C.T.I.V.E
A – Anchor the emotional goal of the event
C – Choreograph the energy flow of the event
T – Trigger the senses to deepen engagement
I – Influence guest mood with styling
V – Vibe check the layout for energy and connection
E – Evolve from every event we do
Step 1: Anchor the Emotion
Start with the Why, not just the What.
Want an event that means something? Start with how you want people to feel. What sort of experience do you want to create for your guests? We don’t just ask what you’re celebrating, we dig into why you’re bringing people together. What’s the purpose behind the event? What kind of emotional impact do you want it to have? What feeling should linger after the last guest leaves?
Once we know the desired feeling (joy, excitement, intimacy, inspiration, fun), we design everything around it from layout, lighting, energy flow and styling.
Why this matters:
When there’s an emotional anchor behind your event, it becomes more than just a party or a wedding. It becomes an experience your guests carry with them.
Examples:
- Wedding: A romantic ceremony that builds to a fun, dance filled reception.
- Corporate awards night: Design that fosters pride, shared achievement, and team bonding.
- Birthday: Instead of making it all about one person, we design for shared fun and celebration.
- Product launch: Build suspense and curiosity leading to a dramatic reveal.
- Engagement: Create a relaxed, welcoming space to help two families connect.
Step 2: Choreograph the Energy Journey
We choreograph how your event feels, from start to finish.
This step is all about designing the emotional rhythm of the night from when energy builds, when it dips, and when it peaks. It’s about the timing of those emotional beats, not just where they happen. We map the guest experience hour by hour, moment by moment, so it feels natural and keeps people engaged. That means carefully timed lighting shifts, music cues, activity changes and styled moments that support the emotional tempo.
Why this matters:
People remember the highs of the event. The atmosphere when they arrived, the speech that landed, the moment the dancefloor took off. We make those moments hit harder and last longer.
Examples:
- Wedding: Candlelit welcome builds into colourful lighting as the party starts
- Corporate awards night: Structured arrival leads to immersive main content and vibrant networking
- Birthday: Guests are surprised with entertainment just as energy dips
- Gala ball: Slow, elegant entry leading to a spectacular reveal and dancing
- Christmas party: From warm, festive welcome to full blown party after awards
Step 3: Trigger All Five Senses
Great events don’t just look good, they feel good in every way.
We layer sensory details that most stylists overlook. Think texture, scent, sound, lighting warmth, even temperature. These elements trigger memory and emotion in ways visual styling alone can’t.
Where styling sets the tone visually, this step creates felt experience from what guests hear, touch, taste and smell.
Why this matters:
Your brain flags multi-sensory experiences as meaningful. That’s how we turn your event into something people remember long after it’s over.
Examples:
- Wedding: A floral scent on entry, soft fabric textures and ambient candlelight
- Corporate: Branded scent, lighting change between speeches, food that makes you feel good
- Birthday: Themed props, interactive activations, curated drink and food menu
- Baby Shower: Soft tactile surfaces, pastel colours, calming background music, curated cocktails and mocktails
- Brand Activation: Every detail designed to align with the brand’s feel and identity
Step 4. Influence Through Atmosphere
We style and decorate to shape how people feel, not just how the space looks.
The right décor can instantly lift the mood, make guests feel welcome, excited, or relaxed. From bold colour palettes to soft textures and lighting warmth, our styling creates emotional cues the second people walk in.
We go beyond pretty. We decorate with purpose, setting a tone that matches the emotional anchor and supports the event’s energy.
Why this matters:
If the room doesn’t match the mood, the experience falls flat. Styling is how we set the emotional tone before a word is spoken. When done right, people feel the atmosphere before they even know why.
Examples:
- Wedding: Romantic styling that builds to a high-energy
- Corporate: Sleek and inspiring to reflect brand values
- Engagement: Intimate styling that feels like a warm embrace
- Birthday: Bright, bold styling that screams “let’s party!”
- Brand Activation: Décor that instantly communicates identity and energy
Step 5. Visualise the Flow
A well-designed layout creates invisible momentum.
This step is all about physical movement from how people move through your space, interact, and engage. That includes how rooms and zones are connected, how furniture encourages interaction, and how layout supports key moments like dancing, speeches, or reveals. We eliminate dead zones and bottlenecks by designing intuitive zoning, natural gathering points, and smooth transitions between areas.
Why this matters:
Bad layouts kill vibe. A great layout works with your energy, not against it, helping people feel free to move, connect, and stay engaged.
Examples:
- Wedding: Seamless shift from ceremony to cocktail hour to dancefloor
- Corporate: Spaces that shift from networking to party
- Birthday: Dancefloor as the heart of the action
- Engagement: Zones that mix groups and spark conversation
- Christmas party: Layout that evolves as the night unfolds
Step 6. Evolve with Insight
Our formula isn’t static. It evolves with every event.
Every event teaches us something new and we use that knowledge to make yours even better. We review every event we design. What worked? Where did guests gather? What lifted the vibe or brought it down? This insight fuels the next event, helping us refine our formula and keep it razor sharp.
Our process is always evolving based on what works in the real world not just theory or trends.
Why this matters:
You benefit from everything we’ve learned from hundreds of events. That means smarter design choices, fewer mistakes, and better results.
Examples:
- Wedding: Guests loved the floral install? Let’s go bigger
- Corporate: Lounge zones were a hit? Let’s expand them
- Birthday: The surprise moment made the night? We’ll build it in
- Brand activation: Entry zone had big impact? Let’s double down
- Kids party: One activity underwhelmed? We’ll rethink the setup
Why the Feel Good Formula Works
We’ve spent decades watching how people behave at events. We’ve studied how they move, where they stop, when they relax and when they party. The Feel Good Formula is built on all of that plus a little science, a lot of emotion, and years of experience. It’s what lets us help you throw the kind of party or event where everyone leaves feeling good, not just you.
As the host of the party or the couple of the wedding, you might be thinking: But what about me? From our experience we have seen time and time again that the events, parties and weddings that focused on the guest experience first, had the best result. And because the guests had the best night of their life so did the birthday girl or the bride and groom or the CEO of the business.
We believe that the best events are planned with one goal in and mind and that is to make your guests feel amazing from the moment they walk in to the moment they leave.
That’s what we’re experts in.
Your guests won’t remember what colour the napkins were. But they’ll remember if they felt welcome, excited, the energy in the room and happy all night long. That’s what we help you create using a proven formula that works. If you want your wedding, party or event to be the kind of night people talk about for years, let’s design it together.
Let’s us help you throw the best party of your life no matter what the occasion.
Book a free consultation to start planning an event that feels as good as it looks.
Author – Marcus Prentice – Partyologist, DJ, and Event, Party & Wedding Planner
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Feel Good Formula?
The Feel Good Formula is our 6 step method for planning and decorating events that feel amazing and not just look good. It’s based on 30 years of real world experience and is designed to influence how guests feel through intentional styling, layout, and sensory details. Whether you’re planning a wedding, party, or corporate event, this method helps create memorable emotional experiences.
How is this different from a regular event stylist or decorator?
Most stylists stop at making things look good. We go beyond visuals and focus on how your guests feel throughout the entire event. Our process is built around the emotional purpose of your event, designing the flow, mood, and energy to suit that purpose, not just follow a trend or Pinterest board.
Why do you focus so much on the guest experience instead of just the host or main person?
Because when your guests feel amazing, you will too. We’ve seen it time and time again when people are relaxed, engaged, and having fun, the hosts enjoy themselves more. Whether you’re the birthday star or the bride, nothing beats seeing your favourite people smiling, dancing, and talking about how great the night was.
How do you figure out what emotional tone or energy is right for our event?
That’s where we start. We ask the deeper question: Why are you bringing people together? From there, we identify what you want your guests to feel be it connected, excited, relaxed, inspired etc. We then use that as the blueprint for the décor, layout, lighting, and layout. Every design choice supports that goal.
What do you mean by "designing how it feels to be there"?
It’s about more than looks. We plan the full guest journey from what they see when they arrive, how the atmosphere builds, and how the night shifts from one phase to the next. For example, a wedding might start with romance and calm, then build toward a high energy dance floor. Every moment is planned with feeling in mind.
Why do you care so much about the five senses?
Because people experience events with more than just their eyes. Scent, touch, sound and taste all affect how people feel. By designing for all five senses, your event becomes more immersive, more memorable, and more emotionally impactful.
How does the layout and styling encourage interaction?
We intentionally style spaces to encourage conversation, movement, and fun. That could mean placing lounge furniture near the bar, creating focal points like a photo wall or a champagne tower, or using the layout to gently nudge people from one area to another. It’s design with a purpose and to get people talking, laughing, and connecting.
What do you mean by "flow and shift" in an event?
Great events evolve. We design your event to move and shift as the night progresses, visually and emotionally. That might mean changing lighting to signal a dance floor moment, rearranging furniture to open up a space, or gradually increasing energy levels through music and décor. It keeps people engaged and avoids a flat atmosphere.
How do you keep improving each event you do?
We treat every event as research. After each one, we look at what worked where people gathered, what moments stood out, how guests interacted and we use that to refine our next designs. You benefit from all the learnings we’ve gained from hundreds of weddings, parties and corporate events.
Can you use the Feel Good Formula for any type of event?
Yes. The formula is flexible and adapts to any occasion from weddings, birthdays, brand activations, kids parties, engagement celebrations, product launches, and more. It’s all about understanding the type of experience you want your guests to have, and then using our proven steps to create that outcome.
