Your Outdoor Environment

Nicoll’s impressive roster of event creations is punctuated by post-Oscar and the Screen Actors Guild as well as the PGA Tour with sponsor Mitsubishi Electric. In addition, Lamborghini as well as People and InStyle magazines have been graced with the Azure Pacific Group touch. The firm has created memorable experiential events for 10,000 guests celebrating simultaneously in 22 locations across North America.

The group also integrates that celebrity panache into Southern California’s most exclusive home-entertainment environment. “We create the enticement of Oscar on a much-smaller scale,” he explains.

“Each detail is customized to reflect the true essence of the hosts and their individual brands. We create multiple touch points to enhance the experience, from exquisite save-the-dates and invitations to sumptuous menus and engaging entertainment. Not to be forgotten are unique gifts for each guest, possibly a CD of the evening’s music that a valet places in their car for the ride home,” Nicoll adds.

Nicoll and his talented ensemble of event architects bring dreams to life. They infuse a host’s unique energy, character, travel experiences, favorite foods, styles and colors into every step of the event experience.

With a disarming, easy-going style, casual sophistication and abundant charisma, Nicoll credits the most successful outdoor entertaining experiences to superb architecture and design. “The proper architecture, ample electric power, lighting and layout give us a more flexible canvas on which to showcase the ideal venue for entertaining,” he says.

“The precise planning and efficient execution by firms such as Urban Landscape not only provide a stunning setting, they give us great flexibility,” Nicoll explains. “Because Garett McCorkle and his team create the entire outdoor package – hardscape, softscape and the pool – everything is perfectly orchestrated. This provides us with a beautiful, yet functional backdrop so we seldom have to make temporary – and costly – alterations to the yard’s layout. Their water and fire features, deck space, outdoor cooking equipment and elegant pools are not only stunning, they provide maximum opportunities for creativity, drama and innovation.”

Two of Nicoll’s favorite parties illustrate the value of top-quality exterior architecture. The first featured a massive dining table magically floating over the acrylic-covered pool, with the pool’s existing lighting adapted to change colors to reflect the style of the event. At the same homeowner’s next event, Azure Pacific Group transformed the acrylic pool cover into a richly hued “flying” Persian carpet, mirroring one of the homeowner’s most cherished possessions from worldwide travel. >>

While Nicoll loves the extravaganzas, he gets the most enjoyment out of “capturing the untapped imagination of the host while honoring each guest. We play off of the existing colors, textures and patterns found throughout the home and the gardens, extending the home’s mood to the outdoors,” he says.

As a life and style visionary, Nicoll knows that his ideas must always be forward-thinking, fresh and enticing to guests. “We have weathered the days of static, round tables and formal linens, and they are history. Today, we create an engaging impression that is more casual, communal, interactive, sophisticated.” He recently converted a Malibu landscape into an intimate outdoor setting reminiscent of Provence with abundant florals, breads, fruits, wines and cheeses that adorned a huge, rustic table, indigenous to the south of France.