Event Planning in Ibadan and Oyo State
Planning, design, rentals and coordination delivered by one team from our base in Felele.
One team, from Felele
Pleasant Jay Events works out of Felele, Ibadan, and most of what we do happens within Oyo State — weddings and traditional weddings, milestone birthdays and anniversaries, corporate dinners and award nights, government and institutional functions, and celebrations of life.
What tends to matter more than the guest list is that the planning, the decor, the furniture and tableware, and the ushering team all come from the same company. One delivery schedule, one point of contact, and no gaps between suppliers who have never worked together. When something needs to change on the day, it changes once rather than being renegotiated across four vendors.
We also travel. Ibadan is our base, and Lagos is where our regular vendor network extends to, so those are the most cost-efficient places for us to work, but events elsewhere in Nigeria are quoted with travel and accommodation agreed upfront rather than added later.
We have our own space in Felele
Alongside planning other people’s venues, we hire out a private open-air space at our Oyo State address. It suits events that do not need a full banquet hall — intimate weddings and showers, corporate meetings and team days, outdoor dinners, and photo or video shoots.
It is deliberately unfurnished, so it works as a blank canvas. Because it is ours, access times and setup schedules are agreed directly with us rather than negotiated through a venue manager, which usually means longer and more flexible setup windows than a hired hall allows.
- Private, secure, open-air, with a versatile open layout
- Furniture, lighting, staging and decor available from our own inventory
- Setup windows agreed directly with us, not through a venue manager
- Wet-weather cover arranged at booking rather than assumed
Everything under one delivery schedule
Every service below is run by our own team, in Ibadan and across Oyo State — which is why the pieces arrive together instead of being coordinated between suppliers who have never met.
Delivered in Oyo State
We built and ran the ITS Oyo State 2025 International Tourism Summit, including the main stage and the banquet setting, at an event addressed by the Governor of Oyo State.
Clients since inception include IBM West Africa, the Oyo State Government, Rosebuzz Oil and Gas, Avila Conglomerate and FATE Foundation. The company has been led for over sixteen years by Ajoke Akinola, who is completing an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Operations Management at the University of Ibadan School of Business, and who received the Oyo State Government’s Champion of Humanity Brand Award in 2023.
What planning an event here actually involves
The questions that decide how an Ibadan event runs are rarely the ones people ask first. These are the ones that change the shape of the day.
Guest count decides the shape of everything
Catering, seating, rentals and decor scale almost directly with headcount, so a 100-guest event and a 400-guest event are different categories of planning rather than the same event priced differently. We have run celebrations at 800 guests with zone-by-zone design, and at that scale the discipline needed is closer to running a small conference than a party.
What drives the cost of a celebration →An outdoor event needs its wet-weather plan agreed at booking
Open-air is the default here for good reason, but cover is something to decide when you book, not in the week of the event. Marquee or canopy cover can be arranged through our rental inventory — it just needs to be in the plan early, because that is when it is both available and affordable.
Colour has to work in afternoon light and under evening lighting
Celebrations here often run long, starting in the afternoon and moving into the night, so a palette gets seen under two completely different light conditions. Colours that look right in daylight can flatten badly under evening uplighting. It is worth choosing for both rather than picking from a photograph taken in one.
Choosing a colour palette that holds up →Bring the asoebi fabric, not a screenshot
If the palette has to match asoebi, an invitation or brand guidelines, bring the physical sample. Matching to a fabric in hand is far more accurate than matching to a screen, where the same cloth can read two shades off depending on the phone that photographed it. Traditional and white weddings often sit days apart with different colour stories, and both need planning.
Heat is a material decision, not a complaint
We use fresh and artificial florals together rather than treating one as a substitute for the other. Fresh gives the best texture and scent where guests are close to it; premium artificial pieces hold their look through a long outdoor event in Nigerian heat and cost less at volume. The right mix depends on your venue, your timing and where people will actually be standing.
How we approach decor →The unglamorous middle is what makes the day feel effortless
Timelines, contingency plans, vendor contracts, payment schedules, and a run-of-show every supplier has seen before the day. We confirm each vendor directly in the days beforehand, so late arrivals are usually caught early — and our vendor network across Ibadan and Lagos means a replacement can often be sourced quickly when someone does not turn up.
What full event management covers →When to start
For weddings and large corporate events, six to twelve months gives the widest choice of venues and vendors. We do take shorter timelines, including a few weeks, but both availability and pricing tighten as the date approaches. If you only want someone to run the day itself, coordination handover usually starts two to four weeks out.
Coordination versus full management →Written by the team that plans these events
Practical answers to the questions we are asked most often.
Planning an event in Ibadan
- Where in Ibadan are you based?
- Our office is at 86, Oba Abimbola Way, Felele, Oyo State, and our own outdoor event space is at the same address. You are welcome to visit before committing to anything — walking a space tells you far more than photographs do.
- Do you have your own event space in Ibadan?
- Yes. We hire out a private open-air space in Felele for events that do not need a full banquet hall — intimate weddings and showers, corporate meetings, outdoor dinners, and shoots. It is unfurnished by design, and furniture, lighting and decor can be added from our own rental inventory on the same booking.
- How much does an event planner cost in Ibadan?
- Guest count is the biggest single driver, followed by venue, decor complexity, catering style and entertainment. An intimate 50-guest dinner and a 400-guest celebration are different categories of planning rather than the same event at different sizes. Ibadan often allows for larger, more dramatic venue choices at a lower base cost than Lagos, though the bigger swing is almost always guest count and venue rather than the city. We quote every event individually once we know your guest count and vision.
- Can you recommend venues in Ibadan?
- Venue sourcing, site visits and layout planning are part of planning with us. We shortlist against your guest count and format, then visit to check access, power and layout before recommending anything, because those are the things that decide whether a space actually works on the day rather than in photographs.
- Do you plan events outside Ibadan?
- Yes. Ibadan is where we are based and Lagos is where our regular vendor network reaches, so those are the most cost-efficient, but we travel for events elsewhere in Nigeria. Travel and accommodation for the team are quoted separately and agreed upfront.
- How far in advance should we book?
- For weddings and large corporate events, six to twelve months gives the widest choice of venues and vendors. Shorter timelines are possible — we have worked to a few weeks — but availability and pricing both tighten as the date approaches. For day-of coordination only, we usually take handover two to four weeks before the event.
Ready to plan your next event?
Let us take the stress off you while you enjoy every moment. Tell us about your event and we'll bring it to life.