Choose perfect venue & theme
Don’t underestimate the importance of the perfect venue and theme. Take the time to find the most suitable venue for your event. When you are at site inspection, think about your guests – traffic, distance, summer/winter season, high-heeled shoes, the ruggedness of the space, stairs – it all matters. Once you have a venue, set your theme! It’s an essential part of hosting an event, simply the glue that brings everything together. It keeps everyone focused and reminds guests why they are there. It will also help you in the later stages when you are creating graphics, choosing entertainment and planning gifts.
Make Registration Seamless
Even though we’re quite a few years into the 21st century, some businesses still simply use a paper registration in Word format. Keep up with the times, invest in technology, and create a website or even better a mobile app where your guests can easily register, list any dietary restrictions, view the full agenda and book their accommodations. We live in a world where no one has much free time and everyone spends time on their mobile phones, so use technology wisely and make registration easy.
Later, you can also use the app for quick event notifications, upload photos and collect feedback. Not only will your guests see that you are up-to-date, but you’ll also save a lot of your time. Forget about manually uploading guest information to Excel sheet and export all the details automatically instead. No more typos in guest names and no more late nights creating an arrivals/ departures list!
Great staff & vendors
Your event will only be as good as your weakest staff member or vendor. Build a dream team of people you can trust to make sure your event runs smoothly. I have my favorite and trusted vendors for A/V, entertainment, catering and hostess services. I try to use their services for as many events as possible because I know that whatever I ask them to do, they will do it successfully. While they are working 100% on their tasks, I am able to focus much more on the guests and their needs during the event. Having a great relationship with vendors is a must, be strict, know what you want & need from them and make it very clear, but be nice to them, respect them, care about them and appreciate them. You want your event to be perfect, and you will need them at other times too. Also, when your guests see the perfect symphony between you and your event staff and how you treat them, you have no idea how many points you will get in the eyes of your guests.
Treat guests the way you want to be treated
Close your eyes and imagine you are a guest at the most perfect event you’ve always dreamed of. Think about what you see, what you eat, and most importantly, how you feel and how the event host treats you. Now I want you to treat your guests and reward them in exactly this way. Once you decide to host an event, wedding, dinner or just a small workshop or team building, go all out and invest the maximum you can – energy, creativity, your time and yes, even your budget – into it. Why to plan an event just because you have to and not go all out. Your guests will notice the difference!
Be creative
Guests always love creativity… it can be a special company cocktail, an activity like wreath making, sports entertainment, a designer invitation, an unusual gift, unusual decorations or a surprise like a place no one has been. Ask your event planner to come up with some ideas, or get inspiration from websites like Pinterest.
Smile, smile, smile!
…and spread kindness and joy like confetti! There’s nothing worse than a nervous host or a group of managers running around being very stressed. Believe me, your guests will feel the energy of the event right from the start. If you’re nervous, tired, angry, or not in the mood, you’re sending unconscious signals toward your guests who can sense it. You can have a perfect venue, amazingly delicious food and the most luxurious wines, but if your energy doesn’t match the energy of the event, the overall experience can be very poor. When your event starts, relax, keep your head held high, straigten your shoulders, set a Hollywood smile, dress to impress, grab a glass of sparkling wine and be ready to connect with your guests and greet them with a bright, wide and contagious smile! Your guests will immediately feel the warmth of your welcome and will remember the great atmosphere of the event you have prepared for them.
Be the last one to leave
Not only will you ensure that you hand the venue back in a good shape and no one can charge you any extra money later for damages that never happened, but more importantly, you’ll get to say goodbye to all your guests. This will show that you really care about them, especially if you still keep your beaming smile. It’s a very simple but very powerful final touch. And don’t forget, it’s also a great reward for you! As you leave, guests are sure to share their gratitude and a big “Thank You” for the great organization of the event. And who wouldn’t want to receive an award for all that hard work, right?:)
