Five Ceremonial Supplies You Didn’t Know Existed

When we hear the word “ceremony” particularly in Western Civilization, we think of religious rituals such as a Christening, a B’rit Milah – better known as “bris,” or of course, a wedding. Seldom does the image of a lavishly elegant groundbreaking shovel display, or a giant ribbon-cutting scissors golden colored grand opening come to mind, much less five ceremonial supplies you didn’t know existed! The history of groundbreaking ceremonies is a fascinating subject, and we invite you to explore it. These richly ritualistic ceremonies of antiquity will lay wonderfully creative scenarios at the feet of our modern Event Organizer extraordinaire! Oui mi petit ami, new lamp posts for your vivid imagination. Here to whet your appetite are five ceremonial supplies you may have never heard of before, but which are essential for an amazing ceremony that will be long remembered.

No. 5: Stanchions and Standing Posts

Stanchions are standing poles or posts made of sturdy metal (up to 18 lbs. ea.) that are used to hold ropes that create a barrier or to form a line. Have you ever been to a ribbon-cutting ceremony where people are holding up the ceremonial ribbon? Stanchions hold each end of the ribbon in a ribbon-cutting ceremony so the ribbon is horizontally straight and perfectly positioned. This way everyone can stand behind the ribbon without touching it, and the company name, or the logo and message appear clearly and boldly. Ceremonialsupplies.com has a selection of stanchions to fit every décor, need, and budget. Browse through our crowd management selection and choose the stanchion that best suits your style – from the Gatsby-esque art deco dome top brass stanchions, or the minimalistic polished chrome urn top, to the dura-plastic standing posts and retractable stanchions, ceremonialsupplies.com is your shop for stanchions and crowd posts!

golden dome stanchion

No. 4: Groundbreaking Shovel Stands

The groundbreaking shovel stand holds the ceremonial shovel in place before, and after the ceremony. Placed on its own stand, the sod-cutting ceremonial shovel can be dressed up with a hard hat and color matching ribbon. The shovel stand holds the shovel, or shovels, and makes these much more accessible than if you were to have them say, stuck on a mound of dirt. The shovel stand creates an invitation that says ‘come look at me’ and that’s exactly what you want your guests to do. You want your guests up close and personal and snapping selfies of your grand event, after all, it’s why you customized everything. Show the world! The strength of having your company or brand color, logo and name engraved, displayed, photographed and video recorded is a marketing goal in itself. There are countless, beautiful ways in which the shovel, the hard hat, and the giant bows of ribbon can be personalized. A groundbreaking shovel stand should be as plain as possible because you don’t want it to detract from the ceremonial shovel. Ceremonialsupplies.com has the most popular, quality proven styles of groundbreaking shovel stands for you to pick, and though you may not have considered its use before, groundbreaking shovel stands are great photo props! Add a step and repeat backdrop and voila! You have created a professional guest photo stage! Check out our event carpet runners and stanchions and rope for a lavishly glam look to your sod-cutting event.

ceremonial shovel display stand

No. 3: Groundbreaking Shovel Display Case

A groundbreaking ceremony is an important occasion of value and enormous significance for a company or a business. Imagine celebrating the first anniversary of your groundbreaking event, or the fifth, tenth and… one-hundredth. You want to preserve the special items used in the ceremony because they represent the foundation, and as your business grows, these are the tools and mementos that symbolize your achievement. First Sod-cutting ceremonies traditionally involve one, two, or as many people as desired, to hold the ceremonial shovel in hand and stab it into the ground, thereby cutting and shifting first dirt upon which a corner stone will be laid. Depending on the project, there may be a handful or less, of people who will be wielding a ceremonial shovel. A high-profile groundbreaking ceremony will have the Owner, President, CEO, or CFO, of a firm, for example. As the event planner, you are responsible to put on an outstanding ceremony for everyone. The best way to honor the VIPs is by presenting them with the groundbreaking shovel they each used in the ceremony, inside a wooden display case. The ceremonial shovel case can hold the shovel and other mementos like a photo, newspaper clippings or other items, and includes a plaque commemorating the event. Ceremonialsupplies.com has a top-notch selection of shovel cases from which to choose. Personalization goes a long way and customizing the shovel blade – which will be visible inside the shovel display, the display case itself will have a plaque that can also be customized. If you purchase any one of ceremonialsupplies.com top-quality groundbreaking shovels, you will want to protect and preserve it in its own groundbreaking shovel display case.

shovel display case

No. 2: Logo Customized Banner

We see them all the time on those annoying ads from online tabloids. Celebrities attending this or that shin ding and photographed in front of a backdrop or banner that features the logos of all who contribute money or value to the event, as well as the logo of the event. The use of this backdrop, called a “Step and Repeat” – and not because of a printing process. It is easy to see the confusion stemming from the point of view of people familiar with a printing process that began to flourish in the 1980’s and used widely up until perhaps ten years ago. The printing process of repeating logos one, by one, and somehow calling this “step and repeat” has thankfully become irrelevant, since the use of a digital process has replaced it. The controversial term actually derives from a much older and still unchanged practice, born from Hollywood premieres! The term Step and Repeat was most likely coined by photographers and their assistants, who called upon the parading stars to “Step” up to a backdrop that identified a movie and its producers, and “Repeat” the procedure with the next guest or celebrity, as quickly as possible. Equipped with this successful promotional tool embedded in photographs and videos, corporations, companies, businesses, firms and organizations adopted the Hollywood method of promoting their own events with as much glamour and longevity. The glitzy addition to party décor has become popular and accessible for all type of events. We at ceremonialsupplies.com understand the value of this promotional vehicle, and offer various sizes step and repeat banners as well as vertical self-standing roll up banners for the same purpose. That is, to create a beautiful stage for awards, presentations, and photos, and embed the name of the occasion in photos and videos taken of the event for publication or other type of long lasting circulation. 

retractable roll up banner

No. 1: Jumbo Ribbon-Cutting Scissors

Grandopenings and ribbon-cutting ceremony can be one, and the same, although it is also a possibility to have a ribbon-cutting without a grand opening celebration. If you are a party planner reading this and heading straight over to ceremonialsupplies.com, you are likely to be a professional event organizer catering to a level of clientele in the corporate world. Exacting and demanding clients are your specialty! This is why jumbo ribbon-cutting scissors are perfect for a grandiose opening celebration event that will bedazzle everyone. Ceremonialsupplies.com offers the easiest-to-order selection of jumbo ribbon-cutting scissors online. The rainbow assortment of color handles to match your ribbon and décor are the first choice, followed by silver or golden blades, and finally the size! Yes, size does matter, especially when you are creating a shining ribbon-cutting ceremony. Ceremonialsupplies.com offers the 25” extra-large scissors, or the jumbo 30” scissors to be the outstanding stars of the event! Imagine an extra-wide 8” or 10” ribbon boldly and elegantly printed with your company’s logo and message in a repeating pattern, held at each end with stylish posts decorated with huge bows of the same color – the jumbo scissors in matching color handle will be the crowning touch! For a more traditional business office grand opening, we also have the golden-handle stainless steel 10” ceremonial scissors. The grand-opening scissors can be held and displayed in their own stand, and our finely crafted display cases are perfect for storing, preserving and displaying the ceremonial scissors in an office, conference room, or company heirloom pieces.

jumbo ribbon cutting scissors

We hope you’ve enjoyed this refresher course of lesser-known ceremonial items that will make the difference when organizing a groundbreaking ceremony or a grand opening event. Join us at ceremonialsupplies.com and browse our website – we promise to delight you!