A planning guide by Get Out! Events.
A Dinner and Dance, often shortened to D&D, is the evening many Singapore companies use to thank their people, recognise achievements and mark the end of a year or a milestone. Done well, it feels like a celebration that belongs to your company. Done badly, it feels like a long dinner with a microphone.
This guide is for HR, admin and people teams who have just been handed the D&D. It walks through the decisions in the order they usually need to be made: the purpose and theme, the programme on the night, and the production details that keep the evening moving.
A sit-down or buffet dinner at a ballroom, restaurant or unique venue.
An emcee who holds the programme together.
Speeches, awards or recognition segments.
Entertainment such as a live band, DJ, performers or games.
A lucky draw, often the moment guests remember most.
Sound, lighting, screens and staging to support all of the above.
Start with headcount, date flexibility and the tone you want. Those three answers narrow your venue options quickly. Theme and programme come next, and production details follow once the room is confirmed. Working the other way round, for example falling in love with a theme before you know the room, is the most common source of late changes.
Themes and Tone helps you choose a direction that suits your people. The Programme covers the run sheet from arrival to last song. Production Checklist lists the technical and logistics items that are easy to miss.
If you would rather hand the whole evening to a team that handles venue sourcing, entertainment, AV and on-site coordination, Get Out! Events describes its service on its Dinner and Dance event company Singapore page.
About this guide: Company Dinner and Dance Planning Guide is written and maintained by Get Out! Events, a Singapore corporate event company at 14 Robinson Road #08-01A, Singapore 048545. It contains general planning guidance only; confirm current venue rules, permits and partner requirements before you book anything.