4 Common Pitfalls of Organising an Event That Everyone Should Know

There’s a saying that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And this statement is true, especially when it comes to organising an event. Fortunately, Murphy’s Law is just a possibility and not a certainty. And there are measures that you can take to ensure that you don’t fall prey to any errors or oversights that can derail the affair. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and in the interest of mitigating any potentially disastrous mistakes, here are some of the common pitfalls of event organising that you must know.

1. Not having a contingency 

No matter how carefully you plan or organise the event, there’s always a good chance that a few things won’t go as intended in the time leading up to the affair. And one of the most common – and catastrophic – mistakes that a lot of inexperienced and first-time planners make is failing to have a contingency in place. After all, if your caterer fails to show up or if vendors pull out, it can spell doom for the event. And by having a back-up plan, you’ll be much more prepared to deal with any issues that arise accordingly.

2. Spending before shopping

You’ll likely need to work on a budget during the course of the event-planning stages. And if you start spending before shopping around first, there’s a good chance that you’ll put a sizable dent in the bank, if not break it completely. As such, it’s always a good idea to explore all of your options first, whether it’s looking for large houses to rent to serve as the venue or searching for the right caterer to fit the event’s needs. 

3. Not starting as soon as possible

Time is something that most organisms rarely have much of when planning an event. And if you don’t start as soon as possible, there’s a good chance that you won’t have enough time to make sure the event goes successfully. So make sure that you get a head start on organising the event. Give yourself at least a few months on bigger events and at least a couple on smaller affairs. It will save you from a lot of trouble.

4. Failing to follow-up 

It’s good standard practice to follow-up when organising an event. After all, failing to do so can derail the entire event completely. So to avoid dealing with caterers accidentally double booking your event or vendors pulling out at the last second, make sure to always maintain communications and double – if not triple-check on the most critical functions of the affair. Create detailed and comprehensive contracts too. Doing so will allow you to mitigate potentially catastrophic issues.

Having a successful event is neither as tricky nor as complicated as some might think. It does, however, require a lot of time and effort. And by avoiding the common pitfalls listed above, you’ll be able to organise an event that will be remembered for all the right reasons.