Holiday Season is upon us here at Save the Date®
…and we are going through the HUNDREDS, yes, hundreds of Corporate and Personal Parties we have planned for our clients (sometimes 25 events per night) to make sure each is ready for their big day. So how do we keep them all planned to perfection and running smoothly? We get organized and complete our own Pre-Event checklist. Whether we spend a year planning a perfect party, or sometimes just a few days, if the details aren’t flawless in the end, and something falls through the cracks, the event doesn’t work.
So, after 20 years in business, and a lifetime of planning parties, we are sharing a cheat sheet of a few crucial questions that need to be asked, and answered, in order to have a stress-free event.
START AND END TIMES: I know, so basic, but if you think the party is 6 – 9 and the venue thinks 7- 10, well…you can imagine.
FLOORPLAN: Are you thinking cocktail style with high tables and they are thinking seated dinner? Who really wants to sit next to their office “frenemy” for 4 hours?
FINAL GUEST COUNT: Yeah, you have to pay in advance, but more people, is more food, booze and STAFF! Bare buffets and not enough bartenders means angry guests.
FINAL MENU: Enough said there. Make sure your pig roast didn’t get confused with Sammy’s Bar Mitzvah.
REGISTRATION & COATCHECK: You definitely do not want party crashers when you are paying for an open bar, and in my experience nothing makes guests more frustrated than a 20 minute line to check their coat.
OVERTIME: Discuss a price and the ‘what-if’ before you have had 10 martinis…
OUTSIDE VENDORS: You may not be the only person to have an event that day, so plan ahead or the party will start without your entertainment if they are stuck at the loading dock!
Of course, I could go on and on, but with these questions answered you’re at least heading in the right direction. Be happy, be healthy and BE PREPARED!! With Save the Date® CONSIDER YOUR EVENT PLANNED.
– Jennifer Gilbert and the Save the Date® Team
