Common Questions Received by an Event Planner

Common Questions Received by an Event Planner

Do you plan other types of events?

I plan many types of events, but primarily I've planned weddings.  I've planned reunions, anniversary celebrations, birthday parties, small business events, seminars, surprise parties, "Silly Suppers", client appreciation events and of course my monthly networking group meetings.  Celebration of Life Events are extra special just to be able to help a family in their grief.

Do you already have a vendor for ____?

Vendors will come up to me and say, "I suppose you already have a fill in the blank so you probably don't need to know about another fill in the blank.  The truth is, I need to know as many as possible and to know as much as I can about the style and quality of their work.  The reason for this is that every client has a different style, personality and budget and I want to match clients and vendors alike with those whom they will work well. That is the hardest part for me when I do a Day-of-Coordination.  Often I'm not familiar with the other "vendor's" work, style or personality if they aren't a wedding/event professional.

 Do you get bridezillas?

I spoke with one wedding expert who is an author and she said that  bridezillas are probably the same girl who at her 4th birthday was allowed to act like a brat and everyone caved into her every wish and demand.  I think she might be right to some degree.  But, honestly, I think zillas can come in any gender, age or role.  Bridezillas don't have the corner on undesirable behavior.  I fully expect that a bride is capable of losing her composure at some point and I give them a lot of slack.  I generally weed out the bridezillas without them even knowing it.  Hint:  Look at my About Page on my website!

How long have you been planning events?

I wasn't even 30 when I planned my first reunion and I was younger than that when I planned my own wedding.  Let's just say that my planning social events of one form or another spanned 20+ years before I even thought about creating a business in the wedding industry.  People will say, "At least now you're getting paid for it!"  I break it to them gently that it is like any other business.  You put in a lot of hard work building it, but it is so true that when you are able to do what you love to do, it doesn't feel like work.  Tiring maybe, but it really has to be your passion to be able to keep up with it.  I love it!  I started this adventure of entrepreneurship in 2007. As a child my favorite times were when we had guests over.  Almost every weekend, I'd ask if we could invite another family over for dinner or just get together to enjoy games or music.  

What is the hardest part about being an Event Coordinator?

Again, I know it's going to sound corny, but the hardest part for me is saying good-bye to your clients and wondering if you're ever going to see them again! As a Wedding Coordinator you spend so much time developing one of if not the most important days of their lives.  You can't help but get attached.  I compare it to teachers who always remember some students and wonder how they're doing. 

Another hard part about being a Wedding Coordinator is the Monday-morning quarterbacking. It can be especially prevalent in the wedding industry.  I think that part of it is that everyone is going through a let-down after the wedding and part of it is that no day is guaranteed to be perfect.  If anyone promises 110% perfection, I'd say run!  I think that the vendors and the clients all go through this Monday QB-ing to a certain extent.  We can be very tough on ourselves, but we soon learn how to recognize it when someone is being unreasonable and/or they were completely unaware of the total surroundings and circumstances taking place. Usually it is the latter.  We get a lot tougher as we go!

What is your favorite type of event to plan?

That's hard to say!  I really like each type of event as far as planning them goes.  Weddings are the most complex and the most fun.  I really enjoy all of the events because at that particular point in someone's life, their particular celebration is usually what is constantly on their mind for a period of time.  It's impossible not to love seeing their vision become a reality.  I have always liked a variety and there isn't any event that I don't get to meet wonderful and interesting people.  I can get bored easily, but varying the types of events that I plan can help that.  

As always...

Wishing you the greatest of days!