Event Planner

 

 

The role of an event planner (also known as event coordinator) is to take care of all responsibilities within the planning of an event, from start to finish. Once the client has agreed with the plan and contracts are signed, the event planner will then start the creative process of planning your event whilst keeping a firm eye on the client’s budget. There are a number of reasons why people choose to hire an event planner, as opposed to organising their event themselves, below are some examples:

Time – If you are working long hours everyday 5 days a week, the last thing you want to do is come home and spend more hours planning your event, when you can using this time to relax with your family.

Creative – To make your event standout and leave guests talking for years to come, you have to be really creative and have a good eye for detail. Creativity & attention to detail are the two things that make an event standout and unforgettable. Beijing 2008 Olympics ceremony has gone down in history as one of the best Olympic ceremonies ever, the creativity and attention to detail was out of this world!

Stress –  Some say the events industry is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. Event planning can be really stressful and if you don’t know how to control that stress it will drive you crazy. Imagine this for second, you’ve had a long day or night at work, you then have to come home to cook, maybe clean and look after kids. You then have to stress and worry about planning your event, have you chosen the right colours? Have I found the right venue? Will suppliers show up?…and there is so much more to think about!

 

Event Planner: Leave the stress to us

One of the pros to having a event planner is that you are dealing with a one stop shop. Your chosen coordinator will deal with everything, from finding suppliers, liaising with suppliers from start to finish, creating your event, budget management, logistics, to booking a venue.  A good event planner will make sure they keep the client in the loop and give regular updates.

 

HOW TO FIND YOUR EVENT PLANNER

Finding the right event planner will be one of hardest decisions you will have to make, so make sure you think long and hard about it, especially if you are putting a lot of money into your event. Your aim is for the  to be perfect and stress free for yourself.

You can find 1000s of event companies on google or social media, even better if they come recommended by a friend. Recommendations give you peace of mind that the company have been tried and tested, with a happy client you can now talk to regarding their experience.

Make sure you have more than one event planner to choose from, ask to look at previous work (portfolio)

• Ask how they will charge you for their services. Will they charge by the hour, daily rate, set rate or percentage? (do bear in mind that in order to give you these figures the event planned will need to know a rough budget for this event).

 

• Event planners have a busy schedule, however it is important that they keep in regular contact with their clients once planning begins. Be sure to ask your event planner how often they will be in contact to keep you updated.

 

• Remember it is your event, you’ve provided the vision and it is your event planner’s job to bring it to life. It’s also your event planner’s job to honest with you from the start and notify you straight away if something needs changing, more budget is required or if something is not possible. For example, you’ve agreed for a casino theme and on the day you turn up to a Peppa Pig themed party. Make sure your event planner understands that you must be notified if any major changes are necessary.

 

• Experience has to be one of the biggest factors to consider when choosing your event planner. I’m not saying someone who’s only planned one event won’t be able to provide you with a wow factor event and make you happy, however, an advantage of having someone with experience is that they will know how to deal with any issues that may arise and deal with them rapidly.

One thing that is a known factor in the events industry is that something unexpected will go wrong and will go wrong. No event runs perfectly or issue free. 95% of the time the client and the guests will not be aware that there is an issue because the event planner kept calm and dealt with it in a rapid, professional manner (so many live events on TV have hiccups without the audience even noticing!)

We will be going more in depth into this blog subject in our next blog.