As those who’ve been in the event planning industry for any period of time will know, it’s not until you get to grips with a professional event planning that you really begin to understand just how complex it can be.
According to the experts at www.cameoeventhire.co.uk, there are certain mistakes made more commonly than any others by rookie event planners. Some examples that are more understandable than others, but in all instances represent the kinds of mistakes that can do serious damage to both the event in question and the reputation of their respective planners.
So in the spirit of learning from the mistakes of others, as opposed to going through a painful trial and error process, here is a quick rundown of eight of the most common mistakes made by rookie event planners:
Poor Venue Choice
First up, there is absolutely nothing in the world that can mess up an event of any type more than trying to host it in an inappropriate venue. The simple fact of the matter is that there is so much that needs to be taken into account when choosing a venue – size, access, facilities, amenities, security, safety, licensing etc. – that to dive into any such decision is ill-advised to say the least. If you haven’t fully evaluated absolutely everything, don’t make a booking.
Marquee Missteps
The same also applies to events held in marquees as while outdoor events can be uniquely enjoyable and successful, it’s really not as easy as hiring any old tent for the lowest price and expecting it to do the job. Pretty much every one of the above mentioned considerations also applies here, along with dozens of others more specific to outdoor events.
Poor Timing
Research shows that when an event is held during the week at any time after 7pm, there’s a 50% chance of each person heading home from work at 5pm to get changed and ready will not in fact turn up. Poor timing has the potential to kill an event – anything too late during the week, anything that coincides with another important event in the area and so on and so forth.
Location Lapse
There’s also very little in the world that can kill any good event dead in its tracks quite like an inappropriate location. If the event is held too far away from those you intend to invite or is in any way in an awkward location that is tricky to get to by public transport or horrendously expensive to travel to by taxi, you stand a very strong chance of quite a few people not bothering.
Underestimating Food and Drink
If your event will be long enough to warrant the supply of refreshments or in any way coincides with a mealtime you intend to cover personally, never underestimate the importance of the food and drink you provide. Regardless of the purpose of the event, chances are that for anyone in attendance who’s hungry, the only thing that will matter is the food. And if the food is either wholly inadequate or in any way absent, this will end up being the thing they remember most fervently about the event in general.
Toilet Provision
Another perfect way of ensuring that your event is remembered for all the wrong reasons is to completely miss the mark when it comes to toilet provision. This is of course something that needs to be considered carefully in accordance with the number of guests you expect to attend, with a general rule of thumb being that if at any time there is more than one or two individuals waiting in line for the bathroom, you simply do not have enough available.
Intrusive Entertainment
There’s a time and a place for excessively loud music and in such places it can indeed work a treat. However, when and where attendees would prefer to stand around and chat, converse over a meal or generally relax in a tranquil setting, any intrusive entertainment will completely dilute the positive appeal of your event in general.
Annoying Queue Management
Last but not least, if the event you are planning is large enough to warrant some kind of queue management system, you need to be extraordinarily careful in its planning and implementation. The reason being that if you completely mess it up with things like entrances, exits and so on, you’ll end up with considerably more irritated and annoyed guests than satisfied attendees.