Successful event planning involves the breakdown of the planning process into smaller and achievable tasks. Such tasks motivate you to remain focused and avoid procrastination. Setting deadlines for the accomplishment of tasks such as meeting with vendors helps in progressive and successful event planning.
Plan for food and beverages
Food and drinks help to keep your guests entertained. You can opt for in-house catering depending on the venue chosen or hiring the services of outside caterers. There are catering companies in Los Angeles that handle corporate events. Hiring a professional chef or catering company guarantees that high-quality food will be served.
The catering company should have a good reputation in terms of quality service delivery. However, if your venue is reputable for serving quality meals at affordable prices, you should consider using their catering services. In-house catering is cheaper and the most effective way of handling catering. During planning, you should decide whether to opt for a set menu or ask your guests to choose beforehand.
Besides, you should decide how food should be served. Serving options include buffets and sit-down meals. People with different dietary requirements should be considered for a special diet. Moreover, you should taste the food on the menu beforehand for quality assurance. Pre-ordering drinks for your corporate event helps you to take control of your budget.
Choose a venue
The choice of venue is dependent on factors such as the capacity, location, and facilities present. In terms of capacity, the size of your venue should accommodate the anticipated number of guests. A small venue may cause overcrowding, and consequently, some guests may decide to leave. Hiring a larger facility than required is an unnecessary expense.
The location of your venue should be well accessible by both private and public means of transport. The location should also be secure. A well-accessible and secure location saves you the costs of overnight accommodation for your guests. The venue should have facilities such as a well-functioning and modern PA system. Such equipment may be required for live entertainment, presentations, and speeches.
Besides, you should ensure that the amount charged for the venue is inclusive of everything you require, such as clean-up services, IT and audio-visual technical support, and wireless internet access. The venue’s décor and interior design should suit the needs of your event. A venue with less ambiance requires more decorating work to make up for it.
Set and allocate the budget
Making a checklist of all activities that require financing is important to avoid the misuse of resources. The list should be in the order of what is most significant to your company, the company’s culture, and employee expectations. The checklist includes things like food and beverages, transportation costs, event marketing, and videography.
A look into the budget of previous events will help you forecast the financial requirements of your current event. Reaching out to vendors will help you get price estimates for various services and facilities. Besides, you should pick a service provider that fits your budget, vision, and is fun to work with. Budgeting for your event ensures that resources are well allocated and reduces wastage of resources.
Planning is essential for the success of your corporate event. It helps to avoid haphazard, last-minute arrangements. A disorganized event is not impressive to your guests. Adequate planning months before the event is, therefore, necessary.