Event Planning Stress: How to Handle It

Planning a meeting, event, or party is well… stressful. If you have multiple projects going on or you have taken the lead to plan on top of your full-time job, the amount of time you have seems to shrink away faster than the day goes by. I’m going to be honest with you, turning events around on a dime can be total chaos.

We see event and meeting planners that we work with getting more and more stressed when tight time frames and high expectations for an impressive meeting weigh heavily upon them. What’s our number one piece of advice? Start planning as early as possible and include your event producer from the get-go!

When you hire an event producer, they are there to act on your behalf. They make sure all of your vendors and venue staff are on the same page. They also come up with fresh ideas and coach you so that you can make effective choices that help you meet your event goals.

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Think of an event producer as the coach of a basketball team. The coach is always looking at the big picture. They make sure the team is on the floor, moving together, and creating the best scenario for a winning outcome.

Event producers do the same with all of the moving parts of a meeting or event. This allows you, the meeting planner, to make sure the attendees are getting what they need whether it’s food, a smooth registration, and any other of the creature comforts you need to attend to.
Back to our basketball example, your event vendors are all of the players on the court. It is important to make sure they know exactly what one another is doing and what part they specifically play. Communicating this is the coach’s role.

An event producer can cut the time in more than half that you would normally spend on calls, answering emails, and in one-on-one meetings with vendors. Just think, no more playing go-between for the video production company and the technical staff on your big day. No more trying to figure out what the band needs then turning around to explain this to the tech crew (when you have no idea what some of those technical equipment items are or how they might affect your show!)

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As the icing on the cake, having an event producer can cut the fat as well. (No this doesn’t mean go out and eat a ton of cake!) What we’re saying is that event producers have the knowledge to know what items are being duplicated so that you can eliminate anything deemed unnecessary. They can also talk you through the show to make sure you have the required equipment to make your speakers more comfortable. This all leads to a better bang for your buck and a better presentation to your audience.

We’re in the business of relieving stress. As a company we’ve managed and produced thousands of events over the past few decades! We understand what could go wrong and how to handle it, how to get vendors in line, and ultimately how to make your job easier so that you get to watch your vision come to life and the reaction on attendees’ faces when they are WOWed by what you’ve done. Let us be your partner in success!