Staying Organized When Planning Your Next Event

Planning a special event for your company, school, or organization can be a labor of love. However, it can also be overwhelming if you lack experience in planning, budgeting, or managing an event committee. As seasoned event planners, we have fine-tuned our planning and organizational processes and want to share some of our tried-and-true methods for keeping your group on top of deadlines, scheduling, and organizing your event. 

Key Strategies for Staying Organized 

Every event poses challenges, from venue issues to staying on top of the budget. However, some strategies can help keep you organized and on track with your event planning. Here are a few of our tips for your organization as it plans its next gathering. 

Identify a Competent Team 

Whether you are part of a small business, a school, a nonprofit, or another type of organization, planning your next event means building a competent team to manage and coordinate all the moving pieces that need to come together to make it successful. Gather some of your best people who are skilled in exceptional communication skills, multitasking and coordinating. 

Create positions that are appropriate for your special event such as; an event coordinator who will be in charge of the “big” pictures including the purpose and goals of the event; a vendor coordinator who can keep track of contracts and details related to your entertainment, music, food and other vendor providers; day-of coordinator who will be responsible for making sure everything is in place to make the day run smoothly. Many organizations make certain people responsible for portions of the event such as the photo booth, food vendors, guest list, finances, set up and clean up, promotion, and technical crew. 

Consider a Communication App 

While keeping track of the details may be a huge commitment for your team, you can make it easier with a communications app such as Slack, Asana, or Evernote. Leveraging technology can take the guesswork out of who has completed what task and where your event team stands in terms of your timeline and check-ins. 

Identify Resources 

As your event team decides what entertainment, food, and vendors will be needed, create a list that identifies what resources you will need. For instance, start a list of potential food vendors to contact, event providers, and so on. 

Create a Detailed Timeline 

One major hurdle to staying organized is breaking down the tasks that need to be accomplished in a timely manner. At the outset of your planning, it may be a good idea to create a master timeline for each task. Keep it simple by making a list of items that need to be done “one month out from the event,” “six months out” and “a year out” from the event. Or, get more detailed and have a bullet list with appropriate deadlines for your event. 

Regular Check-Ins 

Technology can be a saving grace when planning a large-scale event, but be sure to also meet in person at regular intervals to discuss issues, roadblocks, or changes that need to be made to the budget, timeline, or key components. 

Document Everything 

This is yet another area where technology can play a starring role! Document all of the tasks that have been completed, including phone numbers and emails of contacts, copies of contracts, and lists of things yet to be completed. You would be amazed at how handy these documents are on the day of your event to remind your team of details such as the time of the arrival of your food items or a list of people who have dietary restrictions. 

Talk to our experienced and professional crew at Seacoast Events as you begin to plan your next special event. We are happy to help keep you on track and give some great tips to make your event successful.