If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about getting into party planning. Odds are, you’ve always been a great host or a “get this party started” kind of person and you’re wondering if you should turn it into a career. You might be pondering: what’s working as party planner actually like? Is it all fun and parties all of the time?
The truth is, every day is different. On the busiest of days, you’re in the office from the crack of dawn and out at parties and launches until late hours of the night. It can be exhausting at times, but the thrill of seeing your event come off just as you’d planned it is totally worth it. Then there’s more low-key days, of course. Like any job, there are good days and there are bad days, and a lot of it is hard work.
So, what’s it all like?
Non-event Days
As mentioned before, not every day as a party planner will be an event day. Weird to think about, but more often than not you’ll have a non-event day than a party day. Fortunately, not every day is as jam packed as the ones where you’re up early and out late. Still, a regular day has you busy with tasks.
Clients and Planning
On these days you’re probably touching base with a lot of your clients as well as going over details for events. There’s researching and sourcing, holding meetings with the clients, and scoping out venue requirements as well as caterers.
Creating themes, schedules, and count-down to-do lists are standard in the event-planning world. The planning of events basically comes down to minute details, so you have to be on top of all aspects of the event. It’s also incredibly useful look into coverages for your events. You never know when elements of an event or client will go downhill. Business insurance for party planners is an absolute must. That includes invitations, arrivals, catering, decoration, staffing, and so much more.
Correspondence
Then there’s other normal work stuff like e-mailing, figuring out contracts, and coordinating teams. Because you’ll probably be working on a few projects at once, upkeep of communication with clients is crucial. You’ll have to set aside some time every day or so to update clients.
Additionally, there’s the part of the job where you have to seek out new clients. You’ll need to prepare proposals for your potential clients and probably do some promotion and marketing as well.
Event Day
Once event day comes around, you’ll be working flat out from the crack of dawn to the end of night (or, depending on when the event ends). Event day includes:
• Arriving early.
• Setting up and ensuring vendors and contractors are set up.
• Confirming staff knows what to do to make sure the event runs smoothly.
• Helping attendees in arrival.
• Overseeing the schedule and troubleshooting problems that arise with a backup plan (Always be sure to have a back-up plan!)
• Evaluating the event based on attendees, those who’ve commissioned the party, and yourself. Learn from each event to do better at the next.
• Be professional and excited. It’s imperative to wear a smile on event day! Even if you’re not feeling it, fake it ‘til you make it.
Overall, being a party planner can be different depending on the day. What you can definitely expect in the short term is a lot of planning and correspondence. Non-event day hours can look much like standard 9-5 days, but there’ll be longer days leading up to an event day. You’ll have a relatively flexible schedule, with some weekend days.
If you’ve made it this far, it might be time to seriously consider this as a career. Not everyone is gifted with hosting capabilities. With being a party planner, you’ll have flexibility in your schedule and freedom to pull off amazing events. Just know that you have to be meticulous in your planning, stay up to date with correspondence, and don’t skimp on business insurance.
With any luck, you’ll parties will be the talk of the town!
