5 Planning Tips From Someone Who Already Went Through The Process

As much as we prepare and plan for our event, it always happens AFTER THE EVENT that we realize the things we should have/could have done differently from the start of the process.

We asked Meredith, a member of the AllSeated team who recently planned her son’s Bar Mitzvah, to offer our users who are currently in the event planning process some planning tips based upon what she learned throughout her own planning.

Start the planning process early.

This is one thing I definitely did and would absolutely recommend to any wedding couple, event host or Mitzvah mom with an event date on the calendar.

It takes time to understand what you really want and only once you begin the planning process do you fully grasp your desires. In your head you may think you know what style you are going for but only once you begin to work with vendors on your vision do you realize what truly interests you for the affair.

If you wait too long to begin planning, you run the risk of added stress and rushing decisions.

Event planning is stressful enough! It’s important to limit the areas that may add to the stress levels as much as we can.

Know your guest list and budget before you start planning.

We drill this topic over and over here on the AllSeated blog because it’s pretty much impossible to effectively plan your event without knowing how much money you have to spend and how many guests may be in attendance.

In order to properly select the venue for your event, you must know how many guests you need the room to hold and how much money you have to spend to make it possible!

You cannot select a venue that holds 100 people if you are inviting 250 and you cannot invite 250 guests if you cannot afford the per plate price, especially if you are also looking to contract vendors for décor and entertainment.

My advice: Set up your AllSeated account as soon as you have your event date and immediately begin to enter your guest list!

Do your venue and vendor research.

Even though you think you found the right venue or vendor for your event, do the research. Compare pricing from at least two other similar venues and vendors and if possible, read reviews written by previous event hosts.

Sometimes what we first think is a great deal really isn’t and also, we may find a better venue and vendor that matches our needs once we explore all options.

Understand the differences between venue pricing.

This is a big one! While the pricing may vary greatly between venues with some offering you more bells and whistles than others, sometimes what it will take you to bring in the extras on your own can add up both financially and emotionally.

If you are going to need to bring price arrange to bring in the chairs, lighting, and other “extras” on your own in addition to the usual décor and entertainment, it may be worth exploring the full service catering halls and venues. At first glance their pricing may seem high but actually may work out to the same price as the cheaper, less inclusive venue when all is said and done.

This is something I didn’t research well enough and will forever wonder if it’s something I should have done differently.

Hire a Day Of Planner!

I never thought I would need a Day Of Planner but I learned the hard way just how crucial the service is when hosting a large event.

So many details were involved in the set up and execution of my son’s Bar Mitzvah that having a Day Of Planner would have helped the night running smoothly while limiting my own personal stress and the stress that ended up placed on my friends in attendance.

I was lucky enough to have two of my best friends, who are both event planners, assist in the set up while trouble shooting the things that came up but that wasn’t really fair to them! If I could go back and change things, I would definitely hire a Day Of Planner to be on site to manage the coordination of the vendors, oversee set up and be there to trouble shoot anything that may come up during the night.

Of possible interest: Trending Now: The Day Of Wedding Coordinator

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