Getting started: planning your event

You're having an event...congrats! 

Events start under various circumstances. An event can be focused on a special occasion such as a shower, birthday, anniversary, or wedding celebration. For businesses, corporate meetings, conference, entertaining clients, recruiting new employees, and holiday celebrations can all constitute events. But all events are not created equal. Each individual function will need different time commitments to plan and execute. Whatever the cause for the event, care needs to be taken in the planning process. Therefore, before you get started, you should answer some key questions about what you want accomplished in your social or corporate event.
This is the first and most critical step when planning an event. Some things to consider during this part of the process:

1. What type of event do you want to do? Is your event going to be more intimate or large and social? Formal or informal? Wine tasting birthday party, vintage wedding, honey-do shower, motivational corporate stakeholder, leadership meeting? Defining the TYPE and MESSAGE are key in determining where you go in the process. Often the event planner and client can find a common solution to make an idea more mainstream while keeping the creativity. It's my job to help you determine what you want and how we can best accomplish this goal pain free. 
2. What is the purpose of your event? An event planner will ask you questions you possibly didn't think of before: like, what is most important, the actual ceremony or the reception? Or for corporate events, is the opening ceremony most important as it is motivation for the rest or are the individual sessions most important? Are they equally important? I want to help you answer these questions so we can create the event you desire.
3. Who is the intended audience? Are you and your family the most important audience or is everyone in your phone book equally important? Are your clients or your coworkers your intended audience? Let's work together to answer these questions so we can create the event and messaging to address your desired audience.
4. Who will present the program portion of the event (if applicable)? Is your event a message from the leadership or is it a coworker team building event? Is your wedding religious or is it civil? Knowing who is presenting can often determine how the message is received. An event planner can help determine who is best to address your audience to achieve the desired effect you want for your event.
5. When and where will the event be held? Is your event centered around a holiday? If so, how will this affect your desired audience? Is your event in an environment which requires certain attire? Does the event require travel and accommodations?
6. If funding is required, what are the potential sources for funding? Once you answer this question, you can go back to the previous blog (Budgeting for your event) and start planning as this is often the first question in determining what you have to spend.

Why Use a Wedding Coordinator?

You only get one day to make this happen. Having a coordinator can make all the difference in the world. That is why I always recommend having at least a "day of coordinator."

I've heard it said before, weddings are a like a choreographed show or ballet. There are producers (your parents or yourselves), actors (you, your wedding party, and your guests), florists, decorators, videographers and photographers, so many more and there is a director. A wedding coordinator ensures the finished product appears seamless and beautiful to you and to others. But to get this finished product, there is planning and coordination that happens throughout the planning process.

The wedding is broken up into several "acts - planning, rehearsal, make up and pre-ceremony, ceremony, and reception. Within each of these "acts" are scenes being played out. If all the actors and participants are not doing what they are supposed to be doing or where they are supposed to be, unexpected accidents can happen. But with the event coordinator, the event is completely choreographed, so it appears seamless to the outside eye.

Do not be frightened by the words "schedule" and "choreography". I hear it all the time, brides do not want a wedding planner because they just want to "have fun" and do not want to be regimented so much so that they aren't able to have fun and enjoy it. Once you and your wedding coordinator have worked together to place all of the moving pieces and parts in their roles, you can let go and live in the moment. Much like an artist on stage, her dance may be choreographed, but on stage she is able let go and it is beautiful and flows and the director can sit back and watch to cue others in the dance.

It costs money to put on a well choreographed wedding. You have to dress yourself and possibly others. You need a setting/venue. You need to feed yourself and those attending. You need to a photographers and videographers that work best with you. Figuring out who you should use to fill these roles can take a lot of time. Time is valuable. Your director, or wedding coordinator, will work to present you with options and suggestions on how to fill these roles to fit within your budget and to fit your personality.

Thinking about not having a coordinator?
Some couples choose to forgo a day-of coordinator because their reception venue includes a coordinator. Although this may sound similar to a day-of coordinator, beware: It is not exactly the same. It's important that you identify exactly what your needs will be on wedding day and know ahead of time exactly what your venue coordinator is able and willing to do. Keep in mind that they may not be able to call the limo driver who is running late, or assist the groom who can't find his shirt.

If it's cost, reach out anyway. Talk to the coordinators and see who can work with you on your day.

"Day of" Coordination
No matter if people hire me, my first recommendation when planning a wedding is to get a wedding coordinator, even if it's just for the day of the event.

When your day-of coordinator comes on board, she or he will be the new point of contact for your vendors. They will introduce themselves to your vendors and get an idea of what to expect on the wedding day. Also, the coordinator will review your contracts and understand exactly who is doing what and when. She will create your day-of timeline, which will break down all the details regarding arrival times, setup and breakdown. This one is very important: Your coordinator will do a site visit with you, and discuss all of the details you have planned, to get an idea of how you envision the space on your wedding day. The day before your wedding, your coordinator will run your rehearsal, and on your wedding day, she will be there to run the show! For me, it's sometimes a 15-hour day, and we're there to make sure that each hour of your wedding day is worry-free and seamless. Depending on your arrangement with your coordinator, she will pack all of your goodies up at the end of the evening (cake knives, flutes and gifts), distribute the tips, and ensure the hotel has "romanced" your bridal suite, if she was not able to do it herself.

I do want my clients to be aware though of things they shouldn't expect from their coordinator. We coordinate, we aren't there for manual labor. Your vendors have been hired for a reason. We want to use them. If you're expecting more than just coordination you can probably expect more costs.

As solution oriented people, once we are on board we usually want to do any and everything we can to make the last moments of planning a breeze. If you hire your day-of coordinator a month before the wedding and you still do not have major planning details in place, such as a photographer or caterer, you should anticipate an additional planning charge to get these last minute details in place. If your coordinator is gracious enough and does not charge for this additional planning, then consider that when you're tipping on wedding night.

Getting to know Coordinators
When looking for your director, or wedding coordinator, there are several items to consider:

• are they available for your date?
• are they flexible with your needs and wants? 
• how do they communicate with their clients? are they reliable and responsive to your emails, phone calls or in person? 
• do they have experience with many types of people and places?
• can they manage a budget? 
• are they personally going to be at your wedding or are they using a team? (and then ask yourself what do you want - for them to be there or are you okay with the assistant.)

What are you going to do? 
Who is going to be your director on your big day? Can you tell that family member who volunteered that things are not the way you want them? Will your friend who volunteered also enjoy the wedding while she is working to ensure the timeline stays on track? Let your mom, your friend or you family member enjoy your day with you. Hire a coordinator. Let a professional direct your wedding so you and your family and friends can just enjoy the day.

Still not sure if you want or need a coordinator or planner? Take this quiz from About.com.

I don't just say it because I am one  (It's Your Time Events), I say it because I used one (thanks Ms. Cathy with Fleur De Lis Weddings and Events). And I'm not the only one who says it. You can find many other vendors in the industry saying it - a wedding coordinator can help you, guide you and make sure you have the day of your dreams (Cat Guidry, photographer).

Learning from the Best and Setting the Standard

What a leap of faith! I can't believe I actually did it but I did....I started my own business and I am the most excited I have been in a very long time. 

I started It's Your Time Events because planning and organizing and logistics and lists are things I absolutely love. Crazy huh? Yeah, my family thinks so too. BUT those crazy things, are what truly make events run smooth and allow us to enjoy them so much more. When you know something is done and you've checked off all the details, you do not have to worry about it. And that is what I want to do for others. I want to make lists and plan and execute for others so they do not have to worry about the details. So they can enjoy their time and their event. 

This is not something I did willy nilly. No, in fact, I've worked since I was 13 years old and I have had so many experiences in life. And it was all of those experiences that allowed me to make a better decision to pursue this job...this business. 

I spent the last few weeks thinking about what aspects of my previous camp counseling and resident assistant and administrative and communications jobs I really liked and which ones were okay. I found that I love working with people and communications. I love managing. I love making lists and spreading the message. I love events. So I took all of those areas and I made them my own. I started It's Your Time Events. 

My goal is to set the standard in events. I want to study others and emulate their best qualities to become better at what I do for my clients. So I will use this blog to document my studies and my goals. Here's hoping it helps me and others along the way. 

Topics I plan to cover are the following: 

• event vendors
• pricing
• standards
• styles

• budgeting for your events
• themes
• messaging
• YOUR topics! So let me know what you want to talk about!