Some Notes on Organizing Events

 

Children's parties. Weddings. Charity fund raisers. Church events. School or community programs. At some point or another, we are bound to be part of organizing events. By the virtue of the event's nature, an occasion will entail an influx of people, whether a party of 10 or a thousand. Here are some tips that fit the bill in successfully organizing small or big events:

1. Pre-planning stage: Answer these questions
   a. What is the nature of the event?
   b. How many people will be attending the gathering?
   c. How many people are currently involved in the preparations?
   d. How many people do you think you will need to prepare?
   e. Who are the key people needed to make this event a success?
   f. How much is your budget for the event?
   g. What are the things needed for the event? (venue, music, food, fliers, giveaways, etc)


2. Planning stage
   a. Categorize the needs for the events. (i.e. venue, food, party/event knick knacks, invitations)
   b. Delegate people to canvass for the different needs. Ask from at least 3 suppliers for the different needs. Ask around from friends about the good services for the best price.
   c. Pick the best deals from suppliers. Book and buy needs.
   d. Call key people needed for the event, and book them a month or 2 weeks in advance depending on the need.


3. 1 week before
   a. call the suppliers in advance (a week ahead) to confirm orders and bookings.
   b. meet with key people to discuss and finalize the flow of the program (meet the priest to ask for suggestions on how to go about a special thanksgiving mass, for example; or meet with the emcee to give special instructions). Inform the key people and the organizing crew of the call time for the events.
   c. Double check your list to see whether everything has been set and see whether you need to add anything to your list.


4. A Day Before the Event
   a. call key people and suppliers to remind them of the call time for the next day
   b. double check on the supplies
   c. pay for the ordered supplies (except for catered food)
   d. arrange the supplies in labeled boxes
   e. call catering service to remind them of their call time


5. On the day itself
   a. The organizing crew should be in the venue 3 hours before the event to oversee final preparations of the event
   b. All the supplies that have been ordered (except catered food) should have been paid for by now and arrange them in their proper places
   c. Assign one person to usher in the invited key people/persons. Make sure you have a token/gift for that invited guest.
   d. Have an emergency plan in case any of your plans crash during the event (i.e. make back up cd's, bring emergency kits of first aid, safety pins, double sided tapes, bond papers, pencils, envelopes and common sense with a dash of quick thinking)
   e. smile and enjoy!


6. After the event  meet with crew to assess the outcome of the event and see what things worked well and what need to be improved and list these down for future reference.

If you have planned well and things go wrong, remember it's not the end of the world! As long as you know you did your best, remember nothing is perfect. And if it goes wonderfully, thank high heavens for making the conditions work in your favor!!!