Welcome What's The Buzz Blog

The last few Blogs have been wedding oriented, so let’s tackle the concept of corporate functions, fundraisers and invitations.

Ok, in many cases the invitation to a corporate event might not involve the ability to not show up, but the excitement about the event will be greater if a little thought goes into the invitation: and certainly in the case of a fundraiser, with the huge number of events which occur, making your event standout as the one to attend is paramount.

Basics: Your invitation must answer
• What: what is the nature of the meeting
• Where: The venue
• When: Time and Date

What is important in that this is where you let your guests know whether there will be a speaker, information session, breakout rooms for groups, Food (do you want to pay for a breakfast and have your guests show up having already eaten- it happens time after time).

The need for where and the when are self explanatory. Include the start and finish times.

If you are feeding your guests and are not having a buffet, RSVP’s are absolutely necessary to ensure that the numbers for food are appropriate. In either case, the words “Please, let us know if you have any special dietary needs” is a good idea to include on your invitation. Make sure that the appropriate email or phone numbers are included.

More and more our donors, and sponsors, are getting Fundraiser Burnout. I have on occasion seen the same group of four or five couples at fundraising evenings four days in a row. There is a very good chance then that your list of VIP invitees is the same as someone else’s list, particularly if you are not in one of the larger urban centers. How many silent auctions can they realistically take part in? And so, despite the fact that our fundraising dollars are being stretched to the maximum, we have to find other ways to get them interested, and donating.

How?

Make the event more of an experience than before.
Make use of the many performance troupes out there, the cirque performers, the singers, the visual/performance artists!

Quebec Artist Harold Gilbert does live presentations, here painting live to the 45th and 83rd Symphonies by Haydn

Consider having your dinner at the theatre followed by the show. Finish with dessert and coffee, with perhaps a live auction with fewer items, but tied in with whatever show you’ve just seen.

Think about having a daytime event, with activities for the kids, and others for the whole family. Food costs can go down with a more casual fun feeling for everyone involved.

As a postscript to How to plan your wedding…inexpensively, I had the good fortune to attend a wedding last week that perfectly expresses what I was talking about. The hall was not much, although it is in a wonderful Botanical setting, the Maid of Honour and Bridesmaids had all pooled together, just the right amount of drapery and décor to dress the room, lovely centerpieces put together by hand from dollar store purchases, inventive place cards, fun luncheon-y food and 3 staff to pull things together during the reception. The ceremony took place at the front of the room, and then the head table was moved into place. All very simple, very lovely and a good time was had by all. At the end, the bridal party headed of to have an after party!

Oftentimes, there is a sense of dismay when decisions are being made, and the Bride and Groom realize that they are well above the budgeted amount for the wedding: or the budget doesn’t get made at all. Either there are suddenly too many guests, or the meal has grown into an epicurean Hydra. So today we're going to go over a few ways to cut down on costs, and give you something to leave in the savings account.

The first place to look is the guest list. Go over it again and ask yourselves why each person has been asked. Are they coworkers, childhood friends you haven't seen since grade 8, your parents' bridge partners , or business partners?

Very often what should be a decision based on real friendship and caring can become a political decision. Think about separating the ceremony and the reception; keep the reception for the people you really see as important in your life, close friends and relations. You can invite a larger list to the ceremony.

Dinner for 150 can be a very expensive proposition, consider instead making your ceremony early and having an afternoon reception with simpler food or a tea with desserts only. You can always then invite the wedding party and parents to a wonderful intimate dinner. Consider the cost savings of the stationed meal instead of a full buffet or waiter service. Talk to your caterer about what might be a less expensive version of something that you want, not all steak is filet mignon, but the flavour ,that's a different story.

There a certainly many other ways to cut costs which I will cover as I tackle each of the other aspects of hosting a wedding.

Certainly it is now easier for anyone to plan their own event. Information can be found on the net that will let you choose décor, find caterers and venues, and create invitee spreadsheets for travel, lodging, even to manage the dietary restrictions of your guests.

What it really boils down to is how many hours you are willing to put into making your event memorable and within the scope of your budget. Many Brides are now opting to take care of many of the details of their wedding on their own, perhaps with help from the Maid of Honour (and a handy PDA or BlackBerry!). The same holds true with corporate events, with small committees gathering information and making decisions together.

However, there are a great many details which may be overlooked or gray areas where hidden charges may lurk. A Planner can help you with this.

Of course, a planner can start with you on day one, and take care of all the details, but many more of us are now offering consultation service, helping you to avoid the pitfalls, but not taking charge of your event. This can be a very helpful and less expensive way for you to bring all the details together and get the best of what a planner has to offer. It can be as simple as giving you a list of questions to ask vendors as you meet with them or it can evolve into a series of meetings. At these you would bring along your paperwork, possible contracts needing to be reviewed, and go over the steps you have taken so far. Your planner can then advise you on what you need to do next, what you might have left out, matters of protocol that might have you stumped or on less expensive ways to get the same effect.

Another service offered is the Event Coordinator. This is the planner who shows up on the day of your event, having been briefed on how your day is supposed to evolve, and makes sure that it happens. This can be a very long day, starting with the setup of the room, ending with teardown and cleanup. These are not details that you should be thinking about when you are dealing with either the CEO of you company and his/her needs, or when you are in the midst of the most important day of your life. The Coordinator will make sure that the room looks right and your audio/visual presentation is online when you need it, or that the ring bearer has something to keep him occupied during the ceremony.

I hope that this helps you to better understand the role of the Event Planner and how we can best suit your needs.

With all that life has to offer,

Walter Young