Plan, plan, plan.
The best substitute for good luck is excellent planning. Get ready early and make sure you have a plan before you start to look for locations and vendors. By knowing everything you can ahead of time, you’ll be able to coordinate seamlessly with your vendors and event staff.
What, where, then when.
Before you set out to find your venue, make sure you know exactly what you’ll need from your location. Then, set a date depending on the availability of the best venue. This will save you from making costly mistakes early in your planning.
Check your date
While you won’t be able to accommodate everyone’s needs. Check your date against holidays, religious days, and other events. Always double check your date with your most important guests and choose a date that is accommodating to as many people as possible.
Send an efficient message.
All well-planned events start with an informative invitation. Letting your guests known important details up front such as dates, times, attire, addresses, parking, and any additional information will keep everyone excited to attend with no nasty surprises.
Follow, Follow up.
Make sure to follow up and confirm all information with both your guests and your vendors. A gentle reminder 2-3 weeks before the event will do wonders for making sure your day goes as planned.
Jot it down
You might think you’ll remember every tiny detail, however, in the midst of planning you’re likely to forget any details you don’t immediately jot down. Create a central document you can edit from your mobile device, so you can keep all the information centralized.
Create a backup plan
Rainy day, emergency, last minute cancel, anything could go wrong last minute. Make sure you have a backup plan if something isn’t working or it decides to literary rain on your parade!
Make sure to give thanks
Vendors, venues, and very excited guests all love to receive thanks! Make sure you send a gracious letter after the event to thank them for coming!
Get ahead of the tech!
Do you need a Microphone? Speakers? TV Screens? A Laptop? Professional photography equipment? Make sure you know all the technology you’ll need for the event. Set up the technology as far ahead of the event as possible so there will be ample time for tests.
Enjoy yourself!
Don’t get so caught up in planning that you forget to relax and have fun. After all, your guests will be there to see you as much as they are to have fun themselves.
