11 Jul Let’s talk about Stress baby
Main speaker doesn’t find the conference venue, wedding photographer falls ill a day before the wedding, the DJ for the surprise 30th party is running late, it starts raining the day of the garden party! With all the dependency on other people and reliance on sheer good luck involved in planning an event it’s no wonder that Event Coordinator was voted the 5th most stressful job of 2016 by job site Career Cast.
Whilst a little bit of adrenaline pumping is good, no event should leave you ready for a stay in the Priory so let’s have a look at Bumble Events top tips for keeping zen master cool throughout your planning.
Plan with enough time
Sound simple? It is, however you’d be surprised to find out how many people start planning an event with insufficient time available. When you leave it late to plan you reduce your options on venues and vendors, your guests will have started making other plans and most importantly you will be running around like a headless chicken trying to remember everything to do in time.
As a rule of thumb Bumble Events advise the following planning times for your events:
Corporate Events: 6 to 8 months
Weddings: 12 to 18 months
Milestone Parties: 10 to 12 months
Other parties: 6 to 8 months
Build contingency in to your plans
As a project manager I’m a firm believer that you manage events with the same principles as project management; avoid risk! This means having back up plans in the event that a problem occurs. When planning my wedding I asked a few amateur photographers to ensure they brought their cameras along in case there were any issues with the photographer on the day. I also had a few make up artists in my circle of friends who I ensured were on the guest list.
Not every problem can be predicted on the day of an event but it’s worth noting the areas of concern (high risk) and looking at ways to manage them.
Delegate
Rome wasn’t built in a day…and certainly not by one man. Think of the Pyramids…..great things can be created by working together.
By my own admittance, I’m by no means a great researcher and couldn’t hunt down a bargain if my life depended on it BUT I have a cousin who, I’m certain, would come in the UK’s top ten bargain hunters if they ever did a national survey. Anyway I digress somewhat. What I’m getting at is don’t be a superhero and try and do it all yourself. That’s a sure fire way to make your stress levels multiply.
If you have mates with good negotiating skills ask them to speak to your suppliers and haggle a deal. If you have a friend who’s a great cook, ask them along to tasters with you. Etc etc! You follow my drift.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
In every event there is going to be a feature that we feel we absolutely must include and then, shock horror; your guests don’t even pay attention or notice it. Think sparkly sprinkles for the table decor or the bottomless champagne station. Ha! I’m just testing to make sure you are paying attention. Endless champers is my ideal of bliss. But the coloured straws or embossed invites will not make any difference to your guests.
So why not save time, hassle and money (budget friendly tip) putting your efforts into the things that matter. Make a note of everything to be included in your event and then rate the importance on a scale of 1-10. You will then have a clear idea on where to focus your time and money.
How do you cope when it’s all getting on top of you (event planning that is!). Leave us your feedback.
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