A HUGE thank you to Chef Flemming from Flemming’s Bake Shop in Henderson, NV in providing these yummy delicious logo’d cupcakes! Reach out to Chef Flemming for personalized cupcakes at your next event!
Months of talking. Weeks of planning. Hours of Correspondence. Days of Work. Minutes before the event started – I poured the Vendor Champagne Toast – I was so excited for my event to start, nervous for the unknown, and wishing I had coordinated my stylist to doll me up on this very very special day.
Do you plan events for a profession? Are you an event planner?
HIRE AN EMCEE!
The best advice I could give any couple planning their own wedding or new event planner is to hire a qualified professional to manage your timeline. This person/emcee/DJ/Entertainer should:
- Bring awareness to all announcements
- Speak on behalf of key points of event
- Highlight special moments throughout the event
- Maintain the event timeline for the group
Throwing an event is easy 🤣🤣🤣
Throwing an event is easy – keeping a timeline during the chaos of fun, shenanigans, work, networking, and prize giveaways can be a completely different ball game.
Let’s just say, “Here’s to not striking out at your next event!” There are many organizations involved in the Forging Relationships Multi-Organization Mixer, and each one’s mission is to add value to you and your brand. See links below for more information.
The Honeymoon Passport 🖤🗺💙
Each sponsor received a hole punch for the event’s Honeymoon Passport – a fun interactive Prize quest for all event attendees.
Forging Relationships Professional Multi-Organization Mixer highlighted Clark County’s approach to issuing the five millionth wedding license as well as Las Vegas as the Wedding Capital of the World as a whole.
This interactive event activity encouraged all attendees to visit each sponsor’s booth. This brought both value to the sponsor’s investment in the event as well as the attendee’s growth in their network, as they were in close proximity to at least 10 organizations and contacts that small businesses could benefit in meeting.
Bringing value to the community is the primary goal of this event, and bringing individuals together who can mutually benefit is the ultimate goal.
The event was well attended by several Wedding Professionals, Industry Leaders, Small Business Owners, Financial Advisors, Future Planners, and Youth Organization Leaders.
By bringing these diverse minds into one room, Amy Vandermark hopes to bring more value to the communities involved, promote innovative thought, and find solutions that will benefit the most possible.
P I N K your D R I N K
Our favorite sponsor had to be Chambord Raspberry Liqueur. They provided the most fun Thank You Bag gifts including glitzy glamourous gold fanny packs, beautifully engineered pens, candles, scarves, and so much more.
Chambord shined as the Wedding Partner the Event – a perfect personal touch to a Bridal Party, Chambord, adding a royal touch to a simple occasion, as well as the best upsell for Wedding Bar Packages – “Pink your drink!” with a little Chambord.
PINK YOUR DRINK – – –
Add Chambord Raspberry Liqueur to your sparkling wine for a raspberry infused bubbly libation sure to impress all of your event guests this wedding season.
Lessons Learned
Every event, moment, challenge gives us great lessons – these are the ones I learned in hosting my event on Thursday, January 13, 2022: Forging Relationships: Professional Mixer
1. Reach out to sponsors 3 months out.
a. Just because you are friends with the owner, does not mean that they will understand how much their support in your event both means to you and the success of the event.
b. Just because you vet your ideas with a board member of the group, does not mean that they are sharing your ideas. . . BE VOCAL!
2. Everyone loves gifts – vendor & attendee gifts were a hit!
3. Order more food
a. The passed appetizers were depleted before 50% of attendees had arrived
b. Displayed Appetizers were necessary but not enough – increase passed appetizers in future annual events.
5. Designate a PRIZE TABLE – I thought I had done well in communicating with prize donors, and I was so gratefully surprised when I received unexpected prizes to give away at the event. The only problem is that I hadn’t planned on additional prizes.
a. Always plan for the unplanned – be adaptable with indoor vendors.
6. Communicate – no one can read your mind.
a. If you need information, dimensions, menu ingredients, attendee lineup – ASK !!
b. If you have special requests or needs – TELL !!
c. If you’re confused – REACH OUT !! I don’t know how many times I have vented to my father about not understanding why a professional hasn’t gotten back to me in “what I consider” a timely manner . . . only to hear him ask the same question he asks every time – did you call them? no. . . . . . . I had emailed – and emailed – and followed up with an email – because I work best with email . . . PICK UP THE PHONE 🙂
7. Over-Communicate – When I said, “Ask each guest if they are married, single, or spoken for.” I never imagined guests would be greeted with, “Are you married or not?!” – but – with crying laughing emoji face I tell you, this happened, and my guests were graceful and sweet even though my SOP got lost in translation.
Check-in Activity: All guests were greeted and welcomed to the 1st Annual Forging Relationships Professional Mixer. When they entered and checked in for the event, the greeters asked each guest if they were married, single, or spoken for.
Married Attendees: All married individuals were given a name tag with a red heart on it and asked how many years they had been married – those years were tracked on our Years Married Board and a prize was given to our lucky couple who had been married the most years, at 41 years. We also gave each married attendee a drawing ticket for prizes later in the evening.
Single & Spoken for Attendees: All single & spoken for individuals were given a red name tag and given a drawing ticket for their drawing as well.
a. If the topic is sensitive, present a script. 1. Every topic is sensitive. 2. A script removes all interpretation and most of the room for error. Set your team up for success . . .
8. EVENTBRITE ROCKS – Yeah, they have fees, but, for a first time Event Host, this was easy – simple – well received – added a level of trust/authenticity/relevancy – completed payment processing while I was asleep – level of safety through cancellation
9. Themed promo gifts are always well received – the little trinket ideas that I added to the event were some of the attendees most memorable moments.
GROFT’S SKY TRACKER
I highly recommend Groft Sky Tracker as an event vendor. Professional, timely, and consistent. If you find yourself asking how to grab attention at your next event, the lights shining through the night sky are pretty fantastic. I lucked out on having an overcast evening, which lit up the night sky of Boulder City.
10. Name Badges – Check, Check, and Check – Always include either pre-printed name badges for all attendees or blank name badges with felt tip pens available.
a. DO NOT FORGET THE SHARPEES – do you really need me to elaborate?
b. Pro-tip: print your own name badges so your logo is captured in all photography
c. Poor form to host networking engagement without name badges – unless an added level of mystery is part of the theme – in that case, please reach out, because we haven’t heard of this theme yet. . . .
11. Drawing Tickets – Amazon is the event planners dream partner right now. If you need drawing tickets, wristbands, trinkets, personal touches, etc for your event, Amazon’s Prime option is such an amazing assurance that you will always be the most resourceful one in the group.
12. Sound – I had the DJ – and she sounded fantastic. I had the Emcee – and he sounded fantastic. The only issue was that if you were in another area of the venue, you did not hear the announcements, prizes, or messages being shared. Sound will be one of my biggest challenges that I will face first next year in planning this event.
a. Need centrally located sound
13. Prizes were well received. Several key partners in the Boulder City market provided great value to the event, which welcomes guests back to Boulder City to experience our charming small town ambiance.
14. Timeline was pretty good. Vendor toast was a great added personal touch. 30 minute intermission between set up and event start allowed vendors to mix and mingle while decompressing.
a. Halfway through the event at 7pm was perfect for announcements and speaking engagements
15. Sponsors found value in the event and partnership.
16. Slide-show presentation that loops through event is beneficial as several attendees were caught observing throughout event. Great branding piece.
17. DJ placement for event was perfect to promote business oriented conversation with indoor vendors.
10. Name Badges – Check, Check, and Check – Always include either pre-printed name badges for all attendees or blank name badges with felt tip pens available.
a. DO NOT FORGET THE SHARPEES – do you really need me to elaborate?
b. Pro-tip: print your own name badges so your logo is captured in all photography
c. Poor form to host networking engagement without name badges – unless an added level of mystery is part of the theme – in that case, please reach out, because we haven’t heard of this theme yet. . . .
11. Drawing Tickets – Amazon is the event planners dream partner right now. If you need drawing tickets, wristbands, trinkets, personal touches, etc for your event, Amazon’s Prime option is such an amazing assurance that you will always be the most resourceful one in the group.
12. Sound – I had the DJ – and she sounded fantastic. I had the Emcee – and he sounded fantastic. The only issue was that if you were in another area of the venue, you did not hear the announcements, prizes, or messages being shared. Sound will be one of my biggest challenges that I will face first next year in planning this event.
a. Need centrally located sound
13. Prizes were well received. Several key partners in the Boulder City market provided great value to the event, which welcomes guests back to Boulder City to experience our charming small town ambiance.
14. Timeline was pretty good. Vendor toast was a great added personal touch. 30 minute intermission between set up and event start allowed vendors to mix and mingle while decompressing.
a. Halfway through the event at 7pm was perfect for announcements and speaking engagements
15. Sponsors found value in the event and partnership.
16. Slide-show presentation that loops through event is beneficial as several attendees were caught observing throughout event. Great branding piece.
17. DJ placement for event was perfect to promote business oriented conversation with indoor vendors.
Overall – my biggest advice when planning an event, is to 1. Ask yourself what your dreams are for the event. Really envision what success looks like for you to achieve your goals. then 2. Ask yourself what is required to make your dreams coming true be a possible goal. Then you will have made a skeleton plan for your event.
If you’re still confused on how to make your event successful, that is what I am here for.
Consultations available by appointment only.
There are so many more moments that I could share that I felt like this event would never happen, never be a success, never meet the goals of my partners – and the only thing I can attribute to the event’s success is that I didn’t stop. When organizations bowed out, I made new connections, when sponsors opted out, I reached new audiences, when visions seemed impossible in reality, I became adaptable.
Hosting this event was an immense privilege and I hope for the opportunity again and again in the future.
I believe in building others up. I believe in working toward the success of a collective verse the individual. I will always do my best to strive for integrity versus image – there will be times I falter – I am human, and I like shiny things.
Sponsors
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