Night of Follies

This last semester I served my fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, as the VP of Social Activities. It was an absolute joy to be a part of the executive committee and plan social events for my brothers. My largest responsibility in this position was planning an out of town semi formal event for the chapter and their guests. As a native Austinite, I knew immediately that I wanted to bring the chapter to my lively and unique hometown for the event. We stayed at the Hilton Downtown and went to the hilarious comedy show at Esther's Follies, which inspired the name of the event: A Night of Follies. The semi formal turned out fantastic, and was probably one of the best social events this chapter has ever seen (I may be a bit biased, but I'm just going to say that it's true). It was also the first major event that I planned solely on my own. It was certainly an affirmation in my ability to pull off something relying on simply my own confidence and skills. More than that, it was an excellent learning experience with several snags throughout the process. So for all you other amateur event planners out there, I share with you what I learned along the way in the hopes that you can avoid some of my rookie mistakes. I've also thrown in some pictures from the night just for fun!

Let me tell you, there is no feeling of panic quite like the one you get the first time a vendor cancels on you two weeks out of the event. Now I can think of countless situations that would be much worse (the hotel burns down, the buses drive you off a cliff, the restaurant gets hit by a meteor, etc.) but at the time it felt like the world was ending. However, you've got to reign those mini-meltdowns back in, because I promise you Armageddon will not be the result of flaky vendors. Unfortunately, these things just happen, and since you can't completely avoid them, the best thing to do is just be prepared.

When things like this go wrong, it can be a gut-reaction for many people to try and hide the mistake until everything is all fixed. What others don't know won't hurt them, right? No! Don't do this. It is important to keep your superiors informed. Whether it's your supervisor, team leader or organization president, they need to be aware of any issues that come up. It is okay, however, to take a little time to get organized before speaking with them. Have a plan prepared to lay before them in order to show that you are being proactive and are capable of handling the problem. This gives off a much better impression than just asking in a panic, "What do I do??" When our charter buses canceled on us, I contacted all the companies on Baylor University's approved list that afternoon before calling our president. That way I was able to tell him what I had done to try and solve the issue, and what the next step was if none of those companies were available. When something goes wrong you want your superior to know you are dealing with it, but also let them be there for you to provide extra help if needed.

 

Which brings me to my next point. Do not be afraid to accept help. Letting others aid you is not admitting defeat. The important thing is that the event runs as smooth as possible, and sometimes you just have to enlist a little extra assistance. When you have 83 people sitting on a charter bus parked outside the hotel, the last thing you want to hear is that the room keys have not been scanned yet. However, due to a miscommunication over the payment for incidentals, this is exactly what I had to deal with. I had to stay at the front desk with the room assignments, and thus was extremely grateful for our president when he stepped up to hand out the freshly scanned keys. I knew my brothers and their guests just wanted to get into their rooms, so instead of resenting the need for extra help I was simply thankful I got it. Take pride of the event you produce, but don't be too prideful to seek aid.

Two more quick notes: keep all forms close by and always send a follow-up email. One of these lessons I learned the hard way (ie. charter buses cancelling), while, thankfully, the other I was prepared for. Whether it's on your phone or printed out in a folder, make sure to have copies of all contracts, invoices and receipts with you. Any questions or issues that arise can be resolved that much faster when you know exactly where to find the answer. And it clues the other person in that you know what you're doing! Along with that, do not forget to add the phone numbers of the various vendors to your contact list. When your guests are all standing around in an empty parking lot ten minutes past pick-up time you don't want to be fishing through your emails for the charter bus company's phone number. Lastly, I cannot stress the importance of the follow-up email enough. Don't forget this like I did! No news is not always good news, so make sure to get a written confirmation from everyone.

Just remember, mistakes happen, and no event is without its own little hitches. Hopefully my experiences will help you avoid the same snags I hit, but as long as you keep your cool you can navigate through whatever issues arise. The best part is, with enough preparation, professionalism and efficiency you can handle most problems without your guests ever even noticing.

Anyone else had some rookie event planning mishaps? Comment here or tweet them to me @MJGest to help other amateurs out! And check out these 6 common event planning mistakes for more advice.


Photo Credits: tshirt design courtesy of Hole in the Roof | all the rest courtesy of Esther's Follies and my DSP brothers