It’s easy to get caught up in planning the best possible party, but don’t keep all the details up in your head. Doing so will likely end in many days of chaos and stress which could all be avoided.
Ditch the stress of missing something you definitely would’ve remembered (like the start time of Kelowna event rentals) by instead writing it down, and what better way to do that than with an event checklist.
But before you pick up that pad of paper understand that not all checklists are created equal. It’s easy to go online and find an event checklist template, but it may not be the end-all, be-all solution. Especially if they leave you filling in or modifying more than you need to than if you just started from scratch.
With that in mind, here’s the best way to build your personalized event checklist to have a memorable party.
1. Understand Your Goals Before Building Your Kelowna Event Checklist
Your goals will be the backbone of the party planning moving forward so stick to them as close as possible to ensure you don’t run into any problems in the future.
- Firstly, is this a party people will have to pay for, or is this going to be something you’re paying for yourself (maybe with a little help from others)? This will help determine a budget later in your preparations.
- What will be the expected maximum and minimum number of people that will be attending? Again, this will also help with your budget later and determining the size of venue you’ll need.
- Where would you like your event to take place? If it’s a popular destination you might need to book it as soon as possible to lock in your spot.
2. Build a Budget That Aligns with Your Goals
When you start to put together a budget, understand that surprise expenses often come up for any event, whether it’s deposits, surcharges, and so on.
- Look into past budgets you’ve had for other events, or events similar in scope your friends may have had to get an idea of how much your event may cost. At this point, it’s a good idea to readjust your budget if needed.
- Plan with all the big-ticket items you want first, then, if you have money left over, consider adding in other smaller things as well.
3. Determine Venue Details
Now that you have goals and a budget, the rest of your venue details will help to fill out the body of your event.
- Where would you like your event to take place?
This is one of the biggest decisions and the one that will determine the other options you have available for your party. Kelowna has a variety of options for event rentals so you’re sure to find something that suits your needs. - What does the venue provide and are those items suitable for your event? It’s worth looking into to see if there are additional items you get with your venue, but check if they are going to match your event’s scope. Even though there might be tables, plates and so on provided, they might not have the quantity or quality you are planning on for your event.
- Not all venues come with included furniture (and trust us, you don’t want your guests sitting on the floor), so consider incorporating lounge furniture into your checklist.
- No party would be complete without a little dancing (especially for a wedding reception), and as such, you’ll need a dance floor. Thankfully these can be rented out for your big night to keep the party going all night long (or at least until your rental is up).
- You’ll also need to make clean-up arrangements for your event in addition to incorporating set-up and take-down of any major items. This can factor in to to your venue rental time so make sure you have all the help you need to clean up quickly and efficiently. Communicate these times to any service providers, DJs, and so on so they’re aware of the time limits too.
4. Don’t Forget About Food
Food planning should definitely be on your checklist as well—your guests need to eat. But even more so than that are other important details that come with providing food. There are tons of amazing caterers for many different price points in Kelowna—it just comes down to choosing which one is the closest to your vision for your event.
- Tables, linens, chairs, plates, and cutlery are all crucial parts to potentially rent out as well—people typically prefer to have dedicated space to sit down and snack or munch.
- Don’t forget about glassware, it’s much classier to have your guests drinking out of wine glasses than red solo cups. Consider renting out dedicated glassware for your event.
Now that you have all the critical components in place for your event, planning out the rest of your party should be much easier. Customize your checklist for all the additional add-ons like music, types of food served (and how much to buy), the video equipment or projectors you may need, and so on. View your checklist as a fluid document that will need to be updated as some plans work and others don’t pan out.
If you’re struggling to come up with more ideas, put yourself in the shoes of one of your guests. What are your wants and needs as a guest based on your party’s scope? Understanding that will help you nail down the final details and have the best Kelowna party possible.