Avoiding nightmare scenarios when planning an event

When you are planning to put on an event – whether it’s a wedding, a corporate party for the holiday or a special celebration for someone at work or in your family, you want everything to go exactly how you envision it. But unfortunately, things can – and will – go wrong. Thankfully, there are some ways to ensure your event goes off without a hitch. Here are some common mistakes and pitfalls that are made when planning an event and how to avoid them.

Mistake No. 1: Not hiring an event planner

Experienced event planners are there to make sure that every minute of your event runs smoothly and without interruption or chaos. If you don’t hire one, you could be left to handle everything that comes your way – both good and bad.

Cali Hipp, event specialist for TMN Events said, “Event planners manage all the pieces and parts of an event so that clients are freed up to focus on their attendees and taking care of important business objectives. It is beneficial to hire a planner for corporate events as corporate stakeholders can rely on them for their expertise, experience and industry insight which can be leveraged to their benefit. Lastly, event planners can also help you to keep the planning of your event on time and within budget through cost saving strategies.”

Erin Olson, owner of Dreamer Events agrees, saying a planner helps create a solid plan of action and timeline for your guests, keeping all the details in mind.

“A planner not only helps to create a seamless and cohesive brand design for your event, but they also help to organize your guest’s needs and the event’s needs with the hotel, conference, center and additional vendors that are needed,” Olson said.

CheRee Eveland, owner at Eventageous Idaho, explained that an experienced event planner helps take the stress out of paying attention to all the minutiae that happens.

“They help take care of even the smallest details – making sure the guest of honor has special seating, making sure things are kept on a schedule for flow of the event, giving you the ability to be involved with guests/speakers/employees – and not worrying about if something got taken care of before, during or after the event,” she said.

Mistake No.2: Not being prepared for the costs associated with an event

It’s no secret that prices on almost everything have skyrocketed in the last several years. When it comes to throwing an event, you’ll likely have a budget to stick to, and an experienced planner will be able to help you pull off your vision while staying within those monetary guidelines.

“When planning a corporate event, planners can avoid event nightmare scenarios by having a buffer in their budget and anticipate that there will be changes along the way,” Hipp said. “Being able to pivot, maintaining a calm demeanor and coming up with creative solutions to challenges that arise can be the difference between the success and failure of a program.”

Mistake No. 3: Not staying flexible

No matter how amazing you and your planner are, there are things that will come up at the last minute that can be stressful. It’s important to remember that flexibility is key.

“Stuff will always happen. For example, the caterer shows up late or the sound equipment is not working right,” Eveland said. “Just learn to roll with it, be professional and calm and figure out how to fix it. Having an event coordinator/planner who knows how to do that will make a big difference. They have experience with the vendors and ability to deal with it in the background, so no one knows there’s been an issue.”

Mistake No. 4: Not maintaining good communication

Planning an event takes great communication between you, your vendors and the rest of the team helping you plan. Without that, people simply may not understand what their specific duties are, and lines can easily get crossed or confusion can happen.

“Event coordinators are good, but they can’t read minds; lay out expectations at the beginning and be willing to lower those down to reality of what can be done, or you can afford to do,” Eveland recommended.

Hipp agreed with that recommendation. “By developing strong teams, the lead knows who they can rely on and when in order to execute day-to-day tasks that come up.”

It’s also important to clearly communicate event details to your corporate guests.

“Make sure to have solid travel plans that are easily shareable with guests,” Olson said. “This includes hotel transportation options, room numbers and any amenities that the hotel provides. Make sure to limit the confusion on breakout rooms, too – times and locations should be readily available and displayed on a printout and on a sign at check in. Food is also a big one – make sure guest know when food is provided and when they will need to source on their own, with highlighted restaurant selections given.”

So, don’t panic! While unexpected things may pop up when planning an event, complete nightmare planning scenarios can often be avoided. By being proactive, you can host a memorable event.