Create: How to turn event ideas into reality

This third session will go over how to put all of the ideas you decided to use for your event into something that creates an event to remember. This is the stage of event planning where details start to fall through the cracks if a seasoned event professional is not used for consulting or to operate your entire event. It is vital to make sure you keep detailed notes or allow someone like GWS Events to do this with you.

Let's start from the beginning with just three of the areas that need to be managed well at this stage. These three areas are venue, vendors and attendees. In the last session it was suggested that a notebook or folder of important event information be created, now is when this becomes what the industry refers to as, "The Event Bible". Let's begin to break down the three areas and the details within them.

Venue: This is the most important aspect of the event. Venue space and features make or break events. If the venue you are looking at as the event site is too large your event will look dwarfed, vice versa, if the event site is too small your event will not have breathing room and your guests will let you know. There are many factors to consider when planning your event around a venue: cost, space, insurance policy requirements, layout/room design, auxiliary charges (security, parking, audio visual, room layout changes, etc.) and last but not least enough time for your event.

We discussed timelines in the last session and finding a venue was built into that to allow you the adequate time to find the event venue that you love. DON'T settle for an event venue just because "it will work", find the venue that blows your mind and you fall in love with. Too often GWS has been at an event where the layout or general features of the venue don't make sense for what the event was trying to accomplish. We've also been to events where the event site (parking lot) would normally not be the ideal space, but after the decorators and setup crews finished their jobs, it looked amazing. This is why we mention venue and vendors together. In many cases a decorator, whether you have that figured out or not before the venue is selected, will want to see the event site before agreeing to work on the event. Taking the decorator (Deco) with you when looking at the different venues is not a bad idea either. They are much more in tune with what can be done in a room, meeting hall, etc then the average person.

Finally, when looking at a venue take two additional things into consideration: is it easy to find when driving to and is there adequate parking? Easy to find and parking space is huge when planning a large-scale public event. If you have a venue that is well-known and easy to get to, but you will have to shuttle people in from off-site parking lots, evaluate if the extra cost, and potential for many upset attendees is worth it. Having your event at "Glamorous Venue" with only 200 onsite parking spots when you are expecting 350 cars may not be the best choice because you are building in something to go wrong. Please, also remember when driving to the venue for the first time, if you make a U-turn because you passed it, or it is tucked behind trees, then know that most of the attendees will be having the same challenges, and don't assume they all have GPS either.

Vendors: When looking for vendors there are a couple golden rules to keep in mind.

1. Delivery charges are dependent upon distance and not a flat fee for most suppliers (tables, chairs, florists, DJ's, etc), so try to look locally.

2. The cheapest price is NOT always the best way to go.

a. When GWS selects its vendors for a certain location, we tend to get 3-5 quotes and the select one of the middle guys. This serves a couple purposes, because the high-priced quote is usually inflated in hopes of getting the bid, and the low-priced quote is low either because they don't have the experience and are trying to undercut other vendors in hopes of getting more established and building their skill-set as well.

b. GWS also researches the company on the internet and looks at reviews, customer satisfaction, challenges, etc.

When selecting vendors it is also important to remember that this is where you get to try and bargain and lay everything out on the table in what you are looking for and what your expectations are down to the smallest detail. Example: When looking for a linen company to handle the table covers, napkins, chair covers, etc. for a banquet, we sit down with them or call them to ask what kind of materials they use for their fabrics as well as what their cost covers. Does it cover setup AND teardown, or do I have to return the linens? Do I need to launder them or can I return them dirty? Will you fold the napkins into an elegant presentation or are they just set under the flatware? All of these little details help turn a "simple request" into too much work for some vendors so they are now unable to meet your needs.

Any question you can think to ask needs to be asked NOW, so you don't surprise them later with something you want that they are not able to fulfill. This, again, is why making a notebook is so essential. Write everything down in it including questions AND bring it with you when meeting with each vendor. Also bring pictures of what you are looking for at your event. This helps guide everyone through the process and make you come across as having it all together.

Attendees: Why are they being included in this stage when not all the details are in order to let them know about the event? Many clients that GWS meets with have an idea of how many attendees they want at their event, and part of the way through the planning stage decide that this is going to cost more than anticipated, and they have to try and cut the guest list. There are two schools of thought on this:

1. Cut some of the guests and have the event you really want.
2. Leave the guest list untouched and change the food menu or quality of linens and still have everyone there.
   1. Cutting the food menu or linens will save you the most money.
   2. You can go to chicken and ribs instead of steak and salmon and save anywhere from $3-$5 per person. Likewise, you can go with a thinner chair cover and sash and save $2-$4 per chair.

When considering attendees this is where you do the basic design and layout of the invitation/tickets. There are many different styles and ways to create invitations now, and there are vendors that you can bring on board to help you with this process as well. If looking and doing a ticketed event, there is the traditional ticket stub that can be used, but there are many online ticketing services for events that allow you to have everyone register online and print out their ticket. Just one service that is receiving increased use and exposure is "Eventbrite". We at GWS use this service for our events when necessary. There is a small fee that can either be added to the price of the ticket and passed on to the guest or you can charge a flat rate and the service fee comes out of that. Remember, nothing needs to be set in stone with the ticket or invitation until all of the details being put on the ticket or invitation are decided and contracted.

If you are using these sessions and a guide to planning your event, then at the end of this you should have the guest list done and be ready to send out the invitations or ticket announcements. Also, the majority of the vendors should be setup and the venue should be locked in and contracted. In the next session, we will go over how to wrap up the "Create" stage of the event process. This involves all of the final touches with the vendors, confirming orders, getting RSVP's back and organizing all of the data in a way that sets the event into cruise control for the "Do" stage of the event.