Pre-Event Planning and The Steps You Shouldn’t Overlook

As seasoned event planners know, and new event planners are quickly finding out, it is critical to be organized every moment of every day. This means planning every single detail, large and small, for days, weeks, and months out. In order to be organized, one must plan, plan, and plan some more- without letting a single step fall through the cracks or be overlooked.   If the details slip it usually leads to wasted time, money or worse.

So, if your event is this difficult and specific, where do you start? What specific steps do you need to make sure you don’t miss an important detail? Let’s start with some details you need to plan out: 

1. Establish the essential event details 

   • What type of event it is?

   • The name of the event

   • Date, time, and location of the event 

   • What is the goal and objectives of the event?

   • What is the budget you will spend on the event?

   • Who are you going to invite and how?

   • Form your event team for a flawless execution 

   • Do you conducted a similar event at the same location?

2. Iron out some of the finer details for the event 

   • Are travel requirements for your team and attendees?

   • Decide on food that will be supplied (if any) (did you consider dietary restrictions?)

   • Choose sponsors, vendors, and speakers negotiate cost 

   • Book your venue 

   • Map out your event timeline 

   • Decide what entertainment to provide during interim time

   • Providing or selling alcohol? Make sure you have your liquor licenses ready to go

   • Can’t forget about WiFi

3. Action steps!! 

   • Pay your deposits 

   • Advertise!

   • Book travel and hotels for important guests and speakers 

   • Check (and recheck) that you’re right on budget, form a plan to continue staying within your budget, or a plan on how to get back on it

   • Begin venue setup! Or if you’re not about that life, hire someone to do it for you

     • Don’t forget setup is more than just what guests see. Provide decorations that cover each sense- see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. 

4. What are you missing? 

   • Confirm everything: vendors, speakers, guests, volunteers

     • Does everyone know exactly how to get to the event? 

   • Have you hired event security? 

   • What are your plans if someone has a medical emergency? 

   • Do you have a means of recording the event via photographs or video? 

   • What’s your backup plan if your technology doesn’t work?

   • One of your largest vendor doesn’t show up on the day of the event, now what? 

   • The event schedule changes last minute, how do you communicate this to everyone involved? 

Planning for an event takes an incredible amount of time, organization, and patience. Something will go wrong at some point during the entire process. It happens. The important part is how you handle it, and how prepared you are to put out any fires that do spark during the process. If you follow our checklist, you can expect a lot fewer fires. Additionally, if you use EventOPS software, fires will be even less prevalent throughout the process. EventOPS provides event planners a simple platform to plan, monitor assignments and execute events.

There is a lot that goes into event planning. Things can get stressful and overwhelming. The important part to remember is once the day of the event finally comes HAVE FUN! You chose this job because you wanted to put on fun events for others, make sure you also partake in that joy. 

To learn more about how Eventops can bring joy back to events request a demo today!