Event Planning Top 10 Mistakes

Whether you are a professional event planner or a novice planning an event, here are the top ten mistakes that you can make.

1. Failure to budget properly or uncover hidden costs such as travel, audio visual, labor and shipping.
2. Hiring entertainment based on price. Along with food, entertainment is the most important element in your event…have you been at an event with a bad DJ? What was that like?
3. Not obtaining and checking references when using a new vendor or facility. In the event planning industry everything is done by word of mouth or on a referral basis. If you are using a vendor you never used before ask for and check references.
4. Knowing and understanding the  “objectives” of the event. Are you launching a new product? Trying to woo new customers? Build corporate morale? You should always have a clear idea of what your company or client is trying to achieve before you create the event.
5. Not trouble shooting audio visual issues. Before any event in which any kind of audio visual presentation is happening, you must do at least two dry runs.
6. Not setting and hitting time lines. You must create a time line in which you lay out all your time lines for ordering, payments, etc.
7. Selecting the wrong venue for the event. This goes back to your objective, do you need a massive space equipped with audio visuals for a multi-media presentation or do you need a quiet cozy space to woo clients?
8. Poor planning. You must create a day of itinerary that outlines EVERYTHING that is too happen on the day of the event from the delivery of the flowers to the break down of the table and chairs.
9. No water for the speakers. This is a rookie mistake. You must have water available for your speakers.
10. No access to your contact list. On the day of the event, you better have the names and numbers of every single one of your vendors, so you can quickly call them if. Also, you must have a main point person at your venue to help you trouble shoot any issues that can and will come up. This person will be your best friend the day of the event.

The most important rule of event planning is that no matter how much you plan, something can and will go wrong at your event. It’s the law of events.  Keep a clear head, do what you can to rectify the situation and then let it go. Your job is to create the right kind of environment so your guests can enjoy themselves.

So don’t sweat the small stuff. At the end of the day, no one will remember if they were served tap water verses sparkling water, but if the venue is too  small, the entertainment was bad or the food was cold that’ll stick with ‘em!

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