Top 10 Conference And Event Venues In North West England

The North West of England boasts numerous event venues suitable for conferences, exhibitions, weddings, parties and more. Manchester and Liverpool in particular offer fantastic locations to suit all kinds of events, whether commercial or private.

The best way to source a venue in the North West is to use an event management company in Manchester or an event management company in Liverpool.

Here's a rundown of the 10 most popular function venues in these two cities.

The Lowry, Manchester

The Lowry is located on the waterfront in Salford Quays, just outside Manchester city centre, and opened its doors in 2000. It offers several function rooms to suit any kind of event, large or small. As a visual and performing arts centre it is completely suited to holding conferences, dinners and even weddings.

Manchester United Football Club, Old Trafford

Perhaps the most famous football club in the world, Manchester United's Old Trafford ground holds over 75,000 and in addition the world class facilities include various suites for conferences, events and weddings. Some overlook the pitch for those wanting the feel of a sporting venue, while others offer different views, making Old Trafford a versatile venue to suit most occasions.

The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Bridgewater Hall in Manchester city centre is an international concert venue offering five different spaces to suit conferences, meetings, exhibitions, dinners and receptions. It is one of the most stunning buildings in the North West, let alone Manchester, so attendees will feel that little bit more special.

Imperial War Museum North, Manchester

Another waterside venue not far from both Old Trafford and The Lowry, the Imperial War Museum is a stunningly designed building that offers function rooms for all kinds of corporate and private events. In addition it boasts free parking for 160 cars - and you don't get that often!

Lancashire County Cricket Club, Manchester

Another sporting venue boasting impressive function suites, Lancashire County Cricket Club is a more sedate setting, as you would expect. Nevertheless, the ground - confusingly called Old Trafford, just like the football ground! - offers a unique venue in that they use their new addition to the ground, The Point and configure it to suit your needs through the use of partition walls and the like! Definitely worth a look!

Echo Arena, Albert Dock

The Echo Arena on Albert Dock is a brilliant Liverpool event venue with 7,000m2 of exhibition space, a 1,350-seater auditorium and 18 break out rooms. It is ideal for conferences and exhibitions but also lends itself well to other events.

Knowsley Hall, Prescot

A grand venue for conferences, team building days, weddings and private functions, Knowsley Hall sits in a 2,500 acre privately owned estate which includes not only the hall and the facilities it has to offer, but also a safari park, accommodation and a spa! Something for everyone at this venue.

Haydock Park Racecourse, Haydock

Not strictly Liverpool, but still in Merseyside, Haydock Park racecourse is much loved by horse racing fans and it offers fantastic facilities for corporate events and even weddings. A variety of suites and bars of varying sizes are available in the course's stands, including a sports bar and the grand Horseshoe Suite.

Victoria Gallery & Museum, Liverpool

A beautiful building in Liverpool, the Victoria Gallery & Museum is suitable for recitals, conference receptions and dinners and provides a great setting for the more formal event. The venue is licensed for weddings, too, so you your event can be planned all in one place.

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton

Just outside Liverpool city centre and situated on the waterfront, the Floral Pavilion is an ideal venue for conferences, seminars and trade shows. The modern venue is state of the art and completely geared towards corporate events of all types.

Event planning in Manchester and Liverpool is made simpler by these and other world class facilities. Both cities also offer numerous hotels with suitable function rooms for any event.

So next time you're considering an event, give the North West of England a look before you choose your venue.

What You Need to Know When Ordering From a Party Rental Company

It's not easy planning an event. Dealing with a party rental company for the first time can be tricky if you don't know what to ask and expect. Well, here is some advice to make things a bit easier...

Plan ahead. Start thinking about your party or wedding well in advance of the actual date. Party rental companies have busy seasons. March-June and October -December are crazy with weddings and holiday parties. If you want to make sure you get the party rental items you need, you should try to book large orders at least 2 months in advance if you are planning your event during any of these months.

Always plan for a few extra people than you are expecting. It is much easier for a company to slightly reduce your order than to try to add items. Remember that they may not be available at the last minute.

Pick up the phone. You can tell a lot about any company based on the customer service you receive. When shopping around for the best quote on your party rentals, make sure you take into consideration who you like and will work best with you to make sure your event is a success!

Know what you're getting. Some party rental items stay in a companies' stock for years and years. A lot of damage can happen in that amount of time. You can't expect rental items to be perfect, but you can expect them to be clean and presentable. Try to inspect or at least ask what condition the items are in that you are reserving. If you are covering your rentals with linens or chair covers, this is less important. When it comes to linens, make sure the company you go with doesn't just wash and fold their tablecloths without pressing them.

Understand what's included in your total. Party rental companies will charge you a delivery fee, most likely based on your zip code or area of town. Most companies will drop your rentals off in a mutually agreed upon location and leave you to move and set up the items. If you need help in setting up, you can usually arrange this for an extra fee. Some companies offer free set up and take down, which could end up being a huge help if you are planning a large event.

Clear your space. If you're planning on having your party at home, make sure you have the area cleared and clean prior to your party rental company delivering any items you have ordered.

Figure out what to serve in the way of the food and drinks, and think of timing. Remember to consider if you will need any extra tables for food or drinks. A bar perhaps? The time of day you will be having your party is also important. Guests will expect more than finger food if you are hosting your event during any of the three major mealtimes.

Allow for extra room. If all of your guests will be seated at the same time, make sure you have a seating chart, or allow for extra space. At weddings especially, you don't want to leave the couple at the end of the buffet line without a place to sit, because there is only one spot left at each table. Remember that guests want to sit with their friends, so allow for plenty of extra seating.

Ask questions! Don't be afraid to "bug" your party rental company about any and all details. Your event should be perfect, and you deserve to know exactly what you will be getting. Also, if your rental company isn't helpful and quick in responding to you, find a new one!

Negotiate. If you are planning a large sized event, ask potential party rental companies if they have any deals. Chances are, they won't want to lose a large order and will find a way to give you a discount, such as a waived delivery fee or a couple of free tables. It never hurts to ask!

Get advice about other vendors. Need to know where to find balloons, or maybe the best florist on your side of town? Ask your party rental company if they have any helpful suggestions.

Event Planning: Choosing a Limo Company to Recommend to Clients

As an event planner, you know that your clients expect the very best from every option you recommend to them, including transportation. That's why it's so important to find a limousine company that you can consistently recommend to your clients. Here are a few steps you should consider taking to properly vet any chauffeured transport company before recommending them to your clientele.

Look at Reviews, References
When you are initially looking into chauffeured transport services, one of the best initial indicators of a company's quality and reliability are the reviews that other customers have given them. Check several established review sites to get a reasonable feel for the quality of the company's services to narrow down the field. At that point, call top contenders and ask if they have references they can provide. Follow up with those references about the service they received, any problems they encountered, and what resolution the limo company provided to solve the issue.

Ask Other Event Planners
Your professional network indubitably includes at least a few trustworthy event planners who work or have worked in your city. Reach out to this network and ask them for their experiences with local limousine companies. They may have a very different perspective from other limousine clientele, which can give you insight into how they will work with your events.

Arrange an Interview
Once you've narrowed the field to a small handful of limousine companies you might consider recommending to your clients, you should arrange an interview with management. Considering the volume of business you will bring to their company, management should have no issues with speaking with you. Prepare a set of questions for them to answer, either in person or over email. Be sure to ask follow up questions to be certain you understand exactly how they operate. Problem solving should be an emphasis during this interview.

Go for a Ride
At this point, it's time to test the product itself. Arrange to have a limousine pick you up for a schedule similar to one of the events you would plan. If you plan weddings, consider having the limo around all day to account for bridal hair appointments, dressing, pictures, ceremony, reception, and send-off. Make it fit in with your life by using the service to run errands or to take your friends out for a fun filled day. Be sure to pay attention to the chauffeur's professionalism, punctuality, availability, and flexibility to changing announced plans. Events, especially large ones, can be hectic, so understanding how the company's employees handle change is essential.

Keep Evaluating
After going on a few ride-alongs, you will probably have a top candidate or two in mind and feel confident with recommending them to your clients. However, you cannot rest on your laurels at this point. Be vigilant about how your recommended limo company treats your clients and how your clients feel about their services. Send clients follow-up questionnaires specifically regarding the transportation services they received. Be certain to address any issues your clients have with both the clients and the chauffeured transport company. Your efforts will be rewarded with loyal clients and the assurance that you can recommend the best limo company in town.

Wedding Planning Committee of Friends - Their Roles and Selections

A Social event contriver can support you in taking charge of the events but you may still demand your friends around at some point in this time. You sure need a committee of friends for your wedding here. This can be made up of your very close acquaintances that would support you to have a remarkable wedding.

To start a committee of friends for your wedding, name your closest friends in a list. Communicate to each of your friends that you are counting on them to make your wedding day worth remembering. As a member of a social organization, you may not find it hard to get other members to become members of your committee of friends.

Before you conclude on engaging a committee of friends for your marriage ceremony, you need to determine what purpose they will play in the wedding. The wedding concept you have will influence the duties of your friends.

You may decide to set up your wedding planning committee of friends to assist you in the following areas: Assist you with finance, decorate the wedding for you, provide supplies needed, joining the bridal group in uniform and engaging in other necessary activity. It is important to note that your committee of friends is a potential wedding and event planner for you.

However, you do not have to rely on a committee of friends completely because they may disappoint you. What I have in mind is that there are some times when our human efforts cannot take care of certain undesirable events in our lives. Apologies could be made by your friends in the course of the wedding preparations.

Hence, you must have an alternative plan for successful wedding.

The Benefits of an Executive Limo

If you're an executive who is trying to decide if you should hire an executive limo service, read this article to learn about the benefits and quality service you should expect to receive as a result of employing a professional corporate transportation service.

The Benefits of Professional Chauffeur Service

Not only will hiring a professional chauffeur service make traveling to corporate events more comfortable; it will also bring a number of additional benefits to your company as well. Some of these benefits include:

• Comfortable Client Travel: If your clients are traveling with you, choosing an experienced corporate transportation service can ensure that they have a positive travel experience from beginning to end, and leave the event impressed with your professionalism.



• Nationwide Transportation: Many companies can provide executives with transportation services nationwide, which makes corporate travel scheduling less daunting and allows you to know what to expect prior to each trip.



• Qualified Chauffeurs: The majority of corporate transportation companies employ only those chauffeurs who are familiar with the area to ensure your travel plans are not ruined as a result of getting lost or being late to an event.



• Specialized Service:Employing an executive limo service that handles transportation to corporate events exclusively - as opposed to an average limo company that also handles party and wedding transportation - ensures that your chauffeur is qualified to meet the unique needs of executive clientele.



• Stellar First Impression:Arriving to corporate events in an executive limo will allow you to make a good impression on the clients with whom you are meeting.

The Qualities of an Excellent Executive Limo Service

After deciding to hire a professional chauffeur service, there are several qualities you can look for to determine if the transportation company you've hired will provide you with the best possible service. These qualities include:

• Availability: The company allows for flexible scheduling in case you encounter a change of plans or have to adjust your schedule.



• Chauffeur Appearance:Your chauffeur is polite, polished, and meets all standards set by the National Safety Council (NSC).



• Courteous Service:When you contact the company the operator addresses your concerns in a knowledgeable and friendly manner.



• Experience:Find a company that has been in business for a while. These companies are going to be more familiar with the area, allowing you to avoid getting lost or being late.



• Promptness:The chauffeur arrives on time and safely transports you to your corporate event in a comfortable and worry-free manner.

Vehicle Appearance:Your executive limo is clean and offers all of the amenities you requested (cellular phone service, elegant upholstery and interiors, etc.).

Event Management Guidelines

Events are our presentation to the world; it tells everyone who we are. Undermining such a fact would affect us dramatically, in this article I will take you through the general steps of how to plan for your own event. For a better understanding I will be using an example, an awards night event.

Planning an event involves 2 stages: Purpose and Process. These stages will affect the whole event going forward.

Purpose: why are you having this event? what are your goals? What do you want your guests to get out of the event? Who will attend it?. Here you need to know the why, is this a private event or public, birthday party or corporate event or a concert, casual or formal!!! Out of that you will know what kind of guests you will have. Here it will be good to use some of your imagination to visualize the event. For example a birthday party can be a casual party where guests can come in shorts, or even formal if it was for a VIP like company CEO. Within our example of the awards night, the purpose is clearer, this is about honoring some guests, and this will be a formal event. But is it international or national event?

When you identify the purpose, you need to specify a starting budget, be reasonable of course. If you have done this before you know some information but if you haven't and you are an earth living human being, go back to the purpose and try to imagine a cost and have an open mind, as it might grow or reduce. Within our awards night, this is a formal event so your budget should include the venue, event setup, awards, event contents... etc. if we are talking about 300 pax your event cost will range between at least USD 100,000 within a 5 stars hotel for a local event to up to few millions if this is an international event.

Now comes the process, this is how you will want this event to come to life, here you have to choose a role, do you want to enjoy it or run all over the place when a small thing is missing like more water is required? Do you want to manage it or operate it? Within our example you will need to hire an event management company to bring your event to life. You also might need to hire a PR company and a Media company.
The purpose of your event will show you the way, the process is your ride on the way to reach your target.

As we know now how to proceed, you need to avoid two common mistakes.

First, based on the size and purpose of your event, do not undermine the size of the task in hand, if you are not an event professional with experience in the field, do not think it is an easy job, this is your presentation, you do not design your cloth, you shop for it. You will need to hire an event management company.

Second, some people would hire 2 or more than one company to execute one event, although I would not recommend this at any level, but if you do so, you will need to identify a company to be the manager of the event and it would be a good advice if their role is only managing the event and nothing more.

These are the Event Planning Guidelines and the common mistakes to avoid.

Managing a Successful Charity Golf Tournament

There is no debating the fact that golf is playing a much more significant role in the business world today. Whether its for entertaining clients, networking, team building, or providing the perfect environment for closing that deal, more and more business is getting done on the golf course.

Another important role golf plays is to raise funds for a charitable cause. In fact, according to the National Association of Golf Tournament Directors, approximately 35,000 charity golf events are held annually in the U.S.; raising over $250 million for various charitable causes and non-profit organizations. That is a lot of golf tournaments! And chances are, you have or will either be asked to produce one of these golf events or sit on a tournament committee that will oversee the event and be charged with the task of raising the sponsor dollars necessary for meeting the financial goals of the event.

Staging a successful charity golf tournament presents many companies and individuals with numerous planning and organizational challenges. The time required to plan, organize and produce this type of event can become overwhelming. For example, a one-day charity golf event often requires over 100 man hours just to produce! And that is just for the activities that take place the day of the event. When you add the time for planning, meetings, etc. the total invested to stage that tournament can exceed 1,000 hours.

As you prepare to tackle the challenges of producing a flawless charity golf event, consider the following tips for success. (Please note: unlike all the magazines and videos out there, these tips are not intended to improve your golf swing or your short game, but will help improve your peace of mind, the result of effectively managing a successful golf event).

The Tee Shot - Getting Your Event "In Play"

* Clearly define roles and responsibilities of all parties - including the Tournament Committee, Committee Chair, the charity or beneficiary, the golf course, and the project leader - and ensure that proper and effective communication is in place, including a regular meeting schedule

* Make sure your Committee Chair is energized about his/her role and that he/she will effectively lead the Committee through its primary task of raising money through the sale of sponsorships for the event. If your Committee Chair is not committed, its likely your Committee members won't be either

* Set a realistic, achievable goal for the event that everyone buys into. If the event raised $25,000 last year, can it raise $30,000 this year?

* Establish realistic sponsor levels and benefits that will be perceived as having value. Think about how your sponsor can activate their sponsorship at the event beyond just logo presence. Can they sample their products at the event? Put an item in your gift bag for the golfers? Will they be recognized in all tournament materials? Will a sponsor representative be permitted to speak or be recognized at your reception?

The Approach Shot - Differentiation

There are lots of charity golf events taking place on an annual basis, which means numerous requests are being made to the business community for time and financial contributions. How will you differentiate your event and, if it is an annual event, keep it "fresh" and top of mind with your current sponsors and potential new sponsors? How will you win the competition for that sponsorship dollar? Consider the following:

* Your venue. People like to play on golf courses they normally would not have the opportunity to visit. Like private country clubs. The more exclusive and prestigious the course, the more likely you have given a potential sponsor, usually an avid golfer, motivation to want to participate. Also, chances are that one of your tournament committee members might have a country club membership or know someone who does.

* Your event communications. How are you communicating to your target audience today and promoting your event? Are your invitations and your collateral compelling? Is there a call to action? Are you sending your event information out far enough in advance so your current sponsors can allocate budget dollars sooner rather than later? Are you effectively utilizing the web, with a dedicated site for your event, and perhaps creatively using tools like Facebook and Twitter to promote your event in your local market? Are you offering online registration and follow-up information?

* Your gift bag. Are the items you offer in your gift bag going to be perceived as delivering value to your golfers? Are they high-quality items? Or did you go with lesser-quality items to save a few dollars on the expense line? Don't underestimate the power of a high-quality gift bag that your players will talk about long after the event is over. It can be a wonderful selling tool for next year's event.

* Incremental revenue-producing opportunities. Think about ways to generate additional revenue at your event, delivered in a fun and entertaining manner, that could result in a bigger check presented to your charity at the end of the event. Consider selling mulligans to your foursomes at $25 each. Or how about staging a live or silent auction? You have a captive audience at your reception at the event, waiting to see who won the various golfing contests as well as the tournament. An auction, staged in an entertaining, energetic way with unique items, memorabilia and experiences, could generate an extra $5,000 - $25,000 for your charity golf event.

The 19th Hole - Reviewing Your Round

We've all dissected our round of golf afterwards in the clubhouse at the "19th hole" with our playing partners and our favorite beverage. Are you the person at the table who is lamenting your sliced tee shots and poor putting? Or the one who is celebrating the two-dollar Nassau you won thanks to excellent course management?

Once your event is over, your 19th hole assessment should include the following:

* Were you, your management, the Committee and charity/beneficiary please with the results? Was the financial goal met? If not, why not?

* How did things go at the golf course - the registration process, the on-course signage, the flow of the round, and the food and beverage? Did you meet your players' needs and requests? Did you have a sufficient number of volunteers to help manage all the details?

* Were your expectations met? Were the results worth the hundreds of hours you and your team put into planning and executing the event?

As you think about last year's event or begin anticipating (or dreading) planning an event this year, there is an alternative. You may want to consider the option of outsourcing. More and more today, many businesses, charities and foundations are moving toward the concept of outsourcing their golf events. Contracting with experts who will manage all or some of the details will ensure that your event will be professionally planned, organized and produced while meeting your goals and objectives.

Phil Mickelson doesn't win all those tournaments alone, just based on his skill and determination. His caddie plays an important role by knowing the layout of each course, and making club recommendations based on experience and Phil's game. You might want to think about having the right experience and support by your side before you take "the first tee" and begin producing your next charity golf event.

Organize Successful Alumni Get Together With Online Event Management Solutions

You may have left your school or college long back, but it is always great to get reconnected with your school friends in some way or the other. School reunion parties offer a scope to meet with your ex-classmates. You can always arrange such an event with the help of an online event management solution.

Benefits of the web-based event management solution are many. Some of them have been discussed below.

Cloud-based Solution - A Cloud-based event management solution can be accessed from any part of the world and at anytime. You just need to have a computer with an internet connection to start reaping the benefits of this solution.

No Software or Hardware Required - You don't need to buy any software or hardware to use the Cloud-based event management services. No installation, maintenance charge, and downloading is needed.

Online Registration - Event attendees are expected to get multiple online registration pages to view and update their profiles. The registration pages are available 24x7 and can be accessed from wherever you wish with the help of a computer connected to the internet. Moreover, event organizers can customize the registration pages, as and when required, for promotional purposes.

Secure Payment Options - The online event administrative services provide you with safe and secure PCI-compliant payment system. From collecting dues and donations in fundraising events to processing general admission fees for the reunion, all can be done easily with this online payment system. Attendees can pay using their credit cards, checks, or through other standard getaways, such as PayPal and others.

Building a Private Community - You can set up a private community with the help of an integrated, highly scalable platform. It provides an extremely convenient space for communicating and sharing event-related information with your members. In addition, event planners can integrate online event and payment management with this private community platform.

Private community solution also comes with a host of social and enterprise networking elements. Alumni organizers can inform and update their members about various events using Facebook, Twitter, and smartphones.

In addition to the above features, the web-based event management solution also provides excellent lead retrieval services for the organizers of programs of all sizes. Lead retrieval services help to capture contact information of all attendees visiting your virtual booth. You can then scan the attendee name badges to measure results against ticket sales or event objectives. The lead retrieval solution promises higher ROI, as you get to know more about your event attendees. Lead information automatically gets stored in emails, printed reports, electronic data on disc, and more.

Advantages of Using Event Management Software

A leading provider of Event Management Software conducted a survey in which he asked about preferred tool for managing and planning their events to UK based event managers. The mostly tool was event management software with 67% of votes. Spreadsheets are used for managing events. They can Create, manage lists, track budgets and monitor resources with the help of spreadsheets. The cost of spreadsheets is low. Most of them are accepted document format. They cannot decide to use spreadsheets as their main tool. Because there are very much limitations of spreadsheets as compared to Event management software. Limitations are:

Poor efficiency: It is not an effective method to managing events. they have to use and hold many different spreadsheets, all with dozens of tabs, a huge amount of data. It will be difficult for others to manage all the data within spreadsheets and it will take more time.

Data can be lost: When the data is stored in hard drive of computer, there is a risk of lost all the data if some happens to that computer or laptop. In spreadsheets all the events or records are saved on a regular basis, so there is a high risk that data and work will be lost.

Updating issue: There are multiple event managers for many events. They all are used same spreadsheets to manage their events and data. When they are going to update their spreadsheets without informing the others, there will be creating problems to others. When they work on a copy of the master spreadsheet, it will be out of date. They cannot use same spreadsheet at same time. Because only one spreadsheet copy can be opened for editing, others can only read it.

Hard to create reports to measure success: The ability of Event management tool is to analyze event which can analyze the performance of event which makes it successful. But it is difficult task by the use of spreadsheets. On spreadsheets, we can create charts and graphs easily but the sorting of data can be complicated and it can take more time as compare to others. The performance of event is dismissed by the use of spreadsheets.

Event Planning Strategies - Learning to Be Successful

Have you ever been to a best event and wondered what goes on behind the scenes? Ever notice how the best event looks effortless? The truth is there's nothing magical about putting on a well-run professional gathering. Each event is different, but there are some similarities in the way you can approach the planning process. Follow these tips to help you plan and organize that special day.

Plan in advance
Planning is important part of your community event. So, start planning at least 4-6 months prior to your actual event. Develop methods to evaluate the event's success. Don't wait until the last minute to set-up your space.

Getting the right people involved
Check your event staff against this profile:

• The staff should have a positive attitude.


• They enjoy interacting with different groups.


• The staff should be quite attentive to pick up non verbal behavior.


• They should be well aware about the product.

Handle different tasks at a time
Since you are organizing an event, you should be taking care of multiple tasks at one time. You should be able to hold all your plans moving forward towards the big day

Budgeting
Create a budget, which contains revenue such as sponsorship and expenses such as permits, publicity, printing, hiring resources, etc.

Marketing
Given that each market segment has different needs; your marketing strategy will vary depending on the market segment that you cater. Different marketing techniques are networking, word-or-mouth or advertising through local newspaper. You can also promote through website to internet savvy customers.

Control the Big Day
Last but not the least; everything can go wrong if this matter is not regarded carefully in advance.

• Staffing: You should have a list of potential back fill candidates who are ready to participate in case of shortage in staff.


• Weather: If outdoor activities, then be prepared to use tents for activities.

Finally, it is important to remember to celebrate your successes and to thank all those who contributed.

Become a Top Wedding Planner - 3 FAQs About Wedding Planner Certification Courses

You don't need a wedding planner certification to work as a professional planner or to have a wedding planning business. However, if you have very little expertise and experience with planning weddings, or if you are finding that brides in your target market are asking if you are certified, then not hiring you because you are not, you definitely want to consider investing the time and money into completing a program.

Many potential clients like to hire planners who have certificates and degrees in their profession. They feel more comfortable with someone who has taken the time to get formally educated.

Here are answers to 3 questions about certification:

1. Will I need to get my high school diploma or GED to begin wedding planner certification classes?

Some certificate programs are part of a community college or online school and would ask you to show a high school diploma or proof that you passed a GED exam. If you are getting a certificate from a local wedding planner or a wedding and event planner association, you may not need to have graduated from high school but you should definitely ask what their requirements are.

Personally, I feel that it is important to complete your high school education. You need to have good oral and written communication skills, be able to do some bookkeeping, understand contracts, and be familiar with art and design so you can understand a bride's vision. Completing high school will give you some of these skills or at least point you in the direction in which you can learn more on your own.

Also, if you ever want to start by working for another wedding planner, caterer, or florist to get some experience with weddings, chances are good they will want at least a high school graduate.

2. Prices for wedding planning courses range from $500 to $2000 or more. There are 6 week, 12 week, 6 month and 12 month courses. How do I decide what to take?

Assess the knowledge and skills you currently have. Decide what you still need to know in order to be a great wedding planner and a successful business person. Then select some offline and online programs that you can afford and thoroughly read through their descriptions to find ones that can meet your needs. (Be careful about spending more money than you can reasonably afford.)

Don't be afraid to call a school or association to ask about their curriculum, teachers, the level of support that they offer when you have questions and the success rate of their former graduates. You also might want to search for comments about them on the Internet to make sure they are reputable and don't have a lot of complaints against them.

Before you sign up you should also be sure you have the commitment it takes to complete the course within the time frame they require. It's a waste of time, money, and energy for you to start something you will not finish.

3. Does a school help me network or market myself after I complete training?

Generally, no. The programs usually train you in the basics of setting up a business and planning weddings. It is up to you to figure out where to keep learning more to increase your knowledge, get the experience you need, find places to network and learn how to market your business.

If the training is from a wedding or event planner association, they may offer you membership in their organization for a few months as part of your course fee. If so, you will have access to the list of planners and vendors who are also members and be able to attend local meetings and conferences where you can meet others.

No one school or program is perfect for everyone. If you feel you need to get a wedding planner certification, do some research before investing your money and remember, a certification is not a guarantee that more brides will hire you. You need continue to study, get experience, keep up with wedding trends, and take the time to market your business to get all of the clients that you want.

Will Group Facilitation Improve the Management of Outsourced Talent?

No two groups function the same - this common piece of wisdom is on display every day in business environments. While some groups have members whose strengths and weaknesses perfectly complement one another, most groups are less harmonious and are unable to work together efficiently. Organizational leaders justify spending money to improve the way a group functions because the ability of a group to work together as a team is critical to the company's success. One great way to do this is through a process called group facilitation. This process aims to improve the way employees, organizational leaders, and consultants work together to tackle problems. An additional resource that helps improve group functionality is consulting skills training, which helps the organization's consultants do a better job of understanding the organization's needs and working with employees to identify and implement new strategies. This article will take a look at the two processes and explain how each one helps the organization foster group harmony.

Group Facilitation

This type of facilitation aims to help members of a group work together more effectively. One way to do this is by making it easier for thoughtful discourse to take place. A group facilitation expert will create an agenda before a gathering so that he or she can guide the group to discussing specific topics that are important to the company's success. When managing a group, the facilitator will also need to manage the individuals. He or she must make sure that one individual is not dominating the conversation by asking for input from individuals who are too shy to volunteer opinions on their own. Additionally, the group facilitation specialist will have to work through personality conflicts by giving each affected individual a chance to speak and suggest ways to work past personal conflicts without injecting personal bias into the mediation process. By managing the individuals within the group, the group facilitation expert will improve that group's ability to function at a high level moving forward.

Consulting Skills Training

When companies need advice or want to develop strategies by gaining an outside perspective, they will bring in a consultant. A consultant who has gone through consulting skills training will: be better prepared to set and manage expectations, communicate effectively with team members, and deal with setting targets. Consultants also learn how to more effectively communicate with clients, by learning how to deal with resistance from clients and even how to give feedback to employees. Since the most important factor in teamwork is effective communication, companies will find that teams composed of employees and consultants work together more efficiently when consultants have completed consulting skills training.

An efficient team is a competitive advantage for a company, even if that team is made up of a combination of employees and consultants. Investing in employees by providing them with group facilitation, and investing in consultants with consulting skills training will help these groups be more productive. Organizations that want employees to work well together and be more productive should reach out to a leadership training organization for facilitation and training options.

Choosing a Party Planning Checklist

Choosing a party planning checklist will naturally be based upon the kind of function you plan on throwing. Your event planner will want to know exactly what your theme, budget and likes are in order to create a custom party planning checklist based on your individual needs. However, if you are planning on doing the organising by yourself, then you will have to do more than just buy party decorations - you will have your plate full with the intricacies of organising a fun and entertaining bash for yourself. If you do go it alone, then your party planning checklist will have to be a very good one.

It is not necessary to wrack your brain trying to think of everything that needs to get done so that your function is a success. You can always pick up a ready-made party planning checklist that will guide you through the process in a step-by-step way. Each party planning checklist is made out for specific events. Although most parties will have features in common, depending on the occasion, the actual content of each event will differ. For instance, the music, decorations and catering will be radically different for a six-year old's birthday party from that of a bridal shower. Knowing the right items to look for and to buy can easily be forgotten in our rush to get the party planned properly. However, with a party planning checklist you will not have to worry that you might forget to buy the party decorations.

Even your event planner will make use of a checklist to stay on track and under budget. However, event planners tend to make up their own party checklists that run on for pages and are broken down into several categories that most regular folks may never need when organising their own party. An event planner checklist is a professional grade list that is mostly used by people who have to track several events at once.

When it comes to your own party planning checklist, make sure that you choose the right one. Find a checklist that suits your purpose. Next make sure that the party planning checklist you choose has all of the major event categories listed on it including: venue, food/drink, music, guest list. As long as you have the basic categories on your checklist, you can then modify it to suit your particular needs. However, you can also find complete party planning checklists that are already made up for you and to which you do not need to add anything.

Throwing a party is a fun affair. It is not only fun for your guests, but it can be a wonderful time for you as well. Parties are creative endeavours where you get to show your family and friends just how much you care for them by how much thought you have put into your preparations. Naturally, planning the perfect party does take time and that is why breaking your tasks down using a list is the best way to stay on target with your vision for your party.

Event Planning and Organizing Firms for Better Event Execution

If you have global clients and you want to impress them with high-profile entertainment value and the highest level of hospitality, then you must seek an event management company for your next event. They can make an event worth remembering and fulfill the desires of your clients on various levels. These companies have extraordinary managerial capabilities to treat and greet your delegates and clients and push your brand reputation to the horizon. They apply their skills, creativity and knowledge to maintain your client's interest and entertain them.

So, in order to make your event inspiring and inviting, you must hire an event management company. They can arrange all the essential things for your event, regardless of its nature like corporate conference, award ceremony, or purely an entertainment event. They apply their expert knowledge to foster better relationship between clients and the company. Every industry and every client is different however the best results can be achieved through exceptional skills, execution style, experience and the way of thinking. Corporate event planners work to establish intimate links to your customers' needs and desires.

Event Planning and organizing firms offer all the services related to your event. Indeed, they help in the minute activities and extend their help in:

• Designing and managing a program to meet the needs of the companies including venue, menu, program selection, budget allocation as well as campaign monitoring.


• Provide complete support material training sessions to keep pace with the growing trends.


• Providing corporate event ideas and creative plans


• Deliver a high voltage welcome for the clients, delegates and employees


• Created a range of interesting and alternative activities


• Arrangement for interior and exterior d矇cor, lighting & audiovisual, auto cad planning, technical requirements, equipment strategies, staffing solutions, corporate, private & non-profit events, business meetings


• Produce an informal conference as an integral part

Moreover, professional event planning and management companies provide expert services and provide you services for handling different types of corporate events, weddings, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, expositions, trade shows, etc.

Event planners can plan and organize the events and in fact, help in stretching out the theme for the event as per the needs. They have a talented team of professional planners, managers and decorators who have knowledge in every facet of event management. They know that any event whether it is a birthday party or a conference event are important and stressful. With that in mind, they make sure that nothing is left to chance to avoid any unwanted surprises!

Wedding DJ Vs Event Planners

To understand the question "Can a DJ be an event planner?" you must first understand the overall theme of a wedding. The overall theme is to plan a perfect wedding. In the 1950's the brides didn't work, they didn't have a Facebook, MySpace account or better yet even a computer. Your typical bride was lucky to have a television that worked. All she did was cook and clean the house for her working husband. She can cook and clean the entire house in 4 hours max and still plan the perfect wedding and honeymoon for herself.

In the 1980's we experienced what some call the Reagan era. Televisions were common in everyone's household. Some households had 2 or 3 televisions. Inflation raised our economy and forced our men and women to work to cover the expenses of the booming technology. The 1980's was considered party years. Some compared the 80's to the Roaring 20's which is remembered as the best party era of all times. Along with the parties came sex, drugs and Rock n Roll. Then it became common for brides and grooms to already have kids before they get married which was contradictory to the brides and grooms in the 50s that waited to be married before they had children. Now we have a bride that has a full-time job, is addicted soap operas and TV shows and has to make sure she cooks and cleans the house. She has to make sure the kids eat, shower and gets to and from school while she helps pay all the bills.

Nowadays, the brides are just as busy if not busier than the men. They do not have the time to plan a wedding ceremony, reception more less her evening. If she does try to plan her wedding it wont be perfect like she planned since a little girl because here mind is exhausted from planning the household facilities. So to play a little part she plans which check she can use from her job to hire an event planner that can only concentrate on her wedding because she is too busy. Here is the problem. The event planner is usually a women that has the same responsibilities as the bride so how can the event planner concentrate only on the brides wedding. She can't!!! What she can do is use her knowledge and experience to take a few months to gather all the bride and grooms needs and make sure all the vendors are in place and able to deliver. This usually works for the most part. The event planner roams back and forth from vendor to vendor as a supervisor. She positions herself behind the DJ booth and reminds the DJ what announcement to make, what songs to play and when using the same written timeline that the DJ already has in his back pocket. You ask yourself. Is an event planner really necessary? I don't know. Maybe just professional vendors on the same page.

In 2010, what was once a theme "The Perfect Wedding", is now an art and happens to be a huge business filled with professionals survive off of producing perfect weddings for brides every weekend. Since 2000 couples get married every weekend in California, you can see how such business can be lucrative. I have another question for you. Is a wedding ever perfect? No, never, no wedding is ever perfect but a professional makes sure that when things do go wrong nobody either notices or cares. Present brides do have Facebook, MySpace, Reality Shows and cell phone habits that doesn't even leave them enough time to take a chance on an event planner. Our brides today are planning the wedding themselves, taking the time out of there busy schedule to meet each vendor in person to interview and see who is the best fit for there wedding.

Today this is how it works. In a wedding there are several wedding vendors. A photographer, make up artist, DJ, Florist, Cake and Caters etc. Every vendor has a certain job. The most important job is the Wedding DJ. He runs the music for the ceremony and the reception. When the music or announcement stops then the reception stops. All the other vendors work within the DJ to dot the I's and cross the T's of the event at hand. Although the Caters are important because everyone must eat. The Wedding DJ is working for the bride and groom every second of the wedding from beginning to end.

The bride of today take ample time to select the right DJ organization. She interviews and hires a professional DJ that can not only play music and make announcements but is knowledgeable and has a lot of experience in DJing. A professional that has had success DJing weddings for years. That person becomes the DJ and Event Planner of the entire Wedding. That is how how brides and grooms are saving money on there weddings in this tough economy. Not everybody who is a good wedding DJ can act as a DJ and an event planner. It takes professional DJ's who have been trained by successful organizations to run events, plan them and correct any technicality that my occur in every area of the actual wedding.

A good example of a Wedding DJ company that houses great DJ's that are also used as event planners is Extreeme Entertainment (extreemeentertainment.com). This company has been running for 15 years and has so much business and reoccurring business from happy brides that they are able to provide the best wedding entertainment on the West Coast at prices that are so low they look like a misprint. These company sends out the best wedding DJ's you will see for an average of around $600. These DJ gives the most elaborate announcements, keeps the dance floor busy and plans all the activities in the same show.

I hope I made your outlook on Event Planners VS. Wedding DJ's a little easier. Now it is time to Select your professional Wedding DJ and pick his brain so he can plan great weddings like he does every weekend.

Email Marketing and Event Planners

One way of advertising that fits into even the busiest of schedules and smallest of budgets is email marketing for event planners. Between the affordability of email marketing software and the ease with which it can be managed, distributed and customized, an event planner's email marketing program is a must for everyone in the industry.

When executed correctly, email marketing for event planners will create a domino effect. Those who send out these emails aren't just introducing themselves to the recipient-their services are also being offered to all of that person's friends and family. Each of these messages can be forwarded with the simple click of a button.

Think of email marketing as word of mouth for the Internet era-and an essential component for any person operating a business. Let's face it: everyone's attention spans are shorter these days. No matter how well event planners fare, a client may misplace their phone number or contact information when it comes time to recommending them to someone else. With email marketing, satisfied clients can just search their email for the correct message and forward it along.

The ability to share messages with other people is just one of the many interactive features. Within the body of the email the event planner can include photos from and blurbs about previous parties, client testimonials, a link to the company's website (which of course contains more photos, blurbs and testimonials) as well as a calendar listing future events (without naming the people for whom the party is planned, of course-but it can't hurt the planner to subtly point out how busy he or she is!).

Speaking of the website, it can invite visitors who land there via a web search to type in their email address so that they can receive future messages. The initiative doesn't have to begin at the website, though. It can start simply enough with the planner inviting all potential clients to write down their email address on a clipboard during an introductory meeting or at an event. The implementation of the program is quite easy, as well, and can be handled in a short amount of time.

The demands of doing business in the 21st century require anyone who operates a business to be hustling and thinking of his or her next assignment even while in the midst of the current one. Event planners' email marketing allows these tireless professionals the best of both worlds-concentrating on the task at hand while maximizing the amount of time they have to land new gigs!

The Importance of Hosting Good Corporate Events

Hosting Corporate Events are necessary for every company or brand that wants to maintain a good professional relationship with its clients and delegates. These are the occasions different clients are invited, providing a splendid opportunity to show their appreciation. The corporate events can be of any nature. They might be hosted to mark the yearly profits of the company or the celebration of a good deal with an overseas client or simple a New Year office party. Corporate Events UK has always drawn attention and this is largely due to the presence of good event manager and organizers. You have to remember that sometimes a corporate party becomes more important than you might have imagined since this is where new clients and future prospects are often discussed and so it is essential that all those who are present are impressed.

Corporate events do need a certain degree of careful planning because unlike parties where your glitches will be overlooked by your relatives and friends, a corporate event displays your company and an unorganized event would definitely be a negative point. Somehow, one aspect gets to overlap with the other and if the event is not hosted many may deduct that the company too might be unorganized. Your event may not have a lot of glamour and you might do away with all the extra flashiness if you think that it is not your style, but the little that you do should have its own class and sophistication. Good food and wine, good music and good entertainment- these three are the basic pre- requisites of a good corporate event and if you can manage them successfully, then you do not have to worry about the rest.

Everyone loves his driving days, so you can include mock driving races as team building games too. Corporate events are also the time to show your appreciation and regards to your employees who always stand by you and who work for you. Without them, your company would not be what it is. You can give away some good corporate gifts to them. You can be sure that they will be thrilled. As an employer, you can also use this opportunity to know your employees better and this will definitely improve the professional relationship. In addition, you will gain the benefits in times of need when everyone on the organization stand together to fight a crisis.

The budget is of course a factor when you think of hosting a big event but there are so many good event managers around that they can organize a good event in any budget. They also offer packages to choose from and so even small companies can organize their own events. A little bit of careful planning, is all that is required to make your mark in the competitive business world and get your company noticed.

The Benefits of a Wedding Planner

"Do I Really Need A Wedding Planner?"

That's a question many brides ask themselves. In the past, wedding planners were thought of as an extravagant "extra", meant only for the wealthy. Today a wedding planner has become more of a necessity. Many couples are so busy with work and other aspects of life that they need someone to help them plan their special day. A wedding planner can ease your stress and also save your sanity! Using one will allow you to enjoy the engagement period leading up to the wedding day.

There are many reasons to use a full service wedding planner, or at a minimum, a day-of coordinator. Here are just a few of those reasons:

Day-of coordinator - so you can enjoy the day...not work it!!!

A day-of coordinator is an invaluable asset to your event. You've done all of the planning up to this point and want to enjoy it. Without her, you will end up working at your wedding!

A Day-Of Coordinator will...

Be there to direct the rehearsal so that the bride and groom know what to do and when to do it, the bridesmaids and groomsmen know their duties, the parents know when to walk down the aisle, and the ushers know who to seat and where.

Confirm with all vendors the week before the wedding to make sure they know where to be and when to be there, and to confirm any outstanding balance. The coordinator will often deliver the final payments to vendors on the wedding day.

Keep a list of all vendor contacts and phone numbers in case of emergency (for example...the cake is to be there at 1:00 and it's 1:30 and no cake...it's happened).

Create schedules for everyone to keep the day running smoothly and on time:

-Bridesmaids: when to be at the hairdresser to get their hair/make-up done

-Groomsmen: when they need to be dressed so they can have pre-ceremony pictures taken

-Parents: when to be lined up at the back of the church/room

-Vendors: so they know the order of the day

Create a detailed timeline of events for the day so the DJ/band know when to start the dances (first dance, Father/Daughter dance, Mother/Son dance, etc.), when to do the cake cutting, and more. She will let the DJ/band know what songs you definitely want played - and those you don't (like the Chicken Dance).

Let the DJ/band know the order to announce the bridal party and how to pronounce all names correctly. Nobody wants to be announced at a wedding reception with a mangled pronunciation of their name!

Help pin on boutonnieres and corsages, which is an often missed detail. Minutes before the wedding everyone is running around scrambling to pin them on! The coordinator will ensure that boutonnieres and corsages go on the left lapel or wrist (because that is closest to your heart).

Keep a copy of the seating chart and assist people who can't find their tables.

Keep a copy of the photo list to make sure that the photographer doesn't miss any must-have pictures. And speaking of photos... she will make sure that the necessary people stick around after the ceremony to get their pictures taken. You'd be surprised how often people wander off and can't be found for a picture!

Have on hand a wedding day emergency kit containing things you would never think of (like WD40 - you'd be surprised by all it does), sewing kit (in case of rips or tears), oil blotters (for that shiny face) and much, much more!

Please note: many couples think that since their reception venue has a wedding coordinator that they don't need to hire one. The venue coordinator is a great asset to have, after all, the more people working on your wedding the better! However, when you hire your own day-of coordinator she will work with ALL of your vendors, she will work out the timeline for the day's events, as well as work out the logistics for what you want. She will be at the rehearsal to direct everyone. She'll be your go to person for anything you need on your special day.

Full service wedding planner - so you can enjoy the engagement period!

Wouldn't you like to enjoy the time leading up to the "big day"? A full service wedding planner will allow you to relax by helping with every aspect of your wedding. In addition to all of the things a day-of coordinator does, she has existing relationships with vendors, from photographers to florists and more. She knows who's good and who isn't. Choosing vendors that your planner has built relationships with will save you time. She already knows the quality of vendors and won't direct you to someone who does poor work.

A Full-Service Wedding Planner will...

Help you create a budget. Who knows better how much wedding vendors and items cost than a professional planner?

Save you money. She often has a network of vendors and can get you discounts or freebies added to the contract. The wedding planner represents your best interests.

Negotiate with vendors. Many people are not comfortable with "haggling". Wedding planners are; that's their job. They will negotiate with vendors to get you the best pricing and deal possible.

Have access to a wealth of knowledge and creativity. She has planned other weddings, read tons of bridal books and magazines, taken planning courses, knows what works and what doesn't.

Give advice on etiquette. This would include how to word invitations and place cards, how to seat people, and more.

Be up to date on current style trends. Wedding planners are often fashion "addicts," staying current on style trends. They can give you ideas on colors, favors, place cards, flowers and more. Whether you want a very unique wedding or a more traditional wedding, your planner can give you ideas and show you how to make it one that people will remember for years to come.

Act as your advocate, counselor and friend. She will be there to give you advice, she will listen when you need to vent about the parents insisting you invite all of their friends (it will happen), when you and your fiance argue about the centerpieces, or when your bridesmaids decide they don't like the dresses you pick...

It's worth repeating: a wedding planner can ease your stress and save your sanity! You will find this service an invaluable asset to have when planning - and enjoying - your wedding.

How to Reap the Awards from Corporate Events

Holding a successful corporate event can have many benefits, from the obvious, such as team building and problem solving, to the not so obvious, such as increased productivity and morale. But what is the best way to go about this sometimes daunting task?

Define your goals, e.g. team building.

Before you think about the event itself, you need to identify what you want to achieve from it. You may want to reward your employees for a job well done, or perhaps have a fun day to increase staff motivation. Many events are designed to enhance skills such as team building, problem solving or leadership, and most events can be a combination of fun and learning. Compile a list of goals in order of importance so you can stay focussed on the aims of the day when deciding which event to run.

Organise internally or out-source to an event management company?

The next decision to make is whether to organise the event internally or to out-source the event to an event management or training company. Organising a corporate event internally is time consuming and costly, but it could be given as a development task to suitable staff. One of the pitfalls of organising corporate events yourself, is using an inexperienced facilitator, as they may not be capable of keeping the event on track or preventing things getting out of hand. Not only could an event management company provide an experienced facilitator, there is also the advantage of having an independent presence (or referee in some instances).

Many companies have been shocked at the amount of time organising an event actually takes, from designing the event, sourcing the venue, booking the venue, sourcing and organising the equipment, preparing the venue, sorting out transport, organising the food and refreshments and obtaining public liability insurance, to paying the bills to various companies. An event management company will quote you one price covering everything, which leaves you free to enjoy the event, rather than worry about it.

Choose your event

So you know what you want from an event, and you know who will be organising it, but what exactly will you be doing on the day? The event needs to be chosen carefully to ensure you meet your desired goals whilst getting the most from the participants. Consider your audience. If one of your goals is to give people new experiences then you may want to run a very creative event for IT people or a chaotic event for auditors, but otherwise you may not get the best out of the staff if they are feeling way out of their depth and uncomfortable. Event management companies will offer a list of events to suit your goals and people, leaving you to choose the most appropriate one. They will also tailor events to your requirements, and will have run these events many times before, so you can be sure of the outcome.

If you are organising the event yourself, you need to ensure it does actually give you the required benefits. It is all too easy to get carried away with an idea, and later realise it changed so much that the event did not achieve many of the original goals. If you are organising it internally, you will also need a practice run, preferably at the actual venue, to iron out any practical problems before the big day.

Analyse the outcome

Particularly if the event had goals other than just having fun, it is important to analyse the outcome. You, or the event management company, can obtain feedback from the participants in the form of questionnaires. You also need to consider the less tangible benefits from the event, for example, are the team now gelling better together, is productivity up due to a better team morale, or has sickness reduced? Think about what you can learn from the feedback, such as understanding your staff better, making changes to the workplace/procedures, or shaping future events. An event management company will often help with this analysis if required, and even facilitate follow-on sessions if necessary.

Good luck with your event!

Corporate Events to Add Fun to Your Life

You must have heard of corporate events in several companies. Last time it might be on some special occasion, this time for raising fund for charity. Similarly, there are several occasion for which corporate event can be organized. It can be a good way to add some sort of fun to your meetings and conferences.

Corporate events are the planned party time for all executives, whether junior or senior. It can be holiday party or some project related party. One of the great things about them is that employees can bring their spouse and children along with them. It comprises all fun related activities, which bring together all employees. You can interact with your colleagues and peers, a bit away from their professional life.

Benefits of organizing corporate events

• 
  It is an excellent way to win favor with clients.
  


• 
  It helps you in motivating and rewarding them with for their efforts at work.
  


• 
  It helps you to build strong relation with your clients
  


• 
  It relieve stress from the hectic schedule of employees
  


• 
  It adds entertainment to your meetings, conference and all.

Need of corporate event

If you look at some company showing excellent growth, there is a hardworking and dedicated team behind its success. The myriad of advantages of these corporate events have compelled almost all the organization to incorporate this team building strategy. Moreover, they are found to have long term effects. It ensure contented workforce devoted to the company.

Advantages of corporate event

Corporate events bring them together, thus ensuring strong bond of understanding between team members. It indirectly ensures increased productivity, increased profit and competence. All this fun related party activities have collectively resulted in leadership quality, improved morality, better understanding and ability to tackle barriers.

All corporate events are great entertainment providers. They offer realistic experience to employees and develop mutual understanding among them. It empowers members to contribute to common goal. A small such investment over employees can have such a productive results. It's really unbelievable to see its effects over team members. Moreover, all employees participate in corporate events, thus ensuring no status difference. All collectively add lot of fun and entertainment to their life.

How to organize corporate events?

Organizing corporate event or deciding for some wedding function venues is not a problem anymore. You can easily handover these works to some organizer, who takes all the responsibilities of every task to be performed, ranging from starting small decisions to final touch. You can also surf for some online service providers, who make all the arrangements for your convenience.

Three Factors To Consider While Organizing A Food Festival

Are you a restaurateur? Remember, organizing a food festival is an effective strategy you can take to attract customers or foodies to your business. While on one hand you can offer them food prepared by the finest chefs of your restaurant, make them appreciate the quality, and make them your customers; on the other, you can extend your business and make a large number of customers both in your city and from other cities. If you can promote and popularize the event through advertisements and various promotional activities, you may be able to attract international tourists to your festival. So, you can see that a properly organized and planned food festival can really boost up your business and help you to make a large amount of profit. However, before organizing a festival, there are three most important factors that you must consider. A list of those three factors is given below:

• Theme: Before you make any plan, the foremost thing is to decide the theme for the festival. The theme for the occasion can be Thai, Chinese, Indian, or Tibetan. Whatever be the theme you choose, you need to make arrangements for dishes accordingly. In addition to that, you need to decorate you eatery to match with the theme of the festival. You should check whether the props, the decorations, and the ambience are perfectly suited to the theme of the festival.


• Menu: Generally, the restaurants adopt the food culture of particular regions of the world as their themes for such festivals. However, you must remember that there can be more than one staple dish of a region. That is the reason, you need to research well and finalize a menu for the event. While deciding on the dishes, you must make it a point to check whether those are popular and yet unique choices for such an event.


• Budget: You need to consider your budget before planning such an event. According to your budget, you can organize such an event either in your restaurant or in a club or in a banquet. The number of dishes in the menu card also determines the cost of organizing such a program. In addition to that, you must calculate your finances well and make sure that you are getting a profitable return on investment from the festival.

If you need help or assistance to organize, promote, and manage a food festival, you can always opt for the services of an online event management service provider.

Function Rooms For All Occasions

Function rooms are a great venue to host many types of events. Hotels, Bars and Pubs, reception centre's, galleries, conference centre's and exhibition centre's all have function rooms in which to hold a fully catered event or a corporate event. When choosing the perfect function venue for any type of event one should consider the following to ensure that the select appropriately.

The Occasion is important, as the types of requirements for a one function may not be the same as another. At a corporate events or conference it may be essential for the function room to contain a stage, lighting and sound facilities, projector, microphone, television crews, podium and other amenities. However a wedding on the other hand may require a dance floor, catering facilities, bridal room and a stage for a band or DJ.

It is also important to consider the space in the function room. Can it hold the number of guests attending? The utilization of space is another important consideration, as there are certainly different space requirements for a cocktail function as compared to a sit down banquet. At a corporate event or conference you may need tables for workshops or theatre style seating for lectures and maybe extra space for potential sponsors or exhibitors. The way in which the function room is to be used would definitely determine how much space is needed.

The food at most functions is an important requirement. Whether it is a conference, training session, party or wedding, the food is one of the main highlights. Most function venues have their own in house catering or restaurant. Many have a catering company which also manages the function room or venue. And some have neither but have an on site kitchen which enables you to organize your own outside catering. But before making a decision about any function center ensure that their food meets your standards and that the menu is varied and caters to all dietary requirements.

Always check what the music capabilities are at the function room or venue of your choice. There are some function venues which insist that you use their own in-house DJ's or Bands. There may be some function venues that have sound level restrictions. So you need to ask these questions before organizing your entertainment or music requirements.

Convenience and accessibility is important in order to access the function room or venue. Make that the function venue has ample parking for guests or delegates. Also if the function room is within a larger complex signage or assistance at the reception desk is essential. Some planning on your part may be required when choosing some function rooms.

The different types of events that can be held in a function room include: Corporate Event/ Conferences, Exhibitions, Product Launches, Gala Dinners, Charity Events, Anniversaries, Sporting Events, PR Events, Live Entertainment Events, Debutante Balls, Hens and Buck Parties, Bridal/ Baby Showers, Christmas Parties, Birthday Parties, Engagement Parties, Christenings, Weddings

Good luck when choosing the next function room for your event.

Top Benefits of Using Cutting Edge Event Management Solutions to Manage School Events

Schools organize different events all through the year. From field trips and soccer league to summer camps and reunions, school events are organized on diverse scales and have varied requirements. However, managing these events is no simple task and as an administrator you will be required to multi task extensively to make your school events successful. A convenient option will be to opt for a comprehensive event management solution that can take care of all the critical aspects and contribute in ensuring the success of your event.

With a comprehensive and feature rich solution, you can turn your school event into a roaring success. This is because advanced event management software offers a large number of benefits to event organizers. Some of the key benefits may include the following:

Ease of Registration

Managing attendees is a complex task for event organizers at schools. Not only is this a time consuming process it requires them to allocate resources effectively and delegate work among volunteers. To prevent this problem, you can choose a comprehensive event management software with online registration features. By providing online registration features, you can make it easier for attendees to sign up for the event at the click of the mouse!

24?7 Access to Data

As an event organizer, you will understand the hassles involved in making relevant information available to your registrants. With an advanced event management solution, you can create your event page with complete information about the event. This will make it easier for your attendees to get their queries answered in seconds.

Customizable Registration Pages

Event registration solutions come with several unique features including the option of customizing registration pages as per requirement. With this option, you can add videos, pictures, and more to your registration pages. Moreover, you can allow an unlimited number of registrants to sign up for an event.

Marketing Capabilities

Creating the buzz around your event is essential to draw attendees. Unless you have a proper marketing strategy in place, you will not find it easy to promote your events. Keeping this in mind, most event management solutions are being designed with comprehensive marketing tools to help event planners reach out to their attendees. You can create visually enticing emails to be sent out to your prospective attendees to keep them informed. These feature rich solutions provide several options to choose from. You can therefore compose an interesting email with logos and vibrant colors and also schedule its delivery date.

Reporting Features

To gauge the success of your event, comprehensive event management solutions offer access to a large number of standard reports. Some of the common types of reports offered by these solutions include attendee reports, sales reports and check in reports. By analyzing these reports, you can easily find out if your event was successful or not. Moreover, you can take necessary steps to prevent problems for your upcoming events.

The growing demand for comprehensive event management solutions has prompted many software providers to introduce advanced solutions in the market.

5 Trends From the Last 10 Years for Students in Event Planning Courses

Event planning is a profession that has seen a lot of change and innovation in recent years. Some of the change is linked to change in our culture at large (the omnipresence of gadgets, the new reliance on social media networks), but some of it has to do with the fact that event organisation is a fairly new profession: as such, it is still finding its way, making it a particularly exciting time to be enrolled in event planning courses.

The staples of the curriculum in your event planning courses may change between now and graduation. But here are some recent trends that you may encounter in your classes or in the field.

1. Compostable meal buckets.

Are you contemplating a career organizing large outdoor events such as concerts and music festivals after your event planning courses?

One of this decade's major trends - sustainable event management - will then most likely influence the choices you make after completing your event management courses.

Increasingly, concert and festival organizers want to be able to advertise that their larger scale events are low-carbon or carbon-neutral.

Graduates of event planning courses need to identify service providers that can help meet these goals, including caterers that can provide compostable food in compostable packages.

2. Emphasis on interactive.

If you can learn just one thing in the time that you are enrolled in event management courses, it will probably be the importance of innovation, especially when it comes to engaging guests.

Event organisation professionals are experimenting with such new practices as providing every table with an iPad where guests can help "plan" the event as it progresses, e.g., request a song, order a particular cocktail, change the colour of the lighting, etc. New ideas like this are in such constant evolution that it is hard to say if and when they will make it into event planner courses textbooks. At this rate of innovation, the textbooks themselves may require daily digital updates.

3. Waste-reducing recyclable button badges.

Name tags are just one aspect of event planning that has seen a lot of experimentation in recent years. Increasingly, disposable labels and buttons are a no-no. In your event planning courses, you will learn about the new range of options, including recyclable badges designed to hang from buttons.

4. Welcome bags (swag bags) for out-of-town guests (conferences, weddings)

As with so many things in our culture, event planning often takes inspiration from Hollywood celebs. Enter, the swag bag, aka the goodie bag for adults, containing such treats as restaurant coupons, taxi coupons, moisturizer, breath mints, headache medication, etc. You may learn in your event planning courses to add in place-specific items, e.g., maple candy for out-of-country visitors to Canada.

5. Advice keepsakes for mothers-to-be

In your event planner courses you will learn different ways if involving guests in certain kinds of events. One type of event that you may end up organizing is baby showers. It has become increasingly common over the past ten years to encourage guests to leave written words of advice for the guest of honour. These messages double as a keepsake, long after baby is born.

Many of the tips that you learn in event planning courses will serve more than one purpose, e.g., increasing the feeling of community at an event and serving as a reminder of the event afterwards.

These trends are just the tip of an iceberg in an industry that itself is trending.

Planning Corporate Events for a Healthy Workforce

Corporate events don't have to be about the annual reports, which is good news when many businesses may be finding those reports are less than inspiring. Many businesses are using their budget for these events to encourage their workforce to be healthier. As an event planner you can come up with some truly innovative corporate days, which offer great opportunities for team building and self improvement.

Where many businesses are still feeling the squeeze after the financial crisis, employees are also suffering, with reports of low morale commonplace. Facing pay freezes and a tough jobs market, some employees are unsurprisingly feeling under the weather. This can take its toll not only on productivity, but staff sickness is also likely to go up under times of stress and strain, so a health boost is just what the doctor ordered.

Health and wellbeing

Often, gyms, spas and leisure centres will offer discounts to local businesses. Why not approach local fitness centres to see what deals they can offer to your business? You could ask these companies to speak at your event to promote their services as well as to advise your workforce on a healthy lifestyle.

Local healthcare providers are often happy to run health fairs, offering free cholesterol, weight and blood pressure monitoring for local workers. This could help with the early identification of any medical issues, and also demonstrates to staff that their employer cares about their wellbeing. This could be included as part of a corporate wellbeing day.

Cooking up a treat

In tough financial times, employees may be cutting back, and could be eating less healthily. Why not combine a healthy, yet frugal cookery class with a spot of team building to help your staff work better and eat better.

Team building activities where participants have to learn new skills as well as work in a new environment help to take everyone out of their comfort zone and allow new friendships to form. Working with colleagues on non-work problems allows everyone a degree of freedom to express their ideas. As it is not a work environment there is no fear in 'getting it wrong' as no one is working in their area of expertise. This team challenge should end in a feast where teams get to sample their culinary creations.

Healthy habits for a healthy workforce

Demonstrating healthy, quick and affordable meals as part of a corporate event day is a great way to encourage a good diet. If your team building event includes cooking demonstrations then you can show some quick and easy healthy meals, as well as demonstrating how these compare with quick fix equivalents in terms of both cost and nutritional value.

Feedback and Review

Don't forget that asking for feedback and review is a good way of getting participants to think about what has taken place. Often, review is left until a few weeks after the event, however getting participants to think about how the various objectives of the day were covered actually on the day, will help clarify to them what the purpose of the day was, and appreciate it in the context of self and team improvement.

3 Big Mistakes Companies Make With Business Anniversaries

Thinking about celebrating your business anniversary? Be smart in harnessing the promotional power of this essential marketing strategy. Avoid the three big mistakes companies make in planning and executing corporate anniversary promotional campaigns.

Big Mistake #1: Celebrating Without "Sell"-abrating:

Throwing a party is one way of celebrating a corporate anniversary. However, a more strategic approach positions products and services within the context of the anniversary. As a result, the occasion becomes a "sell"-abration, contributing directly to the company's future success.

Smart companies celebrate and "sell"-abrate by creating an anniversary-year theme, developing a branding message for key stakeholders and executing promotional strategies that communicate the anniversary-year message. Here's how this works for a company marking its 3rd anniversary, the symbol of which is Star.

One theme this symbol evokes is Hollywood. The branding message this theme suggests is "You're the Star on Our Red Carpet," which can be communicated in these ways:

• For current and former customers, the company hosts a Hollywood-style open house complete with a red carpet and chocolate statuette awards as thank-you gifts. New products or services are debuted in a "Coming Attractions" video.


• For prospective customers, the company delivers star-shaped novelty containers filled with foil-wrapped chocolates with attached notes stating "We Can Make You a Star!" Sending gift certificates for three bundled products or services is an extra-special touch for A-list prospects.


• For employees, the company rents a local theater and invites staff and their families to attend a free "Movie and Popcorn Night." As part of the festivities, outstanding employees are recognized with "Star Performer" awards.

Big Mistake #2: Waiting Too Long:

Some companies celebrate their business anniversaries on a single day; other companies celebrate their business anniversaries all year. Transforming a business anniversary into a "sell"-abration takes advanced planning. Devote at least 3 to 6 months to preparing for a single-day "sell"-abration and at least 12 months to preparing for a yearlong "sell"-abration that launches in January and concludes in December.

Each milestone anniversary happens only once in the lifetime of a business. Companies that wait too long to plan squander the promotional opportunities the anniversary offers. Procrastinators then face crunch time -- trying to do something for the business anniversary before the clock runs out on the anniversary year.

If time is short yet you still want to do something, keep it simple.For example, send handwritten thank-you notes to customers, expressing appreciation for their loyalty over the years. A modest, easy-to-execute customer appreciation initiative is better than doing nothing at all. Just don't expect the same results that a business anniversary promotional campaign would yield with sufficient lead time for strategic planning and execution.

Big Mistake #3: Delegating Anniversary Arrangements to Staff:

Like the sails on a schooner caught in gale force winds, employees are stretched to the limit these days. Delegating anniversary planning and execution to staff already grappling with ongoing responsibilities could incite a mutiny or even sink your ship. Smart companies hire a business anniversary consultant.

Experienced business anniversary consultants understand the process of planning and executing corporate anniversary promotional campaigns. They provide fresh, creative ideas -- even ones you hadn't thought of. They are also implementation experts, launching the tactics, managing the details and accomplishing the mission. Relying on a business anniversary consultant is the smart solution for your business anniversary: You set the course; the consultant takes the helm; and you enjoy smooth sailing.

Be smart in harnessing the promotional power of your business anniversary. Avoid the three big mistakes companies make, and you'll transform your corporate anniversary into a successful "sell"-abration.

Tips To Give Your Company Picnic Bling To Make It A Big Hit For Everyone!

Throwing a company picnic involves more than just setting a date, hiring a caterer, and choosing a location. Yes, that's the list of basics if you just want a routinely boring event. Your company picnic offers the opportunity to do more than provide some food in a relaxing atmosphere. To get more from your picnic, there are a few things that must happen before the big event.

Goals of Your Company Picnic

First, let's decide what you want to accomplish with the company picnic... do you just want to say thanks to your employees, give employees the chance to get to know each other on a personal basis, to honor an employee, or to celebrate a company event. If you know what you want to accomplish, before you begin to plan your picnic you'll be much more likely to create the atmosphere required to get the desired actions.

Once you know what you want to accomplish choosing the theme for your company picnic becomes much easier. The theme of your company picnic can be centered on the season, a holiday, or it can be company related, such as a new acquisition, or increased performance, or whatever positive event has occurred within the company. Your imagination is the only limit when choosing themes.

Let's say your goal is to provide time for your employees to get to know each other in a more personal way. Team events are a great way to evoke open communication and build unity. Friendly competition gives your employees a chance to be in the limelight and gather support from co-workers. So be sure to include a team event at your picnic.

Location

Choosing the location also plays an important role. Using the previous example, the attendees are much more likely to converse and enjoy each others company if they are in one specific location. Let's say you have decided to hold the company picnic at a local park. Rather than just say come to the park and lunch will be served at twelve. Set times for specific events, like slow pitch softball beginning at 10:30, trail walk for the kids at 11:15, volleyball game at 1:00.

Choosing activities and entertainment for your company picnic also needs to revolve around the theme and your underlying goals. In addition, you need to be sure to keep the needs and tastes of those attending in mind as you plan this aspect of your company picnic. Planning for employees only, versus employees and family results in different types of agendas, so make sure to include activities for every age group within the crowd.

Allow sufficient time to give your attendees advance notice before the company picnic, so they can include your event in their plans. Make sure everyone attending knows the schedule of events and what's happening before the day of the event. This helps everyone be able to prepare and bring any necessary items.

Add the "Bling" to Your Company Picnic

Next it is time to add the "bling". To make your company picnic shine, get creative. Banners, balloons and other decorations add a sense of festivity. Music and entertainment are other components to add to the zest of the picnic.

Giving prizes also adds excitement to a company picnic. Holding a drawing for prizes serves more than one function. These prizes create a sense of employee appreciation. They will also ensure that attendees of the picnic linger and socialize.

Planning, scheduling, and finding providers for food, beverages, entertainment, and music can be time consuming. Finding and meeting with a host of providers and coordinating everything can sometimes be time consuming and put a strain the budget. Often it is easier to contact event planners and compare prices and services.

Using an event planner reduces the time involved and also ensures no detail is omitted. Event planners will assist you with every aspect of your company picnic...even suggesting company picnic ideas. All you need to do is set the specifics of what you want and they will take care of the rest. Everything is be included- food, beverages, activities, entertainment and music.

It is a good idea to confirm everything relating to the picnic plans at least two weeks prior to the event. This allows enough time to solve any problem issues without rush or panic. Even of you have chosen to use an event planner, you still want to make contact to ensure everything is going as scheduled.

Effectively planning your company picnic will create a day of fun and relaxation. Great food, fun activities, good prizes, and hopefully sunny weather along with your creative ideas all comes together for a memorable event. Ready, set...plan and enjoy!

Ideas of Purchasing Different Types of Corporate Gift Items and the New Modes of Shopping

Corporate gift items enhance the awareness of the particular brand. In order to promote the brand, advertising is a common phenomenon. But the recent practice of giving corporate gifts in meetings, seminars or parties as a token of appreciation helps in increasing the awareness of the company or brand. Hence companies spend lavishly on offering corporate gift items.

Types of Corporate gift items;

The most commonly distributed corporate gifts are, diaries, writing pen, table clock, wooden trophies, leather product, glass set, acrylic items, watch, table tops and etc. Some are promotional items, like the leather bags or different types of utility items. It can be a simple pen and key ring set or it can be a laptop bag with the company's logo printed on it. A corporate house often organizes different types of meets and events, such as sports events, picnic, carnival, outing, meetings, seminars, fair and parties. In such events the winner and the participants can be felicitated with a memento, which can be a wooden trophy, crystal photo frame or table tops with name and logo on it. Just as organizing such events help in promoting the brand and growing awareness. Similarly such gift element have a recalling effect on the person.

In order to buy such corporate gift items at a comfortable rate, one can visit the online stores comfortably. Today, we have online stores, who offer a variety of gift article at a comfortable rate. They even customize products as per requirement, for example, if you want to gift a wooden pen with the name of the company inscribed on it, they will do it for you. You can easily order in bulk and then get the products delivered at your doorstep. They do not charge extra for such customize services.

In today's world amidst our busy schedule no one has time for hopping from one shop to another and look into the different types of reward items. Hence the online stores come as a refuge. It saves time and energy for busy corporate. You can easily check five websites in an hour time, but can never travel five stores physically in such a short time. You may also compare the item prices and then fix on the one that offers a competitive rate. You can ask for the quotation and a sample product. Once you have them, and then based on the quality and service you can decide on the supplier.

Thus the corporate gift items helps in bonding better, and enhances the promotion of the brand in the professional world. For example, if it for a seminar, it can be a wrist watch. But if it is a New-Year or Christmas gift item, it can be a tie or a cufflink or a scarf depending on whom you are gifting.Therefore it is advised, that you must select the gift item wisely and perfectly so that it has a lasting effect on the person and the purpose of brand promotion is easily accomplished.

How to Plan a Corporate Event

When you receive your invite to the latest in corporate events, do you usually go? The majority of employees do, however, they might not always feel comfortable. What can be done as the planner of these corporate events to make sure they are attended by more of the employees? First of all, the employees need to be well aware of the event enough in advance so they cannot come up with the excuse that they wish they would have known earlier.

The next item of business is to make the party or event as successful as any corporate events have ever been. Choose a team to help you to plan this event so that it is the best one yet. This can be a professional organizer or it can be some of the business' people. Regardless of which you use, the event should be fun and it should be planned so that everyone that is invited will want to return the following year.

There are many aspects to planning corporate events that you may want to take into consideration. The budget needs to be finalized before the planning starts. This will let you know just how much money is available. The caterers have to be hired. The speakers that are going to be in attendance must be contacted and confirmed. There are many aspects of the corporate event that need to be addressed so as to make sure your corporate event goes off like clockwork.

Most of the time corporate events are supposed to allow new employees to meet the management, employees who have been with the company, and each other. The majority of these events are either one evening of fun and dinner or they can be anywhere from a couple of days to a week.

Regardless of whether the event is going to be a week long or only a few days, the need is there for a good natural setting. Getting back to nature is one of the best ways there is for getting good ideas. The clear, clean air can help and, even though the employees are actually working, they are enjoying themselves as well.

The more the team feels they are being rewarded for the great job they have done, are doing, and are going to continue to do, the better the team morale and spirit. The manager or CEO of a company knows when his employees are happy, the business improves.

If you are planning corporate events for your employees, the most fun you can have is to get them away from the hum drum of everyday and let them have a chance to feel refreshed. When you do this, the ideas will come easier, the employees will go back to work with the benefits of having had a refresher in the work they perform, and hopefully some new ideas to add to the ones that are already in use.

This is the best way to ensure that employees get the most they can possibly get from corporate events when they attend. Getting them to attend short of making it mandatory is another small feat in itself. However, using a different method and making it more fun and enjoyable while learning may make a difference in the negative attitudes. The employees might start asking when the next corporate events are planned instead of trying to avoid them.