Some people excel when afforded plenty of time to plan an important happening. Others, by virtue of distractibility or quick-wittedness (or a mixture of both) thrive by putting things together at the last minute. The event planning profession requires that its best practitioners opt for the former strategy over the latter. But sometimes circumstances dictate that you can’t have the planning time you’d usually want.
This doesn’t mean you’re out of luck, though – far from it. You will simply need to be crafty and consider taking advantage of certain decorations and resources that involve quick set-up times, such as bold and striking custom backdrops. Let’s examine those and a number of other essential practices for last-minute planning:
Take advantage of established connections
All successful business dealings are, in essence, personal relationships. Your linen supplier for table settings might be a faceless corporation to others, but your interactions are with Sarah in sales, with whom you have small talk about your favorite new mystery novels in between placing orders.
Connections like this are vital in last-minute planning situations, according to SmartMeetings. Vendors and partners who see you as a personal acquaintance or a good friend will be more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty to save your bacon – maybe even bending a rule once in a great while. So treasure the close relationships you have with people in your supply chain and go right to them if things are behind schedule.
At Sign Art Etc., if you really need that quick turnaround, we can design, produce and ship your display in one day — whether we know you personally or not!
Keep hold of a checklist
When aspects of an event are being changed not long before its scheduled start date and time, chances are some of your staff – not to mention the client – will be worried about what isn’t finished. While understandable, they can afford to lose their heads, and you simply cannot.
A great way to avoid such a fate is keeping a checklist with you at all times, whether it’s plain old paper or using your smartphone’s notepad function. Check this list as often as needed review overall progress, but tackle tasks one at a time to avoid confusion. Focus on confirming that all of the event’s moving parts are in order, particularly if there’s any tech involved, according to Eventbrite.
Be creative and flexible
Event plans can change for any number of reasons, most of them not specifically foreseeable. What’s vital is that you don’t get struck out by these unexpected curveballs. Social Tables recommended being flexible and having backup options – for food, entertainment or whatever else – on deck just in case. You’ll appreciate it greatly when the original band’s singer comes down with cheeseburger-related food poisoning.
Last but not least, consider creative solutions. For example, if you planned to have a mall-style photo booth but the supplier had a problem, a custom step and repeat banner can serve a similar purpose. Event attendees can strike bold poses in front of it that are just as shareable on social media as any trendy photo booth snapshot.
