• Make sure everything is in place for everyone.

THE business of event planning is growing fast like a bushfire; many think it is another way of addressing wedding planners as this is mostly associated with weddings.
Many in this business love to address themselves as event/wedding planners while others emphasize they do both event and wedding planning.
The definition is wrong in the sense that a wedding is an event, therefore, if one says he/she is an event planner, they can plan a wedding too.
Some call themselves event planners and yet all they do are weddings, they are wedding planners.
An event planner can also be called events coordinator or event organizer.
One may ask who an event planner is, an event planner is a professional or passionate person who organizes events, when you think of an event, you may think of something fabulous like graduation ceremony, presidential inauguration, annual bowl, corporate end of year celebration, new product launch, funeral or political rally.
An event planner can also use creativity to organize important events.
Event planners are needed for all such events; however, one should be able to work on smaller and bigger events.
Someone is needed to organise functions any time people gather for a purpose, someone is needed to oversee all the details to ensure the event happens and that it is a success, that someone is an event planner.
December is one month planners are busy, the year has come to an end; companies are celebrating their end of year parties, annual bowls and Christmas parties. Let’s pick a corporate end of year function because the organization is almost the same as the way you might organize a wedding as an event planner.
Take time to plan ahead as a company with the help of an event planner. If you will be hiring a special venue, you need to secure it as far in advance as possible reason being you will be competing with those having their wedding.
By finding your venue early and placing your deposit will make it easy for you to get the venue that you want.
Nothing beats a company premise to be used as a venue for such a function, just like using your parent’s back yard for a wedding this should be the number one priority, and facility visitation can be added as a package for all the invited guests.
This time is an important tool for business, they increase sales, good for marketing purposes and share ideas, define objectives, goals, vision and help an organization to grow and for networking purposes.
Wives can also know where their husbands go too early in the morning, as some are in the habit of not knowing where they work from. In weddings and corporate functions when it comes to the venue there is nothing as one size fits all.
The event planner will help you set a very strict working budget and then make sure that you have extra cash for the unexpected expenses that is just simply part of planning any event.
If you have seating charts which is an obvious case make sure you keep extra copies of them in case they are misplaced or lost, making copies of them is very simple, quick and can really save you later on if you lose your plans.
Observe protocol as an event planner you need to know who is coming for the event, you can work closely with the public relations manager, protocol officers and other organizers to come up with the best scenario to avoid confusion in your seating choices.
The seating chart will enable you know where the VVIP, VIP, media, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen will seat.
Make sure you send out the invitation at least 3-4 weeks ahead of your event. If it is a holiday event or you know the date you’ve selected might be in demand like Christmas day which many companies celebrate their function, make sure the cards reach the guests very early and that you ask your guests to RSVP so that you know how many people will be attending.
In weddings and other events make sure the date fits well with your guests of honor, see their schedule so that they confirm if they will be available in good time, this time of the year many people go on vacation.
It is important to know when to use a theme and when not to. A wedding is an appropriate time to use a theme, while a corporate event requires much less of a theme and more plain elegance than anything else.
Your theme might consist of corporate colour themes or festive holiday or colours used throughout such as silver and white theme and above all the Zambian flag colours.
When you are having a corporate end of year celebration, this is very different from a wedding reception party, keep the music mellow and something that everyone can enjoy, just a keyboard, piano playing in the back ground can add an ambience.
It is just an end of year celebration and not the shutting down celebrations, less dancing and more marketing, advertising, speak out about your company so that your target audience will be with you all the way.
Sell your product, talk about achievements, future plans, get their ideas on how they would want you to do it.
These are friends who can add value, help you grow as a business and they will be free to share what’s on their mind, the big idea, it is a light moment while you are having a meal is always the right time to bring about a very important ideas to people that matter most and they will listen as they are not bored, they are enjoying the meal remember.
In the Bible while they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat, this is my body.
Dinners are right moments to bring about an issue. It was after reading this scripture our parents changed the way and time of discipline their children, you do something wrong in the morning they just pretended as if all is well, then while you are eating, relax and enjoying the meal, about to finish your meal and then, they brought the issue up.
You will need a microphone for those speakers who speak as if they are in the closet; hire projectors to show the audience where you have come from and where you are going and a video camera.
One major addition is that you should make sure you have someone on site who can fix any technical problems which may come up at the event.
When you are planning an event especially a large event, make emergency and contingency plans in case of disaster, illness, and rain that is if you are planning an outdoor event or any other emergency.
As an event planner you can delegate to others who can be of help to you.
If the event will be longer than two hours, your guests will expect at least a snack to eat, you should have a meal if your event is longer than four, at times you should have at least water, soft drink, coffee, tea available to your guests. Event planners make sure you stick to the time on the program.
Communication is a major key to the success of an event, if you are using vendors make sure they have very clear and specific instructions of what you are expecting of them.
When you think of a guest’s impression of an event you probably picture things like room décor, draping, background music or even lighting accents.
These things are the obvious highlights of your event space, but the first thing a guest will associate with your event is parking accessibility.
A bad experience in the parking lot can push even the most polite and humble guest over the edge, this should be a concern to the event planner.
Whenever you plan an event make sure you take things like transportation, parking into equation. The last thing you want is for your guests to have to walk a long way to the event or to go home because they could not find a place to park.
Event planners, kindly ensure that youths, students in the same field are among the invited guests so that they learn a lot from the adults, who knows they might work for that company in future. They have to understand the practical aspect to lessen the gap, employers, employees give them a chance just like you were given a chance to be where you are today.
The reality is that we cannot look, however imperfectly upon a great man without gaining something from them, there is one mistake that adults are making and that is the failure to pass on that which they know while young people on the other hand are failing to cultivate their seniors.
And in the same vain Ferdinand Foch, marshal of France during the First World War said that every young man should know well at least one old man to whom he can go when he wants the teachings of experience rather than mere sympathy. In books, newspapers, films and in real life always learn to admire rightly, the great pleasure of life is that note what great men and women admire, they admire great things so be wise and mingle with the right people.
Miyanda Majele sent an email asking about what should be taken into consideration when one is choosing a wedding gown. When selecting a wedding gown you should look in your closet and find a dress that you love, feel great in, your fiancé loves it and then use that as a guide. When in doubt just pick a black dress, it’s instantly stylish elegant and chic! But always remember to add colour somewhere, pink scarf, yellow jacket as this adds life to basic black. If you will be doing many steps the dress should be different from a bride who will just walk at the reception and always go with shoes when fitting the gown. This article appeared on December 15th 2013, for more articles on your memorable wedding log on www.times.co.zm.
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