8 Party Planning Tips for Your First Big Event

Pulling off a huge shindig can be quite exciting.

But it does not come without challenges especially if it is your first time. However, with careful party planning, you can learn a lot of party tricks, streamline the process, and achieve every one of your event’s goals.

To help you with party planning, here are brilliant tips and tricks that can help you put together a successful festive event without breaking a sweat:

1. Come up with a theme.

Determining the theme for your event will direct all the other tasks you need to accomplish. Also, a theme can make any event even more fun and festive because it can signal to your guests how they are expected to act.

For theme inspirations, check out social media sites like Pinterest or do some online research.

2. Put together a party planning team.

A big event always works better when there are several heads working together. If the event is for the company where you work, consider handpicking skilled co-workers as your teammates.

And, if you have been given a generous budget to use, bring in the expertise of the pros. A corporate event management company can really take a load off of you and cover all the vital aspects of the event so it will flow smoothly.

For a family celebration, though, you can never go wrong with the organized mothers who cook and friends who have exceptional talent with the grill. These people will have your back come party time.

3. Create a guest list that the established budget can accommodate.

It is important to know how many people will be expected to grace the event. This is the party detail that you need to establish first in order to proceed with other party planning tasks.

4. Find the perfect venue.

You want a place that is big enough for all your invited guests and can easily accommodate all the other considerations for the party, such as accessibility, aesthetics, the physical comfort and safety of your guests, and perks.

Event venues are many and varied. Check out hotels and resorts, restaurants, community centers, and even local parks in your area.

5. Design a logical floor layout.

This is a must for the organized and smooth flow of movement during the party.

You want to make sure that the physical layout of the party space will support the orderly sequence of activities and create a pleasant experience for everybody. Nothing can ruin a party more than people being prevented from doing what they need and want to do because of congestion in certain areas of the venue.

6. Create a party menu.

With an established theme and budget, determining the best eats for your guests will be easier. You can go online for inspiration. Pinterest is a bottomless pit of party recipes for themed events.

Or, you may want to hire a catering service. Professional caterers are the best at creating a spread that is theme-compliant as well as delicious.

Here’s a little savvy tip from Interior Designer, John Locke though. For a menu for a laidback family gathering, the food that you liked in kindergarten will always work well with cocktails and “mocktails,” plus you can be sure that younger guests will like them, too.

7. Prioritize entertainment.

It’s the activities within the event that can really create an impact on your guests. Even if the shindig is meant to promote a new service or product, you can ensure everybody’s engagement if that goal is worked into entertaining activities.

Come up with a variety of sources for fun with your audience or guests in mind.

Music, games, play equipment and exhibitions are just some of them. We, at, The Big Moo, are known for providing all of these, and we make sure that we work closely with our clients so every fun provision aligns with the theme and goals of their event.

8. Hire a highly experienced MC.

Another reliable way of ensuring the smooth flow of the event is by having a good MC or master of ceremonies. You need someone who is articulate, can make everybody feel welcome and, at the same time, make sure that the event runs according to plan.

MCs are also known for injecting appropriate humor to any event. Plus, they can perform damage control when there are awkward or unfortunate occurrences during an event.

For example, at wedding parties, a highly experienced MC can actually prevent any rowdy behavior from ruining the proceedings. He r she can distract the other guests, while also signaling to the right people that action needs to be taken to restore order to the party.
 
 
Securing success for any event is all about careful planning.

So, set aside the time to do so and make sure that you have the right people helping you every step of the way.