An event planner takes the responsibility of planning and managing an event, out of a client’s hands. Event planners have excellent organisational skills. They combine this with knowledge about many features of an event. They source items as needed. An event planner can function alone, or manage a whole team if necessary.
Popular Event Planner Services Include:
Planning the event and venue
South Africa has many picturesque venues for corporate or celebratory events. An event planner knows what type of venue works for which events. They communicate with venue owners to obtain the best rates for clients.
The event itself needs to be planned out. A program is needed and invitations or marketing must be sent out. An event planner does this in collaboration with the client, so the client’s needs are incorporated in the plan. An event planner makes sure the goal of the event is reached, such as celebrating an achievement or communicating a certain message via a speaker.
Making sure catering is in place
Food is part of most events. Cutlery for all guests also need to be hired. Event planners source caterers who are experts in making the type of food the event requires. This is especially important in South Africa where many different cultural and religious preferences determine the type of food guests will eat.
Supplying quality entertainment
South Africa has a vibrant entertainment industry, so any type of entertainment can be obtained. An event planner knows how to match the ideal entertainment with the type of guests present. They obtain affordable prices for entertainment and make sure entertainers arrive on time.
Creating the overall look of the event
An event planner can use décor and flowers to create a visually pleasing look. They source vendors, or do it themselves. This look must match the theme and goal for the event.
5 Tips when Hiring an Event Planner
1. Has the event planner done this before?
If you’re planning a unique event, you must hire a planner who knows how to organise it. You can’t employ a wedding planner for a corporate event, because the requirements are quite different. A skilled planner will add excellent detail, thanks to past experiences.
2. Make sure the event planner understands the crowd
Discuss the theme of the event and the type of crowd you expect to attend. The age, interests and educational level of the guests determine the type of entertainment & food you should pick.
3. Are you compatible?
It’s important that you and the event planner work well together. If there’s no immediate compatibility, it may be wise to hire someone else. Finding someone more like-minded will prevent frustration and misunderstandings. Such an event planner will grasp your ideas and improve on them, instead of only following his or her own.
4. Do you know what you want?
If you want to start off the planning process in the best way possible, be sure of what your expectations and preferences are. This gives an event planner a clear idea and strong foundation to build a plan on. If you constantly change your mind and expectations, the event planner will have to make constant changes, wasting time & money. This may result in unnecessary frustration on both sides.
5. Will the planner cope with the pressure?
A large event results in a lot of pressure, because guests have expectations and anything can go wrong on the day. Your event planner must be able to handle this pressure, because he or she must manage the whole day. This is an excellent reason to employ older, experienced event planners.