Five Tips for Organizing an Event

When you are planning an event, whether it is a small surprise birthday party or a large wedding, last minute unexpected things are bound to happen. If you want things to go as smoothly as possible follow these five simple tips and you will minimize those unwelcome, unplanned, and nail biting spoliers.

Make Lists - Lists are probably one of the most important things you can do to minimize any unforeseen problems which tend to rear their ugly head as you are planning your event. Your lists should include: supplies, furniture, guests, food, gifts, responses from invitation and any other major piece of your event. Make sure to date your lists and update frequently. It's okay and actually advisable to have separate list for separate items involved in your event.

Point Of Contact - Whether you are ordering the food for your event, getting quotes on venues, or comparing prices ALWAYS ask the person you are dealing with their name and direct number where they can be reached. Don't forget to write it down. One complete list of all Point of Contacts including phone numbers is essential. Should you arrive at your hall and the chairs are not there AND the flowers are the wrong color you have ONE handy list to pull out and make those frantic "where are the chairs" and "wrong color" calls without panicking about who and what numbers to call.

Check and Mark Calendar Regularly - Note down when things are supposed to be delivered, or ready for pick up. Mark down the day you expected to have all your RSVP's in by. A great idea is to also mark your calendar with reminders. Place a note on your calendar a few days before something is actually due. A follow up call to confirm your order is on schedule can eliminate last minute confusion and correct any problem with the actual due date.

Maintain an Orderly File of Important Papers for Your Event - Keep a folder handy to throw menus, brochures, business cards, etc. in. Date everything. Color coding folders is an excellent idea. You know the purple folder holds all the info regarding flowers and the green folder holds all the info regarding the music. As you run out the door to meet with some of the florists you are considering using, grabbing that purple folder is so much easier than rustling threw a huge pile of papers that are in no particular order.

Enlist Helpers - Many of us feel that if we don't do it ourselves it won't be done right. Well if you are organized and follow the above steps you can certainly enlisted a few friends for help. Hand them that purple folder with all the flower information. All those papers should have names of points of contacts as well as numbers where they can be reached. Ask your friend to call those numbers and make your appointments for a consult. Hand off that green folder, which contains all the music information you have gathered, to another "helper" and ask them to look for the contact and request samples of their play list.

Follow these five simple tips and you will be amazed at how smooth things will go!