The Big Event Planning Tips of the Pros

pro event planning tips

Organizing a big event is not easy, in the same way that water is not dry. That's why the people and organizations who have to plan an event hire professional event planners whenever they can. Sometimes, though, you might find yourself in the position of having to organize a big event yourself. Whether you need to plan a wedding, a class reunion, a corporate team building exercise, or any other large event, you'll need advice. Read on to learn the big event planning tips of the pros.

Make Sure that Everybody Is on the Same Page

The first step of planning a big event is to sit down with everybody is to aligned. Sit down with whoever is involved with the planning to work out a list of objectives you need to achieve and the resources you have available. Once you have agreed on the objectives and budget, work out who is going to be responsible for what. Write down everything you agree to and make sure that everybody has a copy.

Plan Backwards

It can be very difficult to know what should be done when if you've never planned a big event before. To help yourself figure out a workable schedule, think backwards from the day of the event. Make a list of everything that needs to be done by that day. Then ask yourself what needs to be done before each of those things in order to make them happen? This should get you a new list of steps you need to take. Then ask yourself what needs to happen before all of those things can be done. By doing this, you can develop a list to make everything come together and in the right order.

Build Extra Time into Your Schedule

As a novice event planner, you don't really have a good idea of how long it will take you to complete each step. Even something as simple as finding a hotel for everyone can be fraught with unexpected difficulties. To counter this problem, give yourself more time than you think you will need for each step in the planning process.

Write Everything Down

Keep track of everything you do and learn, every question you have, no matter how insignificant, by writing it down. Never just trust that you'll remember the important things--that's a sure way to set up unpleasant surprises for yourself down the line.

Play Pretend

To make sure you don't neglect to do any important tasks, periodically do a mental walk through of the event. Pretend that you are a guest arriving for the event, and take yourself through every step of the process from the point of view of the guest. That way you should more easily be able to spot needs like additional parking, signs, or menu options. If you can get a good visual picture of the entire event experience, the things you still need to do will become clearer to you.

Final Thoughts

Planning a big event is never easy, but if you follow the advice given here, you can make your big event go off without a hitch. Just remember: hope for the best, but plan for the worst, and you'll never be caught unprepared.

Ready to start planning your wedding? Have a look at our comprehensive guide - Planning Your Dream Wedding: A Stress-Free Guide to Navigating the Process with Ease.

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