Using the 5 Senses to Bring Your Event to Life: Taste and Smell

Over the last two weeks we've given you tips on how to effectively incorporate sight and sound elements into your event. This week, we're giving you ideas on how to appeal to your guests' senses of taste and smell so you can continue to improve your events!

Taste and smell may be separate senses, but they work together very closely. Think of the last time you smelled something that was just really gross. I bet you didn't think to yourself, "I should go eat that." On the other hand, try to remember the last time you picked up the scent of cookies baking in the kitchen or a steak on the grill. Did it make your mouth water? It probably did! If something smells good it activates your taste buds. Keep this in mind when planning events, as food and beverages are an important element in creating a total experience. Any food you serve should smell and taste great!

A great way to add in a pleasant scent to your event is flowers. People expect flowers to smell good, and you know guests will inevitably sniff them to take in the aroma. Flowers please our sense of sight, but it's our sense of smell that they really take hold of. Just be sure you don't overdo it! Having too many flowers or heavily scented flowers can be overpowering and after a while unappealing. You also don't want them to compete with the smell of the food. Your nose will get confused and then nothing will smell good. Work on keeping all of the scents in the room balanced, or keep them in separate sections of your event space.

Planning for unpleasant scents is also important, as one bad odor could ruin the mood of the event. Picture an outdoor event where the smells from a local cow farm drift over. It may sound silly, but sniff out the event site when you first check it out. Even indoor events can have bad smells. Always be sure someone will be changing the garbage cans frequently and that the bathrooms always smell fresh. Planning ahead can prevent a foul situation!

We've now covered four out of the five senses, so your event should be looking pretty good at this point. Next week we'll show you how adding in elements of touch will round out your event!