Tips on surviving the wedding or party night if you are the planner

I was just putting together some tips for a press release on surviving a wedding or party if you are the planner so thought I would share them with you: 

If possible, get plenty of sleep the night before

Wear flat, comfortable shoes and take a change of shoes; a new pair will relive your feet from the pains the first pair gave you!

Plan plan plan –Put in the work before the event to ensure a stress free evening:

1. Use reliable suppliers who you have worked with before and who are fully briefed on what is expected of them. You can then trust them to get on with their jobs without being constantly checked and chased
2. Put together a detailed schedule of who is doing what and when and share with everyone before the event, as well as printing copies for all on the night
3. Have all required contact details to hand or saved on your phone so you don’t have to start hunting for them when an emergency occurs
4. Know your venue – you don’t want to spend the evening getting lost or asking for directions. A site visit beforehand is a must if the venue is unfamiliar to you

Remember to eat, drink and rest when you can

Don’t try to do everything yourself – delegate to those you can trust

If you are working at a large venue, radio communications will save you a lot of running around & telephone bills if you need to speak to colleagues or suppliers quickly

Don’t forget to feed your suppliers: Bands, toastmasters, bar staff etc all work better if they are fed and happy

Never drink on the job. If the client insists, stick to one glass to be polite but loose it as soon as she is not looking.

Plan the links between important moments of the night. A toastmaster or best man will come in handy to introduce entertainment / cutting of the cake / call to dinner etc

Put together an SOS kit containing anything you can think of that you might need; first aid kit, safety pins, bottles of water, speech cards etc. It will be an ever growing but invaluable tool for sorting any emergency that might come up