Last time, we talked about the first three steps for planning a memorable event – understanding your event goals, determining who is involved in the event, and choosing a budget.

Today, we’ll go over the final three steps so your next event is organized and will be remembered fondly by all your guests.

4. Choose the venue.

Perhaps one of the biggest driving forces behind any event is where you host it: the venue. That adage “location, location, location” holds very true when it comes to event planning. 

Once you have the general area or city for your event picked out, narrowing down the event location will be based on a number of important factors:

• Type of event
• Number of guests
• Budget
• Type of venue (indoor/outdoor; ability to accommodate needs like entertainment, catering; etc.)

Build a list of your top picks that check all the must haves on your list and start reaching out to have any of your questions answered. Then coordinate walkthroughs for your favorites.

5. Be ready with backups.

As they say, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Well, hopefully not everything. But even the best event planning doesn’t always make for perfect events.

Be ready with contingencies and backup plans. For instance, how will you handle an outdoor event that happens on a rainy day? What will you do if your entertainment vendor cancels at the last minute? Or how about a venue that turns out not to have handicap access when you know some of your guests will need it?

It’s not necessary to have a backup plan for every single bad case scenario. However, it’s helpful to have some for the big event catastrophes and certainly to be mentally prepared for the worst case scenario.

6. Market the event or invite your guests.

In some instances, you’ll be marketing your event to potential guests; in others, you’ll be inviting guests to a wedding, family reunion, or other special occasion.

In either instance, the goal is clear: you want people at your event!

Regardless, ensure your invitations or marketing collateral is crystal clear. The event information should have the important event information (date, time, and location), along with any other need-to-know details. The event theme and type of event will drive design details in your invitations or marketing.

From there, sending invitations out to a specified guest list or marketing your event to your ideal audience will ensure you get in front of the right guests. 

A special occasion for family and friends is more straightforward: send out the invitations to your guests. If you’re marketing a tradeshow, conference, or other type of event, do your research on where your potential guests will see your marketing campaign. Use that to drive where you advertise: online, tradeshow publications, local magazines or newspapers, etc.

Planning doesn’t need to be overwhelming in order to create a beautiful and memorable event. Follow these six steps when creating your next event and for help with New England event rentals, give us a call at Sperry Tents Seacoast!