Our top tips for successful event planning and event management
Our top event planning tips
Save these tips for when planning your next event. We’ve included an event plan template below you can download to help you.
So, you’re planning a big event… but where do you start?
To the uninitiated, event planning sounds very glamourous. And while there are some definite perks to the process, it’s mostly just a whole lot of organisation and attention to detail.
Planning (and then managing) a big event can be daunting. So, we thought it would be helpful to break it down and give you our top event planning and management tips.
Consider this the 101 of planning and managing events. So, when you have a big event on the horizon, you can refer back to these helpful tips.
Here goes.
Tip 1: Start early
If time allows, starting your event planning as early as possible will save many headaches later.
Even if at this point there’s not too much you can action, starting by putting together an initial event plan as early out from the event as possible is key.
Your event plan should cover every aspect of the event – from initial planning and organisation, the day itself, and post-event wrap up.
Tip 2: Brain dump into action plan
Creating an event action plan can seem like a big job but an easy way to start this process is by doing a big brain dump.
Open up an Excel spreadsheet or Word doc and list out, line by line, every item that you think you might need to do.
At this point it doesn’t matter what order it is in. Once you get all the information out of your head, you can then set about organising it into a timeline towards the event date.
This action plan should be organised by month and date (if planning allows you to start a significant amount of time out from the event).
This action plan will act as a timeline of activities in the lead up to the big day and should cover key milestones, such as:
Initial planning phase
8 weeks out
2 weeks before
1 week before
Week of event
This helps breaks down your planning and activities into bite-sized chunks to keep things humming along smoothly without the overwhelm.
If you’d like, we’ve created a free event plan template, which you can download here.
Tip 3: Create a run sheet
Basic, but so essential.
Your run sheet is essentially an event action plan of the day itself.
If your event requires set up, add in when you can access the venue to set up any items such as decorations, merchandise, furniture, etc.
It should also include when all suppliers (i.e. florists, DJs, lighting, etc.) will need to access the premises.
From this point, your run sheet needs to drill down on the plan for the night i.e. who is hosting and what will they say, timings for food and drink service, presentations, speeches, media, etc.
It should also delineate whose job is whose to allow you to coordinate your team and delegates.
Make sure to supply this run sheet to your venue to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Tip 4: Week of event communication with key stakeholders
It’s a wise idea to keep in regular communication with all event stakeholders, including key event personnel, the venue and suppliers.
Call all suppliers one to two weeks out from the event to touch base and finalise details, particularly if most of the planning has been done via email.
The steps above will go a long way to ensure you plan and manage a seamless event.
Event planning and management doesn’t need to be difficult or overwhelming. The key is to ensure you are organised and well-planned for every eventuality.
(Image via Slim Aarons).
