Party Planning & Event Planning Tips and Information

WEDDING TIPS
Planning a wedding can be the most enjoyable and stressful time of your life. Most brides take at least 12 months to plan to ensure they will have the ability to plan there wedding without rushing. The first thing you want to do when planning your dream wedding is to set your budget. Your budget will allow you to know which vendors you will or will not be able to work with. Make sure your budget is realistic, set cushions. The reason most couples go over budget, is because they do not allow for financial changes in their plans.

The next step to planning your dream wedding is to select your venue. The internet can be a great tool for narrowing down your selections. If you are on a budget, you might want to select a venue to house both your ceremony and reception. When selecting a dual location, you will cut down or eliminate the cost for transportation and your guest will not have to travel between your ceremony and reception sites.

Finally, remember, when planning your wedding, enjoy your time. This is a once in a lifetime event. If you are on a budget, make sure to splurge on at least one item. You do not want to look back regretting not hiring your favorite bakery, florist, DJ, dress designer… If you a lot for one splurge, you will not hurt your budget.
BIRTHDAY PARTY TIPS
Birthday parties can be some of the most fun events; because, there aren’t any rules. When planning a milestone birthday (i.e. 21, 30, 40, 50…), your focus should be on the honoree’s favorite anything. If mom’s favorite foods are brownies, your favors could be nicely decorated brownies placed in little boxes. You could also have a brownie station where your guest would make brownie sundaes. Make sure to incorporate some your loved ones favorite things. Another type of birthday party that can be tons of fun is a surprise party. When I plan surprise parties, I ask the guest of honors family for pictures and a couple of article of clothing that belong to the guest of honor. This will allow me to get an idea of his/her style, what he/she likes or dislikes. After I’ve processed this information, I then put together about 3-4 different design layouts for the family to choose from. Make sure that as you’re planning the party to keep in mind that this is not your party, this is mom or dad’s birthday party.

CORPORATE EVENTS TIPS
Corporate Events are interesting to plan (to say the least). The corporate events that I’ve planned have all had the same issue BUDGET. When you first met with your contact, please make them commit to a budget. Most clients try to stray away from this topic, however, you must make them settle on the most expensive amount they want to spend. Once you are able to nail down a budget, then you’ll have the ability to call on those vendors that will allow you to gain the most profit. After your client has given you a budget, have them email you their needs and desires. I have found that you have less room for error when the client communicates to you what they want for their event. Many clients believe they have told you what they want for their event, and the day of, if you do not produce, they will blame you – this is why written communication is vital. You will eliminate confusion if you have their needs and desires written out prior to giving a proposal. Once you’ve analyzed what will work best for their event, found vendors (that will do a great job and render you the best profit) and given a proposal, you then want to execute your event. I cannot stress enough to have the best vendors possible. The better your vendors, the better you look.