Event planning requires fast thinking, creativity, and exceptional organizational skills. To offer you insights from an expert, we interviewed Maddix Stovie, a former event planner at the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance turned business owner of Simply Things by Maddix. Maddix has planned a wide range of events, from citywide farmers markets to high-profile happenings like Restaurant Week, Good Morning Cedar Rapids, and the annual Market After Dark, which draws crowds of 30,000 to 50,000 attendees.
Drawing from her expertise, we’ve created a step-by-step guide to event planning. From setting clear goals to hiring hourly labor for staffing and promoting your event, this guide has you covered. Whether you’re organizing a wedding, conference, or any other special occasion, you’ll gain the tools and confidence to tackle every stage of the planning process with ease.
Table of Contents
1. Set Goals
The first item on your event planning to-do list is to set some goals for the event. Determine the purpose of the event, the audience it’s designed for, and what success looks like to you.
For example, your event goals could be to establish awareness of your brand, in which case you want to appeal to a wide audience. You can come up with a specific metric to measure awareness of your brand—like social media engagement—and use this metric to guide future event-planning decisions.
2. Build A Team
You don’t want to go into event planning alone! Next up, consider your team.
Designate one or more event managers who can serve as point people for everyone. Divide up key tasks like managing publicity, finding speakers, and coordinating with the venue. Make sure you meet regularly so everyone stays on the same page!
Having a robust team can save you stress when unexpected situations arise:
“No matter where you are in the process, something at some point will come up that’s not in your plan. As an event planner, take charge, problem-solve, and delegate your tasks to the proper personnel without having to be super involved yourself.”
Maddix Stovie, Owner of Simply Things by Maddix
3. Budget Wisely
Another key item to consider early on is your budget. Your budget will determine a number of factors, like your choice of venue and whether you wish to hire hourly labor for event staff.
Once you’ve set a budget, figure out how much of your budget you’ll allocate to various event expenses, such as the decor, venue, catering, and entertainment. Include wiggle room in the budget for unexpected costs that crop up.
4. Schedule The Event
Before you make any event-related bookings, figure out the timing of the event. At this stage, it may be useful to set a target date, as well as several alternate dates if needed.
Make sure you have plenty of time to plan—up to six months or more for a larger event. Former event planner, Maddix Stovie, attests it can be difficult to get necessary approvals without planning ahead. In addition, she notes that unexpected scenarios can cost a lot of time, so give yourself some wiggle room!
Consider when your attendees will be available. If you have speakers or special guests, know their schedules.
Take into account times that people are commonly unavailable, such as federal holidays. Moreover, if you have a venue in mind, check on the venue’s availability during your proposed times.
5. Create A Master Plan
Once you know your objectives and have a team, budget, and timeline for the event, think more concretely about event logistics by creating a master plan.
This master plan should cover everything related to the event in detail. For instance, make sure it includes details related to the venue; logistics like parking, equipment, and food; and publicity and registration.
Determine what needs to be done to address every aspect of the master plan, and set a timeline for accomplishing these tasks.
6. Reserve A Venue
Don’t underestimate the task of reserving your venue; venue costs often form the largest portion of an event budget.
You want your venue to represent the type and purpose of your event, as well as your organization’s culture. Some basic considerations for a venue include the amount of space you need and the features and amenities the venue offers.
In addition, consider the venue’s accessibility features. Also think about whether attendees can park there, as well as the venue’s proximity to other key sites such as an airport. With all these considerations, make a list of key priorities for your venue. Just like you would when buying a house, consider going to see a few different venues in person and meeting with the staff.
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7. Reach Out
Next, you’ll need to reach out to a number of people. If your event will involve speakers or special guests, invite them to the event.
In addition, think about partnerships you would like to form with your community. For instance, you might ask corporate sponsors to help fund part of the event or see if any community organizations are interested in assisting.
Stovie describes working with external organizations as one of the hardest parts of event planning! Still, she always had main sponsors and supporting sponsors for her events. She worked to find local businesses who could act as main sponsors.
Lastly, consider how you’ll staff the event. You can find volunteers, or you can hire event staff near you, such as UniMovers. UniMovers’ services include help with event set-up, event tear-down, food-running, and more, depending on your needs. UniMovers offers competitive pricing for hourly labor—often much less than venues will charge you to use their staff.
8. Market The Event
Once you’ve established a venue and speakers, think about branding and marketing your event. Choose a theme—for instance, colors and a font, a name, and a logo—that you’ll use throughout your marketing materials.
Consider how you’ll spread information about your event, whether it be through an event website, email invitations and reminders, social media posts, physical signs, or word-of-mouth. Choosing multiple modalities can help you reach your target audience. Stovie recommends looking into creative options like the radio and newsletters while appointing a designated spokesperson.
Depending on the scale of your event, you can also reach out to the media to help spread the word.
9. Plan For The Day Of The Event
Now it’s time to plan the day of the event more specifically. Create a detailed agenda, and assign your team responsibilities for the day of the event. Have an internal schedule that includes items like set-up times, as well as a cleaner public-facing schedule to distribute to attendees.
Stay on top of last-minute tasks like reminding attendees of the event and confirming the arrival of special guests. In addition, work closely with your event staffing to ensure the event is set up correctly.
Be ready to face surprises and make decisions on the fly!
“Something will always happen the day of.”
Maddix Stovie, Owner of Simply Things by Maddix
10. Congratulate Yourself And Assess
After the event is over, go back to those initial goals and metrics of success. How did you do? You may wish to send out evaluation surveys to attendees and solicit feedback from your staff. The sooner you debrief, the fresher the event will be in everyone’s memory, and the more you can improve for next time!
Conclusion
Now you know some of the key steps to planning an event. Start by considering your goals, building an event team, setting a budget, and finding a date for the event. Next, you can create a master plan and choose a venue. Reach out to your community, including sponsors or hourly labor event staffing near you. Get on top of branding and marketing before planning for event day. Lastly, do some reflection after the event—get feedback so you know what to tweak in the future!
FAQs
UniMovers offers event staffing services in locations in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, and Texas. If you live in those regions, check out our affordable hourly labor options!
Start by setting goals, building an event team, setting a budget, and finding a date for the event. Next, create a master plan and choose a venue. Reach out to your community and consider branding and marketing. Plan for the event day, and finally, gather feedback.
Sophie Pollack-Milgate has a day job as a research assistant. In her free time, she likes to read 10% of the library books she checks out, complain about how either ice or heat are ruining her runs (depending on the season), and modify recipes beyond recognition.
