Sometimes you just don’t know what is going to happen when you’re planning an event. People can be unpredictable, especially at large gatherings. That’s why you need someone with experience. Why hire an event planner? Maybe these event horror stories from the EventShop team will convince you.
Tailgate Week-of Venue Change
Each year EventShop crafts the perfect tailgate experience for one of our clients and their 500 closest friends. This year marked their 42nd tailgate, taking place the weekend of the UT vs. Georgia game. Each year we take this event to a new location, which poses its own set of hurdles—we get a new venue contact, new rules for decorating, bathroom restrictions, loading & unloading restrictions, but we take on that challenge happily. This year, we were looking forward to setting up outside one of the most iconic buildings on campus. We had completed the site visit, set-up all the specifics for vendors, decided on the perfect placement for our specialty vendors, and completed our event rental order for the perfect amount of tables, chairs, linens, and tents. Then we got the call. Just seven days before this tailgate, a major news channel decided to cover the game and took over this coveted space. Without missing a beat, we called an internal staff meeting, divvied up the logistics, and started adjusting the framework. Within three days, we redid the entire event rental order, custom-designed (AND individually stamped) 500 postcards indicating the location change, and did a site walkthrough with all the third-party vendors. Though we covered all the bases we could think of, we were definitely a tad nervous going into the day but maintained high hopes. Our hopes were met & exceeded, and we couldn’t have been prouder with the way it all came together. From set up to breakdown, the event ran smoothly for all vendors and attendees. In fact, we had several attendees tell us this was the best tailgate they had been to yet in all 42 years. That felt like a game-winning touchdown.
Preliminary Planning Gone Wrong
Being Event Planners, we have to demonstrate a high threshold for the mundane, sometimes awkward work. We are the people that will let the caterer know that your 3rd cousin has a crippling fear of toothpicks. We will let your DJ know that The Beatles songs reminds you of your childhood pet, Socks. What I am saying is, we are comfortable with the tough, silly, and bizarre communications alike. So it is just a normal part of our day to pick up the phone in Knoxville, TN and call a 5-star hotel in Las Vegas, NV and start asking “obscure” questions. However, most recently the questions we needed help answering were based around security; things such as, “Do you have paramedics on-site?” “How far away from the nearest hospital are you?” “Do you have life support machines on-site?” What we learned is that security departments become on high alert if you aren’t a hotel guest, a repeating customer, or someone with easily recognizable credentials. Instead, we were put on hold as they consulted their manager, who confirmed that they “were uncomfortable answering these questions at this time.” We are almost certain they have now done a full background check on our company & employees to verify safety. A perfect example of good intentions gone terribly wrong. All jokes aside, it did make us really grateful that this particular hotel was so alert and protective. We know we will be in good hands.
So, why hire an event planner? At EventShop, our event planners can help you:
- Stay organized: We can handle all facets of event planning so you don’t have to!
- Create a reasonable budget: Don’t worry about crunching numbers because we can make a budget for your event that is reasonable and meets your needs.
- Keep communication lines open: A lot of event mishaps happen because there aren’t open lines of communication between the client and the event planner. We make sure to keep in constant communication with you to ensure your event is carried out successfully.
- Solve problems on the fly: If an issue comes up, then we can use our event planning experience to come up with a last-minute solution.
Now is the time to hire an event planner with experience! Ready to make the event of your dreams a reality? Shoot us a message and tell us all about your vision.