Event planning is one of those things that everyone thinks they could do without a single problem cropping up, until they do it. It requires a unique blend of organisation skills, creativity, hard work, and dedication. Oh, and you’ll need an eye for detail too! To give you some hints and tips, we’re going to talk you through the most common mistakes that people make when planning events. That way you can get down to some serious planning safe in the knowledge that you’re headed in the right direction.
Booking Clashing Dates
Book the date of your event to coincide with another major event is a big no-no. Imagine if you were organising a sports day and it clashed with a major football game. What would the attendance be like? Remember that people don’t have to come. If they remember later on that something a lot bigger is happening on the same day, they might pull out with no notice whatsoever.
When you’re planning the date for your event, take a look at a national events calendar and generally be aware of major events. Days like Valentine’s Day, Remembrance Sunday, Boxing Day (the list goes on) are already spoken for in most people’s minds. Provided you know what the calendar looks like, you shouldn’t run into trouble.
Picking a Virtually Inaccessible Venue
Even the most attractive venues in the world need to be easily accessible if you want people to turn up. Wherever possible, you might consider driving the route yourself and checking out the parking options in person. That way you’ll be able to approach the event with the peace of mind that you won’t have guests bailing at the last minute because there is too much hassle involved in getting from door to door.
Not Planning for the Weather
Sometimes you know in advance that it is likely to rain, and sometimes the forecasts of sun and unbroken blue skies will just be wrong. You need to plan for this by putting a contingency plan in place so that your event isn’t rained off at the first sight of drizzle.
If you want to strike the right balance, consider ways in which you can move guests indoors or under cover when need be. That way you’ll still be able to put on an event that your guests will love without having to constantly check the weather updates minute by minute.
Underselling Tickets
Not having enough people turn up is every planner’s worst nightmare, but you’d be amazed at how many times it could have been easily avoided.
By getting the word out about your event early, you can drum up some interest when you’re still in the early stages of planning. Creating a landing page where interested parties can sign up for text or email updates as things move along is a great way to gauge interest. By putting effort into marketing early on, you’ll be able to sell a lot of tickets early and get a feel for how well your event is going to go.
The great thing about this approach is that if it looks like you’re going to sell out months ahead, you may be able to scale things up further and put on an even bigger event.
Not Serving People at the Right Times
People get annoyed when they’re left hungry or thirsty — it’s another one of the rules of event planning that you’re going to have to commit to memory. By all means offer a buffet and an open bar, but make sure that it’s all available when people want to use it. That way you won’t have to hear grumbling and complaining from your guests as they disengage from the event and become caught up in why there’s nothing for them to eat and drink.
Get the balance right and you’ll be able to plan an event that will go off without a hitch.
Picking Too Large a Venue
Even if you sell out all your tickets your event will feel flat if the venue you’ve hired is too big. It will make it feel half empty even though the event itself is a roaring success.
Put some careful thought into how to find a venue that offers plenty of space, but not so much that it feels like half of the people have already gone home for the night. That way you’ll be able to have a spacious venue without the atmosphere suffering. Ideal if you want to plan an event that will live long in the memory for all the right reasons.
Forgetting Some of the Paperwork
Licenses are one of the most important parts of event planning, and if you haven’t done this type of work before, they’re also the easiest things to miss.
With so many rules and regulations, it can be a little tricky knowing where to start. To give yourself peace of mind that you have everything covered, the best thing to do is seek the advice of a professional, like Kevin Rowe event management. That way you’ll know that you’re using your time and energy in a constructive way that will get the job done the right way.
It’ll also allow you to bounce ideas off someone who will be able to tell you whether you’ve overlooked any of the small things that can really make or break an event.
Ignoring the Advice of Professionals
Event planners work on events of all shapes and sizes year after year, which means they know what works and what doesn’t. There are a few key things that everyone takes as gospel in the events industry and they’ll happily share them with you. That way you’ll be able to get off to a fast start and won’t run the risk of finding that you’ve wasted 4 weeks of planning when something goes awry down the line.
Now that you’ve heard some of the common mistakes all you have to do is avoid them, put in the work, and seek the advice of a professional. Perfect for throwing an event that will live long in the memory.