1) Determine your event’s purpose
It may seem like common sense, but never underestimate the importance of establishing the purpose and desired outcome of an event before you get started with any aspect of your planning.
Before themes, menus and entertainment, even before you choose a venue, ask yourself: are you rewarding your staff for their hard work over the past year? Are you out to impress your clients and suppliers? Or are you trying to win over potential new clients and suppliers?
2) Determine your budget
Have a clear and concise budget that has been agreed by all concerned. Try and break this down into absolute spend per stage of the event, for example, determine a budget for the welcome reception, a budget for lunch, a budget for AV and lighting, a budget for speakers, a budget for décor, a budget for marketing your event.
3) Determine your venue
Outsourcing the task of venue sourcing to a professional event management company or agency is one way to fast-track the initial process of identifying a shortlist of relevant venues that meet requirements and budgets. Alternatively, you could do the market sweep yourself, taking advantage of a number of free online venue finding services, such as www.venuefinder.com or www.venues-london.co.uk.
Got those 3 essential points ticked off on your to-do list? Now you can get stuck in to the more thrilling decisions about themes, menus, entertainment and anything else you might want to include. Just remember to read and re-read any contracts before signing and be sure you’ve identified any need to address licencing issues before you book anything.
