Now that more and more establishments are resuming operations, outdoor celebrations would soon become a norm again. And you would want to be ready when that happens. You wouldn’t miss an opportunity to go out with friends or the family. It’s been so hard not to be able to be with your loved ones in one room when you have an important occasion to celebrate. Here are some ideas to prepare you for your next special event to celebrate with your loved ones:
Plan early
Planning an event is not easy, especially now that we don’t know how often unforeseeable things happen. To give you enough time to prepare for adjustments, you’d better start planning early.
If you’re putting on a big event, such as weddings and significant birthdays, or you just want a huge celebration for a major milestonein your life, it is advisable to prepare three months before the event. This won’t only help you find the best vendors for decorations, venues, and other things you’ll need, but this will also give you extra time for whatever changes that might come your way. For smaller events, a week or two is enough.
Formulate a concept
This is the trickiest part of your planning, as you need to consider a lot of things, most especially your budget and venue. A perfect concept will elevate your guests’overall experience of your celebration. It will also help create a memory of you that they’ll remember for years to come.
And for that, it is best to have a concept early on in your planning and determine your priorities and which things you need most. Start with asking yourself which part of the event do you want to highlight-guest experience, elements of your celebration, event atmosphere, etc.
If you are celebrating a milestone birthday, maybe your 30th, you can consider “over the hill” gardening or a sports team theme party.
Hire the right people
From the preparation and start to finish, you would want your event to run smoothly. And it wouldn’t be successful without the right people to do the job. While it’s still inconvenient to hire a separate vendor, caterer, and host, just look for an event-planning service to do all the job for you from start to finish.
But if this is not an option for you, make sure to look for trusted people to work with you. Crowdsource from your relatives and friends. You might be surprised that a lot are even willing to do it for you for free. Or you may try to look online. Just make sure that you read reviews and check for ratings.
Check your budget
Creating a budget for a special event is an important part of your planning, as this will help you determine the kind of event you can afford. Typically, a huge part of your budget goes to the food and the venue. So be sure to decide the number of people you want to invite on the early stage of your planning.
For instance, according to toCNBCin 2019, the average cost to pull off a memorable weddingis $33,900. This amount of money takes months to be earned and should therefore be budgeted wisely.
Make a list
There are plenty of reasons for making a checklist can make your event successful. One is that it helps you organize and keep track of your budget: how much money you spent versus your estimates. Another is that it helps clear your mind because putting all the information about the event in your head will easily overwhelm you. Most importantly, it allows you to enjoy your event.
Your checklist should include the things you need to do and those you need to buy. It should also include the contact details of your vendor. Make sure that it has all the tasks listed in order of importance and make sure that you follow it.
Finalize your plan
If you’re the one planning your event, it’ll be more convenient if you buy everything that you need whenever there are funds available. Contact your vendor and start buying the decorations and accessories that will be used to design your venue. As early as one month before your big event-or a few days before a smaller one-have all things prepared and set. Have a run-through of your entire plan.
Soon, everything will be back to where it was before the pandemic happened, and all these planning reminders will be just ready for you to read and follow. Hopefully, by then, you are still up for a celebration, and you have saved more to add to your budget.
