Time to put all that planning to the test; event day sneaks up on you before you know it. Since you had such a successful event planning meeting a few days ago, everyone knows what to do, and they are doing it. Smooth sailing for the most part, but snags always arise the day of the event. When they do come up, you want to be prepared. Before you even drive to the event location, be sure to have your cell phone, the clothes you plan on wearing at the event and contact lists for each sub-team and all the people involved in the event. Optional, but a good idea if you have one, is carrying along a laptop for any last minute research, typing or anything else that can come up. You never know what will happen.
Once you arrive at the event location, your job is to oversee the set up. You are responsible for helping solve problems, peer checking each team and making sure everything is in its place. Don’t be so hands on that you can’t focus on the big picture – remember, this is the event you are responsible for. It is unrealistic that your event will go flat if one flower arrangement isn’t sitting just so, but you can kiss success goodbye if the flow of the event goes south.
Two hours before the event everyone should be wrapping up their tasks. At this point, thank everyone for their hard work and let them get ready for the party. It may be a nice gesture to have champagne in the dressing rooms with light snacks, or at least ice chests of sodas and juice. Ask everyone to meet you about 45 minutes – no later than 30 minutes – before the event starts so everyone can take their place.
During the event you will more than likely be crazy. Your team may have some last minute problems you need to solve; guests want to talk and so on. Since you are the event planner, all eyes will be on you. Don’t forget to smile and be friendly. Yes, it may be stressful, but you all have done such a great job, why not act like you are enjoying yourself? More times than not, you will be having a great time, and chances are, if you are having a great time, so is everyone else.