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Meet Harry Johnston: The Wizard Behind the AV Curtain

Hailing from the scenic landscapes of Tasmania, Australia, Harry Johnston is not just your average Audio Visual specialist; he’s a seasoned multi-instrumentalist with a passion for creating unforgettable experiences.

With a background in musical theatre and a strong presence in Launceston’s live music scene, Harry has seamlessly transitioned into the world of audio engineering. Over the past 1.5 years, he has brought his expertise to Complete Function Hire, ensuring that Melbourne’s events are not just occasions but extraordinary memories waiting to happen.

Armed with a Certificate 3 and 4 and a Bachelor’s degree in sound production and audio engineering, Harry is not just a tech enthusiast; he’s a maestro orchestrating the symphony of sights and sounds that elevate every event. Whether he’s working with the University of Tasmania, Scotch Oakburn College, or a private client, Harry’s commitment to excellence is unwavering.

Expect nothing less than service with a smile from Harry Johnston, your go-to Audio Engineer at Complete Function Hire. Because when it comes to events, ‘tech probs’ are simply not an option.

The Magic Ingredient

In Harry’s world, crafting memorable events is an art form. It’s about immersing attendees in a world of wonder and excitement, where every detail contributes to the magic. His mission involves investing in top-of-the-line equipment, tailoring content to the event’s theme and creating interactive elements that engage and connect the audience. Behind the scenes, Harry ensures seamless integration of audio-visual components, orchestrating every detail with meticulous attention. His goal? To evoke emotions and create unforgettable moments that linger in the hearts of those who experience the event.

Career Highlight

Harry recalls his time as the sound and lighting technician for Scotch Oakburn College’s production of “Avenue Q.” It wasn’t just another project; it was a comprehensive role where Harry played a pivotal part in shaping the atmosphere and impact of the production. The seamless integration of sound and lighting, technical expertise and the memorable outcome of captivating performances made it a project close to his heart.

Personal Passion

Beyond the world of AV wonders, Harry unveils his personal passions – songwriting, rock climbing and AFL. Songwriting serves as his creative outlet, allowing him to express emotions through music. Weekends are for conquering new heights, both on the rock-climbing wall and cheering on the West Coast Eagles during AFL games. These hobbies provide a well-rounded balance of creativity, adventure and community engagement outside his professional endeavours.

Complete Customer Service

For Harry, great customer service is about active listening, open communication and personalised attention. He deeply understands clients’ needs, ensuring transparency and collaboration at every step. Meticulous attention to detail, flexibility and adaptability are the keys to aligning every aspect of the event with the client’s vision. Proactively addressing potential issues and a commitment to post-event follow-up showcase Harry’s dedication to ensuring a smooth and stress-free experience for all involved.

In Harry Johnston, Complete Function Hire has not just gained an Audio Visual specialist; we’ve welcomed an artist, an adventurer and a dedicated professional committed to making every event exceptional. Get ready to experience the magic with Harry as your guide through the world of audio-visual wonders!

Contact our experienced team today to enquire about our new audio-visual equipment and specialist AV services for hire.

Images: The Engagement Music.

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Rebels Members Exclusive Promotion – WIN tickets to the Chairman’s Function

Complete Function Hire are proud sponsors of the Melbourne Rebels.

Members of the Melbourne Rebels will go  into the draw to win 3 x  tickets to the Chairman’s Function 2020.

Hire from our extensive range of furniture and equipment for your 2019 events – at your home, office or venue of choice – and receive a lucky ticket to go into the prize draw (announced 1/2/2020).

To discuss your upcoming event and place your order, contact Jamie Staton on 9699 9935 or jamie@cfhire.com

 

 

Terms:  Mention this promotion to enter the draw. Valid for Melbourne Rebels  club members only. Minimum spend $2000 excludes damage waiver and delivery costs. Delivery orders only. Winner drawn at random and drawn on 1/2/2020. Tickets are non-refundable or transferable. 

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Rebels Exclusive Corporate Hire Discount

 

 

 

 

 

Complete Function Hire are a proud sponsor of the Melbourne Rebels. Rebels corporate partners receive an exclusive 15 % discount offer when you hire* furniture and equipment for your events – at your office, home or venue of choice.

Mention this promotion to receive your exclusive offer on booking. Valid for Rebels corporate partners on orders made in 2019.

Contact Jamie Station  to find out about our extensive ranges and to place your order on 9699 9935 or jamie@cfhire.com

 

*Terms: Minimum spends apply. Valid for events held in 2019. Discount on hire items only, does not apply to delivery or damage waiver.

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Essendon Football Club Members Exclusive Offer – WIN A FREE TICKET TO THE PRESIDENTS FUNCTION

Complete Function Hire are proud Official Partners of the Essendon Football Club.

This Winter, Essendon Football Club members have a chance to WIN a lucky ticket to the Presidents Function – Essendon Vs. Western Bulldogs – August 10th at Marvel Stadium (hosted by Complete Function Hire). 

For your chance to WIN this awesome footy experience – simply place your order with Complete Function Hire (for your 2019 event) by COB Friday 2nd August. **

Complete Function Hire are a one stop shop for all your event hire needs – at your home, your office or venue of choice.

Contact our friendly team today to discuss your event today.

** Minimum spends apply. Winner drawn at random and advised on Monday 5th August. Ticket is not refundable or transferable. 

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WIN Dinner at Grossi Florentino this Winter

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are proud to work closely with Australian hospitality icon, Guy Grossi.

For your chance to win an experience at his acclaimed Florentino restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD, all you have to do is spend $2,000 or more during the winter months!

When you spend $2,000 with Complete Function Hire in June, July and August 2019, you will receive one lucky entry to our Winter competition.

The winner will be announced in September  – good luck!

For all your winter event hire needs – contact the friendly team at Complete Function Hire today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

** Terms and conditions – $2,000 spend applies to hire only, voucher to Florentino is valued at $200 and will be announced and delivered in September 2019, winner will be drawn at random. 

 

 

*

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Complete Function Hire Serving Suggestions – Expert Advice From Guy Grossi

The team at Complete Function Hire enjoys working closely with the best in the business to deliver stand out dining and event experiences all over Melbourne.

We have been honoured to work alongside Australian hospitality icon, Guy Grossi to provide furniture and equipment hire for some truly impressive events at his restaurant and special events.

Guy Grossi and his team know just how to create unforgettable dining experiences. On this month’s blog, we were privileged to interview Guy to find out about some of his favourite flavours and to get some tips on how to create the most memorable special occasions.

What are your favourite flavours of the moment?

I like simple but bold flavours. Like the simple combination of chilli and garlic or good quality olive oil to dress vegetables. I don’t think flavours need to be complicated to be good. I’m loving the produce that’s coming in at the moment as the seasons start to shift. Autumn is the time for delicious produce such as figs and mushrooms.

What will be the prominent food trends for Melbourne events in 2019?

I think it goes back to the simple philosophy, I think we are going to see lots of simple ways of eating, more rustic, home style eating with less fuss.

Events are all about sharing delicious food at the end of the day, it doesn’t need to be complicated, just tasty and abundant.

Serving suggestions – how can people entertaining at home create simple yet stylish ways to impress their guests?

 

 

 

 

 

The best way is to keep it relevant to the dish, if it’s pumpkin tortellini with sage use some fried sage leaves to garnish. You don’t want to garnish for the sake of it. Use fresh lemon if appropriate for fried items, or a simple dusting of icing sugar on a cake, that’s all that’s really needed. I think less is definitely more, let the food speak for itself, arrange it neatly on a plate without going overboard. I’m not into things arranged like a swan.

Thank you to the legendary Guy Grossi for sharing his expert advice on how to impress party guests.

 

For all your party hire needs, the passionate team at Complete Function Hire are on call to discuss your perfect event, contact us today to start your planning.

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Venues We Love – The Albion, South Melbourne

Conveniently located in South Melbourne and sprawling across 3 stunning levels, The Albion is Melbourne’s newest event space. Perfectly suited to private and corporate events alike, The Albion’s various, luxe function spaces can accommodate intimate soirees or large, lavish cocktail parties for up to 600 guests across the entire venue. Whilst The Albion is known for it’s cocktail parties, the venue has been designed to adapt to any occasion from product launches, engagement dinners and large scale corporate celebrations of all kinds. On this month’s ‘Venues We Love’, we were thrilled to catch up with the team of event professionals at The Albion to get the low down on their magnificent venue and to get their top tips for event planners this winter.

What makes events at The Albion so memorable?

We pride ourselves on our service and always ensure every guest leaves our venue happy and well fed. Food and beverage is at the heart and soul of what we do and we always deliver this to the highest quality. Your guests can except to leave an event at The Albion on a first name basis with our amazing front of house team who strive to ensure every guest has been incredibly well looked after.

Winter events are perfectly suited at The Albion because…

We have all the provisions to keep guests comfortable no matter the weather. The Lounge boasts leather booths creating a cosy and intimate setting.

The Rooftop is completely enclosed with heating and louvered roof to accommodate Melbourne’s notoriously fickle weather.

We enjoyed being a part of this awesome event at The Albion Rooftop – styled by Miss Carter Style, photographed by Prue Aja Photography

Our function menu features hearty and wholesome, substantial items like our Moroccan Chickpea Tagine with Pomegranate Cous Cous which pairs perfectly with a big bold Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, a perfect winter warmer.

What are your team’s top tips for event planners this winter and how can event planners create an event at The Albion that everyone will talk about for years to come?

Being Melbourne’s newest lifestyle venue, we are sure guests will be impressed by our beautiful venue which will provide enough talking points on its own… however you will find everything you need for a memorable event at The Albion, including in house AV, beautiful décor and design, carefully curate food and beverage menus … and of course access to Melbourne’s best event suppliers.

We enjoyed being a part of this awesome event at The Albion Rooftop – styled by Miss Carter Style, photographed by Prue Aja Photography

When hosting a function or event in winter there are a few key items every event planner will have on their checklist:

1. A cloak room is essential and often overlooked.

2. An adaptable menu that features seasonal local produce.

3. Climate controlled spaces and a dry, enclosed, heated space for the smokers to congregate.

If you are looking for a stunning Melbourne event space that ticks all the boxes, contact the friendly team at The Albion.  

For all your event hire needs, speak to the team of event professionals at Complete Function Hire today. 

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Expert Advice For Wedding & Event Planners – Ed Dixon Food Design

The team at Ed Dixon Food Design ‘live and love food’. Creating spectacular occasions of all kinds since 2001, the team at Ed Dixon Food Design know just how to throw an amazing party!

With an eclectic range of incredible event spaces plus their beautiful menus that look almost too good to eat (almost!), Ed Dixon Food Design has gone from strength to strength over the last 17 years.

We were so delighted to speak to the team of catering and event gurus at Ed Dixon Food Design to find out about their wedding and event trend predictions for this year and to get their top tips on how to make an event really special.

What are the Ed Dixon Food Design team’s catering and event trend predictions for 2018?

Shared dining is still easily our most popular menu for weddings and events and we’ve seen this evolve into huge grazing tables. In 2018 we think this will lead to more DIY food stations – taco bars, sundae toppings, “pimp your Prosecco”, etc. This type of event is a win-win – guests enjoy the novelty of something different whilst hosts can tackle dietary requirements, quantities and variety really easily.

Ed Dixon Food Design’s gorgeous (and healthy) Ocean Trout canapés are an essential menu choice. Image @bravonovember

The focus on health is continuing with trends leaning towards a more vegan offering – poke bowls, acai bowls, substantial salads. Also, non-alcoholic cocktails are increasing in popularity.

At the other end of the scale, we’re also seeing an increase in ‘midnight snacks’ at weddings and evening events. Think pulled pork sliders, loaded fries and mini ice-creams – carnival type food!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pops are always a huge hit at the end of the night. Image @hellourbansafari

Tell us about some of the most unique spaces that you create in events in.

The most unique space we’ve been in recently would be the Gershwin Room at The Espy. We did an event there whilst the rest of The Espy was still gutted. The atmosphere was super spooky!

What are the team’s favourite wedding style predictions for this season?

For styling themes, we think Scandi will still be big – timber, clean lines and a warm atmosphere work so well at weddings, also the style is very accessible as it’s present in many areas of our lives; furniture, décor, etc. We predict the Palm Springs theme to become more commonplace – the colour palettes are great and everyone loves a relaxed summer vibe! We also think balloon installations will become bigger and crazier!

‘Wed-stivals’ are one of the team’s wedding style predictions for this year. @michaelbriggsphotography

The other trend we’re predicting is more wed-stivals – Festival Weddings. We’ve started doing a few of these, but with the popularity of glamping, music festivals and festival-type styling, we see this becoming more popular.

Tips for event planners – what are your team’s top tips for organising memorable events this year?

• We love an outdoor party however always make sure a wet weather contingency is in place!
• Trust your suppliers – they are (generally) experts and have a heap of experience planning events like yours.
• Preparation is key – we recommend maintain a Master Sheet, which has all your supplier details and information. This will allow your Event Manager to identify gaps or troubleshoot BEFORE the day of your event.
• When in doubt, pay a professional. Similar to the saying “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur…” You will NOT feel like hanging lights or putting on chair covers on the morning of your wedding. You also won’t feel like packing up and carrying everything home after your reception so pay the extra and have it all done for you.
• And in terms of weddings – take a moment to soak it all up – it goes way too fast!

Ed Dixon Food Design’s Berry Smash Cocktail is a stunning addition to any soiree. @bravonovember

What’s new at Ed Dixon Food Design?

We have a new head chef who is bringing a wealth of knowledge and fresh ideas to the team. Plus, a change of season means new menus are out soon! Watch this space.

If you want to make your wedding or upcoming event reallys special, contact the awesome team of foodies at Ed Dixon Food Design today.

The team at Complete Function Hire are at your service to discuss all your wedding and event hire needs. 

*Feature image credit @bravonovember

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Complete Function Hire’s Best Bits of 2017

The team at Complete Function Hire would like to wish our wonderful clients, supporters and amazing event partners a very Merry Christmas.

Oh what a year it has been! With too many extraordinary events to mention here – we took 5 to ask our team of event experts about their best bits of 2017 and to spread some Christmas cheer.

Amazing Events – All Over Melbourne!

2017 was chock full of so many amazing events, it really is impossible to mention them all. We are privileged to work with so many talented and creative event planners at Melbourne’s best venues. Cam Munro, our General Manager, said that ” My event highlight of the year was the Australian Republic Movement Gala Dinner at the iconic Royal Exhibition Buildings. It was a HUGE event and I was proud of the way the whole team worked together seamlessly to get it done”.

This amazing event at the Royal Exhibition Buildings was a team highlight for 2017! Photo credit Stewie Donn.

Our Loyal Clients

The Complete  Function Hire team feel lucky to work with Melbourne’s best wedding and event professionals. Jamie Staton, our Business Development Manager, gives our wonderful clients a shout out, “I just wanted to say a big thank you to all our major clients for a fabulous 2017. We appreciate all the support and we enjoy working with you all. On a personal level, I hope that you all have a fabulous Christmas with family and friends and we look forward to an amazing year ahead. Please stay safe and I hope that you all get a well-deserved break after an extra crazy event season this year”.

Wow Factor weddings kept the team busy in 2017. We love helping people celebrate their special day.

Nathan Purcell agrees that working with great people is one of the best parts of working at Complete Function Hire. “The annual highlight for me would be the end of the year, another successful one almost down. With a big thanks to all our staff, but mostly our clients who without them it wouldn’t happen.. cheers and thanks to all”.

Steve Withers, Complete Function Hire Director said that his highlights of the year came from the huge amount of positive client feedback, “I have been so delighted with the number of positive calls and emails from clients regarding our staff throughout the year”, said Steve.

Team Work

Through all of our cool monthly staff profiles (Who’s Who at Complete Function Hire), one thing that stands out is that our team really enjoy working together (and working hard!). “The real highlight of this year, has been seeing Nic Lema step in to run Operations and excelling in the role under a lot of pressure during peak season” says Cam Munro.

We are lucky to work with Melbourne’s best and most unique event spaces! Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium.

Nic Lema, Operations Manager, said that, “I would like to thank the team especially Matty for helping me out with the load of work that has to be set out, day in and day out… I love when the team comes together to get a massive job done.
Looking forward to the wedding season!”.

Much loved member of staff, Matt Slingo congratulates his team for their hard work across the year, “It’s impressive to see Nic step up to run operations. With that role comes a new set of challenges for Nic – to deliver quality product to our clients during our busiest time of year. It’s always good to see a new batch of road and kitchen staff working together to make it all happen”.

Things We Built – With Love

Andrew Foulstone, Complete Function Hire Director said that, “In a slow year for new product our team were able to build new Lemonade Stands for a large show a the Royal Exhibition Buildings that look fantastic. When asked to custom build something we always aim to exceed our clients’ expectations.”

Thank you once again to all of our followers, clients and event partners for a sensational 2017. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Click here to contact the passionate team of event experts at Complete Function Hire today. 

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Complete Function Hire’s Stylish New Crockery & Furniture Hire Ranges for 2018

Complete Function Hire are proud to announce our new furniture and crockery ranges for hire. Coming soon are our two new furniture hire ranges – Cruise Range and Torquay Range.

Cruise Range

Understated and elegant, the Cruise Range is a stylish addition to any venue or event. Coming in two seater and one seater sizes, the Cruise Range is modern with a versatile colour palette of black on charcoal.

Torquay Range

We are excited to introduce the Torquay Range. Coming soon to Complete Function Hire, this simple yet striking range is suited to both indoor and outdoor events.

Concrete Range

Meet the super stylish Concrete Range. Designed to complement a modern or industrial interior, this chic range is available to hire in Entrée, Main, Side and Dessert plates

The Concrete Range adds a stylish touch to the table.

The Duck Egg Range

The Duck Egg range comes in a soft Blue and complements all kinds of cuisines. Coming soon to Complete Function Hire, the Duck Egg range is an elegant crockery choice for any occasion.

The Duck Egg (Blue) crockery range will be available to hire soon.

Speak to the team at Complete Function Hire today about our elegant new crockery and furniture hire ranges. Available to hire for your event very soon!