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Event Planning - that’s not my role!

Answering frequently asked event questions such as ‘What can I do myself’ and ‘What do I outsource?’ Part one of a two-part blog post.

Not all companies have dedicated resources with expertise in event planning, booking venues, finding guest speakers and organising all the aspects that an event involves and deserves.

LemonZest Events works with large corporates, small start-ups and everything in between. The scale and requirements of planning and executing an event don’t phase our team. It’s what we do - we speak your language.

It’s rare to get a dedicated in-house events team, even in some companies. The task usually falls to Marketing & PR teams, HR Departments, Operations Managers, Office Managers, MD’s or PA’s.

If you were asked to pick up an important task that doesn’t fall into your day-to-day remit, how would you approach it - and are you setting yourself up to fail? Event management skills and expertise are no different to any other professional role. Would you entrust financial accounts preparation or sales to a department where this is not their specialism? Probably not. Events Management is no different.

Often event planning when handled in-house starts with finding a venue but this has pitfalls if you don’t know what to ask and what to look for. Don’t fall into the trap of booking a venue first without expert advice.

An event brief is fundamental to delivering an effective event. With a detailed brief, you can choose a venue that is fit for purpose. We have worked with teams that have booked the venue/room directly with the venue. Only to then find that the venue might be the perfect setting, but the space isn’t adequate for the brief. Event planning to work within an event space takes experience. Understanding space, access times, the floor plan for tables, staging and technology suitability does require a professional team to get it right.

You can pick up elements yourself with the event invitations, managing the guest list and table plans and event registration. This is where internal knowledge can add value and offers a chance to maximise engagement with your audience at various touch points.

Theming can be extravagant or simple but effective - anything from table centres to palm trees to complete theming across the production. Now, the tip here is to work with an events team to source, build or hire theming elements for you. The topic of conversation here is usually ‘I can buy that for the same price/cheaper’. Often true. However, an events management company who looks after this for you oversees delivery, doesn’t involve you storing 25 large elaborate table centres, transporting them to the venue, setting them out, putting whatever it is together, transporting them back after the event – and then finding somewhere to store them, where they are likely to never be used again. Our team also have vast creative insight for event theming from the sublime to inspirational that can be carried out throughout your event. Outsourcing this aspect of event planning frees up your time for adding value in the right areas.

I’m happy to share some of these ideas if you’d like to check out our creative side. Either email the team at hello@lemonzestevents.co.uk or comment on this post.

Next month we will pick back up on the topic of Event Planning - that’s not my role! Answering more frequently asked event questions ‘What can I do myself’ and ‘What do I outsource?’