We hear the question all the time, "Do I really need to hire an event planner?" Maybe you are really organized... Maybe you are surrounded with helpful people. While there is no question that organizational skills and reliable friends can aid in an event's success - there is nothing like having a professional team to ensure your event is successful and stress free. With over 160 years of combined experience on our event planning team, we have compiled a number of memorable 'Event Planner to the Rescue' moments during our time working together. So many popped up that we had to make this a multi-part blog! Examples of how we have saved the day at events: - Guest Book Tree Stump: Some over-served guests at a wedding decided to create their own art masterpiece and ruin a bride & groom's tree stump guest book. MBD jumped into action, had the guests removed, and came up with an alternative guest book to capture the day. - Safety Pins: We have them in our emergency kits and need these at every other event. We can't tell you how often there is a fabric emergency that requires a safety pin! -Cabs/Uber: We have called countless car services to get guests home safely. 50% of our own planning team have actually been designated drivers at client events when a car service wasn't available. - Bubbles: Can't get kiddos down the aisle? We can, and have. We carry bubbles in our emergency kits. Little kids who are too small to be predictable in a wedding party will make it down the aisle if bubble are available! -Vodka Run: We have planned countless events where the amount of alcohol the client provided was underestimated and MBD ran to the liquor store to pick up more. Booze, juice boxes, ice.... you name it. We are often the wheels and credit cards behind the scenes so your fun isn't interrupted. -Bussing tables: We aren't caterers, but you would never know it. If your caterer doesn't have enough hands, or you ordered 'drop & go catering' without realizing that you need someone to serve the food and clean up.... we are often in the background, cleaning up. -Pen for marriage certificate: You just said I do. You need to make it official. Who has the marriage certificate? Who has a pen to sign it? We do. We even bring a 'pretty pen' which you would prefer to have in photographs over that pen with your realtor's address on it. -Sewing kit repairs: Our emergency kits include a sewing kit... and yes, we have run out of thread! You may be surprised how many outfit fails happen a year. We can sew too! MBD's Event Planner Saves the Day Video: Planning an event? You NEED us. Making Business Personal As a connected collective of experts, My Big Day specializes in creativity. With superior organization, marketing experience and original ideas, we pull off amazing events and campaigns! My Big Day makes business personal by bringing JOY to the job in everything we do. As purveyors of fun with My Big Day, we support businesses and individuals in the growth of their ideas, events and marketing strategies. Our creative aptitude allows for unique ideas. Our passion for perfection makes every client a priority! Contact MBD Marketing & Events *** Bringing Joy to the Job *** Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us "Hope for the best and plan for the worst." Your big day is just days away. The RSVPs are in, dresses tailored and catering confirmed. What could go wrong? No wedding – no matter how well-planned and well-run – is immune to the occasional crisis or disaster. Knock on wood and consider this prewedding emergency checklist: Know your venue and its contacts. There is a leak in the women's bathroom. Before your guests ruin their shoes, know who the contacts are for your venue. Work with them to have a plan B in case of maintenance emergencies, weather or other unforeseen situations. Same for vendors. Only 85 chairs were delivered instead of 100. Who do you call? Having a clear list of all vendor contacts - and distributing it to all members of your event team - is critical to managing emergencies on the fly. Be familiar with evacuation plans and emergency exits. The fire alarm is going off. What now? Have a plan for how you will evacuate your guests - and communicate the need to do so. Having a PA system, bullhorn or whistle in your emergency kit can help you get the attention of a crowd. Identify staff or volunteers in advance to help guide guests to emergency exits. Print it out. Having copies of all guest lists, permits, contracts, contact numbers, maps, layouts, etc. can be a lifesaver. We all love trees and live in a digital world, but there's nothing like a visual in case of an emergency. Being able to show someone on a map where the extra chairs go or how you are going to move things around is critical. Additionally, you can handoff paper much more easily than a tablet when delegating tasks or information. Have enough copies for everyone and a few extras, just in case. Have an emergency kit packed and ready. You have things that are moving that shouldn't. Things that aren't moving that should. A change to the menu. A giant spill. And no time to run back home or the office to deal with it. Emergency kit to the rescue! Looking for a FREE emergency kit packing list? Download our printable below.
Don't go it alone. Rather than dealing with emergencies yourself, why not kick up your heels and enjoy your wedding. Let MBD Marketing & Events take on the heavy lifting, so you can dance the night away! My Big Day has planned over 300 weddings! Trust your event planning experts! Small Business. Big Impact.
As a connected collective of experts, My Big Day specializes in the creative touches so many marketing campaigns & events these days are lacking. With superior organization, marketing experience and original ideas, we pull off amazing events and campaigns! Allow us to WOW you and your guests! As purveyors of fun with My Big Day, we support businesses and individuals in the growth of their ideas, events and marketing strategies. Our creative aptitude allows for unique ideas. Our passion for perfection makes every client a priority! Contact MBD Marketing & Events Small Business. Big Impact. Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 My Big Day is no stranger to managing event emergencies, but this is a first! COVID-19 is wiping out events large and small across the nation - and beyond. As event planners, we feel that it is our responsibility to be on top of all potential event roadblocks, including Plan A, Plan B and Plan C for unbelievable things such as the Coronavirus. For those responsible for putting on events that bring crowds of people together, the World Health Organization has published some key planning recommendations .... Specific features of the event that should be considered include:
Coming up with an action plan for any event is absolutely necessary. Clear messaging is also a must. As an event participant, what can you do? Wash your hands frequently. Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Why? Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands. Maintain social distancing. Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick. Practice respiratory hygiene. Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately. Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19. If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early. Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority. Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections. Stay informed and follow advice given by your healthcare provider. Stay informed on the latest developments about COVID-19. Follow advice given by your healthcare provider, your national and local public health authority or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on whether COVID-19 is spreading in your area. They are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves. Be Smart
Be Careful Be Considerate of Others Put Your Health First. This past weekend we were honored to be hired as the planning team for a couple who was getting married in Estes Park. Today the team debriefed about all the wedding details, as we constantly scrutinize our work, and evaluate the other vendors our clients hire and consider whether or not we would recommend them to others. This wedding was another PERFECT example of why you hire planners. Not only do we manage the details, we jump in and help your other vendors with their work should they fall short, to ensure you are not left stressing over things you shouldn't have to worry about. Everything below actually happened at ONE WEDDING. What happened: When reviewing contracts of vendors our couple hired, we noticed they hired a company that another client of ours had a very negative experience with. We gave them honest feedback and suggested they NOT to use a particular employee that we didn't feel would serve them well. What COULD HAVE happened: This couple could have had the same unfortunate experience another client had if they hadn't hired us and allowed us to review their contracts. What happened: Our clients were from out of state and purchasing all of their decorations, shipping them to their house, then having to ship them to Colorado didn't make sense. We offered to rent them what we had that would fit with their theme for a very small fee. We also allowed them to ship their other decorations to us and we transported them to the wedding. What COULD HAVE happened: Unnecessary expenses, stress, and more work for the bride and groom. What happened: The catering staff was short staffed and wasn't able to clear the tables in a timely fashion. My Big Day jumped in and started clearing plates, refilling waters, etc. What COULD HAVE happened: The Mother of the Bride and Aunt Julie could have been clearing plates, rather than visiting with guests. What happened: Since the catering team was short staffed, they also didn't have enough hands to cut cake and serve it to guests. Guess who served all of the guests? Yours truly. What COULD HAVE happened: The cake would have made it out to tables by the end of the night when half of the guests had already left. What happened: The DJ clearly didn't have the correct notes for this bride and groom. He made one mistake after another. My Big Day stepped in with our notes and babysat him to make sure he got his playlist in order. What COULD HAVE happened: Their guests could have been doing the Macarena and Chicken Dance, even though they explicitly put those on the DO NOT PLAY list. What happened: The DJ was not well spoken on the microphone and botched a few important moments. My Big Day Event Planners having a wealth of Public Speaking experience, so we politely took over announcements and let him focus on the playlist. What COULD HAVE happened: Angry family members insulted that they were called by the wrong name, guests missing their shuttle ride back to their hotel, missed speeches... you name it. When you hire events planners, you are hiring a team of experts who have your best interest at heart, years of experience with every kind of emergency you can imagine, and a team of people who have worked with hundreds of different vendors. We are flexible, reliable, and happy to recommend other great vendors in the industry. Contact My Big Day
"Dream Big, Live Big. For Life's Events!" Original Ideas, superior strategies, your own private party planner. ~Event Planning, Coordination & Management~ My Big Day llc Phone: 970-613-1455 or 303-886-3068 Email Us Located in Loveland, CO As event planners, we serve the entire Front Range; Southern Wyoming, the CO Mountains, and Northern Colorado: Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, Berthoud, Estes Park, Lyons, Longmont, Boulder, Wellington, Johnstown, Evans, Severance, Timnath, Mead, Frederick, Firestone, Milliken My Big Day was honored to be chosen as the planners for this stunning garden wedding. The event was hosted at the lovely home of Gary and Carol Ann Hixon of Fort Collins, near Horsetooth Reservoir. The bride and groom, Nikki & Ryder, were surrounded by loved ones who helped with all the little touches that made the day extra special. Hosting a large event a a private home is no small feat. Not only are you bringing in decorations and rentals to a location vendors haven't been to before, but you need an XXL emergency kit available to trouble-shoot any accessories needed, should the home not be equipped with traditional supplies you would find at a venue. Luckily, My Big Day carries a large amount of supplies with us, AND the Hixons are no strangers to hosting large galas at their home. Aside from some unpreventable weather just prior to the wedding, the day want off without a hitch! Thank you to all the vendors who made Ryder & Nikki's wedding a spectacular celebration of love! Flowers: Florals by Rhonda Cake: Fiona’s Deli & Bakery DJ/MC: Robert Krueger Photographer: BlueHaus Studios Videographer: Forget Me Not Media Caterer: Café Mexicali Bartending: With a Twist LLC MakeUp: Keegan Steele Hair: Alysse Riccio Rentals: Best Event Rentals -My Big Day LLC No event – no matter how well-planned and well-run – is immune to the occasional crisis or disaster. My Big Day believes a good event planner will be able to think on his or her feet for the small stuff, and have a solid crisis plan in place for dealing with the biggies. You can’t possibly expect to plan for every type of crisis, but a little advance planning will go a long way to ensure that you can handle whatever comes your way!
If you are well prepared, chances are you won't need the Plan B. But that one time when everything goes wrong, you'll be glad you were prepared!
-My Big Day My Big Day knows what it's like to host a party... or attend a party, and FEEL it the next day! When hosting a party-- whether it be a bachelor party, bachelorette party, birthday party, New Years Eve party, a wedding, a sporting event, a Halloween party, etc... feel free to use our helpful list of hangover, or post party recovery essentials! Put together bags or baggies filled with goodies your guest will appreciate the next day. Or... if you are an avid party participant, pack your own emergency kit and keep it in your travel bag or car! Below is our helpful list of essentials. Feel free to download the My Big Day document and take the list with you!
Being a party planner, one of the issues that commonly comes up is how to get people home safely. While it is not my responsibility, ultimately providing resources to party guests is the smart thing to do. My Big Day Events has partnered with a number of taxi companies and car services. We list these options with every event we host. Below is a list of those companies we recommend.
As we are gearing up for Halloween, we are tempted to get elaborate with our decorations, and surprises for Trick or Treaters! My Big Day certainly loves a good murder scene at parties... fake of course. In researching some creative ideas for our 'Create Your Own Murder Scene' photobooth a the "Slash-back to the 80's" party, we came across this website with some Halloween pranks that went horribly wrong. Be inspired, decorate smart! CLICK HERE to read about this bad pranks!
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Making Business Personal. We pride ourselves on giving you something to look forward to. We are a connected collective of creatives - owned an operated by outstanding women. Want More?Never miss an event or opportunity. Sign up for our newsletter!
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April 2023
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