It takes a lot to put together an enjoyable event. You need to keep track of many moving parts, and losing yourself in the process can be easy. Fortunately, there are a lot of helpful tools and techniques at your disposal as an event planner.
Whether or not you’re doing this full-time, there are some key factors you need to consider while planning any event. A simple party or even a hard-to-manage concert plan will thrive if the following are considered.
Event Planning Checklist
While you might have a clear mental image of what event you’d like to put together, you must break it down into actionable steps. That mental image will stay just that if you don’t consider some important aspects of planning.
Something as small as whether or not you want to use physical tickets, and how to leverage event ticketing software otherwise should be considered. That being said, here are some other factors you should note.
Duration and Timing
Time is a punishing concept that needs to be adequately handled. If mismanaged, the resulting disaster will be difficult to recover from. So, nail down the date and timeline for your event as early as possible. Knowing when you want it to happen, you can easily lockdown the where.
It’s worth noting that your venue and guest options will be severely limited for an impromptu event. For the best result, plan ahead so people and venue managers can be informed in time.
What Will It Cost?
When considering cost, it’s easy to focus on the monetary implications of your event. While this is a significant aspect of the planning process, it isn’t the only cost worth noting. It’s also important to consider labor. Will you need to rope your friends into your plans? Will you need to hire bouncers, servers, caterers, or more?
Cultivate the mindset of considering all costs while planning. It’ll help you better understand what is realistic in your given time frame and quickly eliminate unnecessary ideas.
Catering to The Guests or Attendees
Remember that no event is complete without guests. Everything you’re doing, all the planning and working, is for the people that will show up. As such, you should also factor their tastes into your plans. The activities of your event must cater to the people you want to attend.
Ultimately, this ensures that as many people as possible have a great time! As an event planner, you’re happy when your guests are happy.
Theme and Focus
What is your event for? What do you hope to achieve with this event? You can be a lot more flexible with your theme if the event is meant to be casual. Also, consider the scale of your event when picking a theme. Some concepts work better on a smaller scale than a large one.
If your event is charity-related, try to include whatever charity you aim to contribute to in the planning process. If you plan to publicize the event and put their brand out there, they should be involved and informed as much as possible.
Scale of the Event
How big do you want this to be? Much planning will be involved regardless of the scale, but size does matter. The scale of your event will affect potential venues and even possible themes. When planning for a certain number of guests, ensure you exceed this expected number to account for the unexpected.
You risk encountering unsafe hazards if you don’t adequately account for the scale of your event. Remember that your guests should feel safe and welcome when they attend, which can be achieved with proper planning.
Advertising and Reminders
This becomes a major planning point before and after locking down the guest list. If you plan a small event with family and friends, informing and reminding them should be easy.However, the case is very different for larger events. It becomes increasingly difficult to reach out to and remind guests the higher the number. Should this be the case, it helps to create a platform for sharing regular updates. You could make a group of confirmed attendees so they stay in the loop.
Conclusion
You cultivate a sense of attachment to any planned event, especially one that takes time and effort. As such, you should do everything within your power to make it a success for everyone involved, and the steps mentioned above are a good place to start. Remember to have fun with it.
