Tips for Planning an Event

If you are planning a birthday, wedding, corporate party or any other type of event than you have taken on a very demanding chore.  Event planning is no easy task, that is why it’s a profitable profession, people do it for a living, so don’t feel discouraged if you are a little overwhelmed.  The good news is, we are here to help, below is a collection of great tips that will help the modern multitasker in creating an amazing party. 

1^st: Decide what kind of event you are going to host.  This might sound like an easy task but it can actually become one of the most difficult steps in the entire process of planning.  You might think you have it figured out, “I’m throwing a wedding event” or, “I am going to host a corporate event”, but what kind?  Is it a modern wedding, rustic, Victorian?  Is your corporate event going to be fun and crazy or enlightening and formal?  Once you have decided the type of event you want to plan you are well on your way to making it a reality.

2^nd: What are the goals for your event?  Define what your objectives and desired outcomes are, for instance, you may be holding a company party in order to promote teamwork.  If you do not already have an idea of what your objective is other than just holding a grand party, focus on your audience to decide what your emphasis will be.

3^rd:  Create a budget.  Identify your sources and amounts of potential revenue and expenses.  Go over your budget several times to revise and update it.  It will be helpful to decide how much money you want to dedicate to each category of your event as well.  For example, if you are planning a wedding you may want to split up your money into categories of flowers, photography, apparel, cake, entertainment etc… and decide which ones will be allotted more or less money.

4^th:  Choose a date and time and location.  You must of course consider whether the event would be better suited in the early or later hours of the day and what season would go best with your events needs.  Also take into account whether you would like an indoor or outdoor event, if you would like to host it locally or abroad and whether or not you plan to hold the event with a vendor.  When planning for a location be sure to map out specifics like how many people will be attending so that you can reserve proper capacities and area requirements for your activities.

5^th:  Details.  This is another one of the most crucial steps.  Items that will need to be discussed are decorations, food, setup/teardown, entertainment, activities, party favors, etc…  Here are some links to help you along:  Catering, Music, Entertainment.

6^th:  Create a timeline.  Outline the essential activities and their sequential order.  With this you should be documenting who is responsible for what and how activities should transition into one another.

7^th:  Start planning your next event.

–Nikole Higgins, Communication Director, Nikole@utahliveband.com