Event Management: An Overview

Have you ever watched J Lo’s movie “The Wedding Planner”? If you did, the role she played as Mary Fiore would more likely give you an idea of what an Event Manager is or even what is meant by Event Management. If you haven’t seen it, hold your horses as we are about to define and give you an Overview of Event Management in layman’s terms.

Event Managers are sometimes known as Event Planners or any other term used to describe people whose work falls under the field of Event Management which is under Vocational Management Course.

Event management goes beyond planning. It requires budgeting and organizing skills. Everything has to come with a projected cost unless you want to go over budget. Honing your budgeting skills is the first factor you have to work on. Categorize your expense and work within the constraints of your budget. Categories of expenses may include: venues, Catering costs, Transportation costs, Décor expenses, Entertainment fees, Printing charges, Gifts, Other expenses and Contingency fund.

The first thing you have to think of is where you intend the event to be held, what activities are included in the event and how many are to attend the event. Planning the event requires scouting for venues and how much they cost. As venues may be costly, be sure to allot a portion of the budget on the venue alone. And when scouting for venues, be sure that the venue you find would be able to cater to the activities intended during the event. Example: it would not be wise to choose a lunch venue several miles away from a sporting venue if the afternoon activities you planned include sporting events as this would be additional expenses on transportation.

Catering costs account about 30% of the budget and includes not only food and beverage but also gratuities. Take time to consider the time of the day the event is to happen and what you intend to feed the guests and event participants. Example: Serving lunch for events that transpire in the afternoon might leave them either famished and you’d run out of food especially if you intend to have a buffet. There is also a possibility that you might end up with a whole lot of untouched food because they might have eaten prior to the event.

Transportation should be documented to show expenses for shuttles, and event transfers. The example we had on choosing the right venue discussed about minimizing transportation expenses so why should we still allot transportation expenses? These are contingency plans for unforeseen events. Example: venue change. When guests have been given short notice or have never been notified of venue changes, transportation should always be ready to transfer guests and participants to the new venue.

Décor expenses include centerpieces, tent rentals and flowers but are not limited to these items. Anything you need to buy or rent for the beautification of the event is considered under décor expense. Venue rentals at times come with the décor but the décor it comes with may not be sufficient for the event. Be sure to itemize this category when doing the actual event costing. Centerpieces can double as gifts or giveaways but be sure to announce such as for them not to be put to waste by forgetting to announce such to the guests and participants.

Entertainment fees should include equipment rentals and honorariums for guest speakers. Simple enough to understand yet giving an example would do us no harm. Example: the guests are free to sing and dance but you have to rent either the band or a karaoke. Or for sports events like basketball, tennis, badminton and the like, you may want to either rent of buy the equipment needed such as balls, and shuttlecocks.

Printing charges include program booklets, invitations, banners, signage and name badges.

When speaking of gifts, there’s a saying that goes “it’s rude to let the guests go home empty handed.” A little remembrance for the event is always something the guests and participants look forward to as they would like to reminisce the event with something tangible other than memories.

Other expenses include miscellaneous expenses that do not fall in any category.

Contingency fund is often about 20% of the projected expenses because whether you like it or not and no matter how good you are in planning and budgeting, there would always be charges that exceed the projected expenses.

The total projected expenses are what you give to your client that they may know the budget. The actual expenses is what builds your value as an events manager and planner especially if your actual expenses coincide with your projected expenses.