What do you need to think about when planning an event?
Event planning can be stressful! There are so many items that need to be thought of when you think about an event. The list can be big or small, and this can happen for a few different reasons. The first reason is the actual event you are planning- there are different items that need to be completed for a birthday party and then there are a whole different set of items that need completed in order to pull off a wedding. Event planners are great to help with that- we have not only experience in planning different events but we also have a network of vendors and businesses we work with and are familiar with. This makes it much easier for you!
If you want to try your hand at planning an event- go for it! Here are a few items you need to consider when planning (if you are still in the initial phases, see also the blog post on picking the right venue)......
First, do you need food and/or beverages? Does your venue come with them? Do you need to hire an outside service for one or both of these? (It's also important to know how many people are attending your event so you can hire a vendor or vendors that can accommodate).
If your venue does not come with food/beverage, what do you want to serve?
Who provides this service that correlates with the overall feel of my event?
Do you need any kind of music/emcee/audio services? Does your venue come with anything?
If not, who offers what you are trying to achieve?
Do you need any additional after or before hours support? Do you need to hire off-duty cops if you are having alcohol after a venue's operational hours?
What kind of decor do you want, if any? Do you need to provide it?
Are there any other people you can partner with to achieve your end desired result for your event? This can help share some of the stress and take some of the workload off of you!
How do you get people to your event (this is important for shows, fairs, expos, and seminars)?
What do you want people to get out of your event? This includes the external customer (who may attend) and the internal customer (if you partner with other people/businesses).
The main goal is to complete your event. You need to plan out the road map that will get you there. Once you have the big vision of what you want to achieve, the roadmap should basically create itself and be achieved with a little "massaging" from you. How successful you want your event to be is dependent on your personal definition of success. I would advise writing that down- what does it look like to successfully complete your event?
Don't be scared to think outside of the box. If you are trying to brand yourself in a market or in a field, try things that other people have done but also be willing to try something new.
Take the time to sketch out your plan and then get to it! No one became great by waiting for the right time. :)
-Vanessa