Event planning made easy

Dinner for forty, sorted in
under a minute

Paste the request. A costed number to take to whoever signs off, in about twenty seconds — then hand the calls to us.

Free to request. No account or credit card needed.

Free · no account · about twenty seconds

Who ends up planning these

Managers and team leads

You were handed this, and it isn't your job.

You have the budget and no supplier list. We do the research and the calls; you approve one option.

Assistants and People teams

You organise these constantly and you're out of hours.

You keep the judgment and the relationships. We take the sourcing, the chasing and the paperwork off the pile.

Nonprofit teams

You run a nonprofit and there's no line for planning.

Fundraisers, volunteer days, board dinners — the same service, at no cost to your organisation.

For nonprofits →

Working across all nine Bay Area counties

San FranciscoSan MateoSanta ClaraAlameda Contra CostaMarinSonomaNapaSolano

The kind of thing we handle

Four things you can ask for

Gifting covers both: something bought and sent, or merchandise we design, produce and ship with your logo on it.

What happens after you paste

In about twenty seconds

A costed range

Per head and all-in, from a real rate card. The number you take to finance before anyone contacts a venue.

Within two business days

One option

We contact every candidate, chase the replies, and come back with a single option to approve — not a spreadsheet.

Then it is off your desk

Booked, or waiting for your yes

Under $3,000 we book it if we hear nothing, and you can undo it. Above that it always waits for you.

You will not chase anyone

  1. 1We contact every option, by phone. That is how venues actually answer.
  2. 2We chase the replies. You chase nobody.
  3. 3You get one option to approve, not a spreadsheet.
  4. 4Under $3,000, if you say nothing by the deadline, we book it. You can undo it afterwards. Above that, it always waits for your yes.
  5. 5You watch it happen on a live page, and can come back any time.

Where we work

The SF Bay Area — all nine counties. Outside it, we say so rather than guess.

Why we exist

Companies want distinctive local options. Finding them is the problem.

The chains are easy to buy from

They are already in the system, already approved, already invoiced. That is the only reason they win most corporate orders — not because they are better.

Local takes work nobody has

Discovery, comparison, a dozen phone calls, one purchase order per vendor. The distinctive option loses on coordination, not on quality.

Some businesses never surface at all

Women-owned, minority-owned and family-run businesses are the hardest of all to reach through conventional procurement. Not absent — just not indexed anywhere a buyer looks.

Viva is the layer in between: you make one request, we carry the discovery and the coordination, and you get one answer back.

We are early and honest about it. The network is being built a phone call at a time, and we are looking for companies who want their spend to reach distinctive local businesses — and who will tell us when we get it wrong. If that is the kind of buying you want to do, we would like to hear from you.

Questions we get asked

How much does corporate catering cost per person in the Bay Area?

As a guide: coffee carts run $12–22 a head, breakfast $22–42, lunch $32–65, a reception $55–110 and a seated dinner $95–165. Add roughly $32–68 a head for a bar, $350–3,200 for A/V, an 18–24% service charge and local sales tax. Viva quotes from these bands before any venue is contacted, so you have a number to take to finance.

How much is a corporate dinner for 40 in San Jose?

A seated dinner for 40 with a bar and basic A/V costs roughly $6,800–13,300 all in, which is about $170–333 a head including the service charge and San Jose sales tax. Booking a table at a restaurant instead comes in lower — around $6,500–12,000 — because a reservation carries the venue's large-party gratuity rather than an event service charge, and no A/V.

Can you do branded merchandise or company swag?

Yes. Merchandise sits inside gifting: tell us the item, the quantity and the deadline, and we handle the design, the proofs and the shipping. Budget roughly $12–28 a head for a tee, tote, mug or bottle, $28–65 for a hoodie or a small kit and $65–150 for outerwear or a boxed multi-item kit, plus a one-off $75–400 for artwork and decoration setup. Allow two to three weeks from artwork approval.

Do event planners charge a fee?

Viva does not charge the person planning the event. Venues pay Viva when they take a booking we brought them, so there is no planning fee, no retainer and no invoice from us. You pay the venue and the caterer exactly as you would have anyway.

Who plans corporate events in the SF Bay Area?

Viva Events plans corporate events across the SF Bay Area — all nine counties. We handle catering, restaurant reservations, team outings, corporate gifting and branded merchandise.

Can someone else deal with the venues for me?

Yes. That is the service. You describe the event once; Viva contacts every candidate venue by phone, chases the replies, and comes back with a single option to approve rather than a spreadsheet of quotes. You do not chase anyone.

How far in advance should I book a corporate dinner?

For a seated dinner of 40 or more in the Bay Area, two to four weeks gives real choice; under a week narrows it to whoever has a cancellation. Viva will tell you what is actually available for your date rather than guessing — most venues answer a phone call the same day.

Get a number now

Free · no account · about twenty seconds