Event Planning

& Management

DETERMINE THE FIVE W’S AND H

• What is your event?• Why is this event happening?• Who are your guests?• When is your event?• Where is your event?• How much is in the budget?

What • Leisure• Cultural• Organizational• Personal

Why • What is the event’s purpose?• Is it a fund-raiser that will benefit

from an extensive silent auction?• Are you celebrating a corporate

anniversary or a wedding?• ‘to give the attendee an event that

in some way matches his contribution of the ticket price’ (charity gala)

• ‘celebrate with family and friends’ (wedding)

Who • Age group

• Couples or singles

• Families– Entertainment

• Incidental entertainment, creative art stations, interactive talent, fun upbeat band

– Menus

• Mostly men or mostly women

• Do your guests know each other?

• Out-of-towners• Work associates• Number of guests

WhenWhere - indoor - outdoorHow

TAKE CARE OF THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Timing Is (Almost Always) Everything

What time of the year? What season? Is it daylight savings time?

What month are you considering? Is your month a high-season month?

What the day of the week is best?Must it be a Friday or a Saturday? Is it a long weekend?

What time of day is your first choice? Sunset, sunrise, luncheon, or brunch?

Picking a Date• Time of year• Time of week• Time of day

• No-no dates– Christmas– New Year– Easter

• Conference dates

Company Picnics• Saturday or

Sunday• Consider a

unique site

Galas• Everyone is in

town• There aren’t

many competing holidays

Holiday parties• Reserve your

space early• Saturday,

Friday, or Thursday

• Traveling

Weddings• Envision the

ceremony• Are you indoors, at a

church or temple?• Or are you on a

beach?• Family obligations• Site availability• Attire• Friday, Saturday,

Sunday

• Event with fireworks finale• Your event includes a show with

lighting• Religious event has timing tradition

Tips for Picking the Right Date• If your event is outdoors, consult

the weather forecast• Compare your date with your

town’s/city’s calendar• If budget is a concern, go for the

out-of-season time rather than high-season

• Check for holidays that surround your event

• Your chosen date will affect your event start time

• The time of day for your event will affect your décor and attire

• Depending on what is happening on your event day , consider how that should (if at all) affect your event

THE FLOW OF AN EVENT Event Timing

• Evening events during the workweek (Monday-Thursday) begin directly after business hours and ends early

• Friday events can go quite late• Saturday events can happen all

day

• A good start time for a day event is between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.

• If you start after 2:00 p.m. and end by 5 p.m., you don’t need to serve a meal

• Saturday events are generally longer• Can end between 11:30 p.m. and the

wee hours of the morning

• Sunday events usually are held during the day and early evening

• Can start as early at 5:30 p.m. and usually end by 10:00 p.m.

Cocktail/Reception hours• If this is a Saturday night event, 45

minutes for cocktailing can be plenty

• If this is right after work, you may need 90 minutes

• Is generally held between the ceremony for up to 1.25 hrs

• Dinner service– French Service– English Service– Buffet– Russian Service– Plate Service– Family-style

Service

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner• Breakfasts and brunches take an hour or

more• Lunches are quick• Dinners (once served) usually take 45

min.

Coffee service• About five

minutes per table

• Engage in activity planned

Shows• No longer than

45 minutes• Leave them

wanting more

Speeches and videos• Videos should not be longer than

3-6 minutes• Speech, probably about 10

minutes• With video presentation; longer

Ceremonies• Usually better

if they’re shorter

People movingFour factors to work with

– Larger numbers means a longer time– It’s harder to get people separate if

they know each other– If you have people to politely ask

guests – How are you going?

• Arrivals• Dancing

– During dessert and go until the party’s over

• Pad your Elements– Give yourself plenty of time for the

inevitable errors• Experience the Event

– Imagine the flow of your event

SITE, SETTING, AND SCENE

When looking for your right location, bear in mind that what you want to communicate with your event also should be stated by your venue

What does your location say about your event?

Location Cost Considerations

All-In vs. Black slate• Do you want to be the contractor, or

would you like your venue to come equipped with one?

• The more a site needs, the more expensive it will be at the end of the day

• Hotel – Labor charges– Most cost-effective venues

• Resturants – logistics and constrictions

• Convention centers– Lots of storage, easy delivery routes,

bid loading docks, huge spaces with high ceilings, and the capacity for as much as your creativity can muster

– Expensive • Lofts/Warehouses/Empty Spaces

– They require a lot of imagination– You’ll need to bring it all in– Cheap

• Tents– Expensive– Labor– Temperature control– Power to run your temperature– Kitchen

Historical venues, Museums• Have pages and pages of rules• Preferred vendor lists• Outdated spaces• A little more expensive to rent• Don’t require a lot of dressing

Beaches and Parks– Permitting– Power– Facilities

Point of Contact

1. Make contact right away. Get them invested in your project. Keep them involved

2. Respect the person’s position of authority and experience in the space

3. Don’t go around or above your contact person (unless absolutely necessary)

Questions to Ask• Get any information you can

regarding access to your space• Find out when you have access to

the space for setup and when you must be cleared out from tear-down

• Ask what other events are happening at the same time as yours at your venue

• Get that list of preferred vendors or exclusive vendors

• If your event is outside, find out about local ordinances

• Ask to see the bathrooms your guest will be using

• When estimating capacity, ask to see photos or floor plans

• Ask if your contact person will be at your event

Tips for Site-Selection Success

• Have a few (or at least two) dates to choose from

• Do your homework on estimated costs

• If your event is outdoors, subject to the weather

• Try to anticipate your guests’ needs

• Plan around existing events• Be flexible!

Event Planning

& Management