Planning an event for the very first time and looking for some guidance? Want to make sure that you don’t miss anything important that could stop your event from being the perfect occasion you’ve been envisioning?
Event planning can be stressful and you may well have found yourself wishing there was an easy process that you can follow to help simplify the whole task. Luckily, there is. This checklist is perfect for first time and seasoned event planners alike no matter if you are hosting a concert, fundraiser, and any other type of event.
We will go through each stage of the event planning process in detail, giving you all the information that you need to ensure your event goes down a storm from start to finish.
First steps
Several months ahead of the planned event date, you should begin thinking about your event, establishing the goals and objectives that you want to achieve.
How many tickets do you want to sell? Are you trying to raise money? Is it a non-profit event where the enjoyment of your guests is the main priority?
Whatever your goals are, establishing them at this stage will make them a whole lot more manageable and easy to achieve.
Once you have set your objectives and selected a date for the event if this has not already been decided, the next step is to select a venue. Make sure that the venue you choose can accommodate all your requirements. Does it serve alcohol, for example? Can it accommodate all of the guests you are expecting.
It is also important not to blow the entire budget on your dream location and have nothing left to plan the event itself.
Moving forward
The next steps, once venue and date have been decided is to arrange any entertainment, if you are hosting a concert or similar this will already be decided ahead of time, identify any key staff you need to bring in, caterers etc. and begin to plan your publicity campaign if the event is open to the public.
Sponsors and event partners should be brought on board at this stage and it is a whole lot easier to attract them once the key details of the event have been finalised. You may also wish to release some form of early-bird tickets at this point.
Final stages
As the big day approaches it is time to ramp things up, both in terms of advertisement and ticket sales, and by finalising your guest and contact lists.
Even if they have confirmed already, it is worth getting back in touch with your entertainment, presenters, sponsors, VIPs, and other staff members who will be on-site on the day to ensure that they are still committed to the event and have the right details. This will help to prevent any nasty surprises on the day that could compromise your event. Once you have a final number of attendees confirmed, do a final registration check, confirm these numbers with the venue and your security and finalise a seating plan if relevant. You have done all you can to make your event a success, congratulations, it is time to sit back and enjoy.
Don’t forget about your security
Security should be considered at EVER stage of the event planning process but all too often is left until the final stages by rookie event planners who are too focused on the fine details to consider the practicalities of hosting an event.
Your event will only be the smooth running, highly enjoyable day that you have planned if all of the attendees are safe and secure whilst inside the venue. You need to make sure there are measures in place to prevent unauthorised individuals from gaining access to the venue and that you have an emergency response plan in place just in case something does go wrong. Planning security can be almost as stressful as organising the event itself which is why it is highly recommended that you contact a professional security firm who specialises in events security to oversee preparations. They will work alongside you to conduct a full risk assessment of the site prior to the event in order to identify the threats that you are most likely to face, and which measures would help you avoid them.
They will also have all the tools and personnel required to put these measures in place and will more than likely have worked on similar projects in the past. By designating the task of event security to the professionals you can focus on throwing a fantastic event for your guests without worrying about how they will be kept safe on the day.
Just some of the event security measures that a security firm may recommend include:
- Security Guards
- Mobile CCTV towers
- Access control gates (metal detectors etc.)
