Event planners wear many hats and let's face it, are very busy people. In fact, it was voted as one as the 5th most stressful job in the world. It's a hugely varied role, one that takes some serious organisational skills, efficiency and clear communication.
So, what exactly does an event planner do? Let's take a look at some of the key skills involved.
CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS
An event planner will be the main point of contact between a client and the myriad of partners and suppliers that make up an event. They'll be there from the very beginning, through the idea stages and right up to the event day, so clear and consistent communication is vital throughout. Making a client feel listened to, confident and at ease throughout the process is one of the most important parts of an event planner's role - as well as executing the event, of course.
IDEAS, IDEAS, IDEAS
Clients will always have loads of ideas of what the want their event to look like. The role of the event planner is to turn these ideas into practical solutions and a cohesive event strategy. A big part of the role here is to manage expectations too, is their giant flower wall within budget and will it logistically fit into the venue? It's an event planner's job to find out.
VENUE FINDING
Events need a venue. Again, the client will have an idea of what they want, so it's an event planners job to find it - or the next best thing. Taking into account the budget, capacity, access requirements and of course, the overall style that's been proposed, an event planner will search for something that fits the bill. Not always an easy task, which is where sites like hirespace.com can help.
NEGOTIATING
An event planner will have a little black book of suppliers and partners that they'll use to bring an event together, from caterers to florists to production teams. The event planner has likely built up relationships with these companies meaning they can negotiate on price and timescales in order to deliver an event on time and within budget.
MANAGING BUDGETS
Which leads us neatly onto the managing budgets part of the role. An event planner will need to know their way around a spreadsheet or two. Juggling contracts and payments with multiple suppliers, meaning a head for numbers is a must.
EVENT DAY HERO
On the day of the event, the client will be looking to the event planners to pull together all the final details and make sure it goes off without a hitch. There's no one specific skill involved here, it's all of them added together with a splash of problem solving and resilience thrown in. But once the event is over, the sense of achievement will all be worth it.
Need help finding a venue for an event? Get in touch with our Venue Experts today.