By using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool, event planners can create a big advantage for themselves. In addition to saving time, creating run of show, personalizing their communication, making event brochures and marketing materials, brainstorming incredible new ideas and much more. ChatGPT can help with planning a wedding, birthday party, corporate event, team building experiences, and countless other functions. It truly is an exciting new world with A.I. and specifically ChatGPT as a tool. Imagine having a virtual assistant that can brainstorm ideas, research venues, communicate wit ..read more

You may be wondering… “what is a styled shoot?” Well, here is everything you need to know about styled shoots! Let’s start with the basics. A styled shoot is a micro event setting. This mock wedding or pretend event setting is created by a team of event vendors. The vendors have the opportunity to flex their creative muscles by collaborating in an effort to provide their expertise and services. They provide this in exchange for images and mention of their own work. It is an opportunity to get your name out there with little to no cost depending on your trade. The Significance of This So, why ..read more

Almost everyone who plans a wedding has to decide how much of their budget to allocate toward the bar and how many beverages to stock their wedding bar with. A wedding planner should be equipped to help with this information. Before you read this article, watch this video for the formula to calculate cost for a 100 person wedding. You can use the same formula for any number of guests. Now that you’ve watched the video, read details below. To start, a good rule of thumb is to assume the average guest will consume two drinks during the first hour and then one drink for each hour thereafter. Alc ..read more

You’ve been working hard to gain your first event client. And then… boom! You book one! After the initial excitement sets in (and maybe you’ve popped some champagne to celebrate), the reality of what you have just agreed to becomes clear. … you now have to plan a whole event. But How? Where do you even start? Hopefully, this guide to everything “event operations” will help ease your fears and get you on track to planning a successful event. Understand Your Client The very first step to a successful event includes fully understanding your client and their needs. People seek out event experience ..read more

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly put us through a series of firsts: Panicking Purchasing (toilet paper, anyone?) Pausing (not knowing what will happen next) And now… Pivoting The event world is no different. We’ve all gone from freaking out about the fate of that April wedding, to putting a down payment on multiple venues hoping to make something happen, only to pause and wonder if we should just put the entire wedding on hold? But after all that, the wedding turned out to be a beautiful intimate background gathering… ….that’s the power of a pivot. As event professionals learn to trade in ..read more

Event cancellations are heartbreaking to most event planners. We get excited for our client’s events, almost as much as they do, if not more! Yet, this has become the new norm. We are adjusting to COVID-19 with urgency and resilience. Most of us switching to virtual events or renting our property to the average person looking to hold a 5 person birthday event. Covid-19 came in abruptly. It was full force with no invitation, and we certainly did not accept. Fortunately, we are all here to face this pressing matter together. As a strong knit community of Event Planners, we must stay informed on ..read more

Common questions we get are: Do you need a website for your business? What type of pages do you need on your site? How do you even make a website? I will compile all the resources you need to make your site in this post. A website absolutely helps you get more clients, and I know what you’re thinking. “But I don’t want to spend $2,000+ getting a site made…” You don’t have to spend that type of money and in fact… I recommend you don’t spend any money on your site when you are starting out. Fortunately, with WordPress anyone can make their own site for free. There are also free site builders l ..read more

  Understand Your Options Growing up, whenever I pictured a professional in the events industry, I thought of Jennifer Lopez, scurrying around, trying to bring Matthew McConaughey’s wedding to life (without falling in love first!). Because the events world is made up of wedding planners, right? Well, although J.Lo’s world of wedding cakes and bridal gowns is a part of this industry, weddings are simply one piece of what makes up the “event world.” Let’s take a look at our options: Social Events vs Corporate Events Most event professionals would categorize the events world into two main p ..read more

You’ve decided to take the plunge and enter the exciting world of event planning – good for you! Special events are a $500 billion worldwide industry, and the future only looks brighter for job prospects in the field. “There’s a growing demand for event planners,” says Ellen Mullarkey, VP of Business Development for Messina Staffing Group, a staffing firm for event planners with offices in several major U.S. cities. “With large conferences, trade shows, and marketing events becoming more popular, companies are looking for people who know how to execute these types of events. They want folks w ..read more

Click play to watch this whole video and then be sure to read all the free methods below that can land you more clients than you know what to do with: Since originally publishing this article we have heard back from so many students about their successes in getting new clients so we are updating this article with all of the methods that have been working for our event planners. These are methods that are not discussed on any other event planning sites so get out your notebooks and write down your favorite methods! If you do not yet have a portfolio we recommend starting with your inner circle ..read more