When planning a major event, whether it is a corporate event or a family gathering, that happens to be on the larger side, there are a few considerations that need to be taken into account. While all of this planning can be a little scary, as long as you concentrate on getting it done, the rest should flow.

First of all. Let’s talk about location. Where you hold your event is almost as important as the running of the event. The location of the event is the first thing your guests will notice, so it is vital, especially if you are doing something that you have significant responsibility for – like organising an event for your company – that you put some time into considering the place you are to hold the gathering.

For example, if you know that the people who are attending would appreciate a little bit of luxury; this will need to be planned into the budget. If you are running a busy evening event though, this is best placed in some busy city environment.

Your first port of call as regards planning after you have chosen the type of location you want is securing a date and time. Make sure you know the number of guests too. Once you have this information, stick to it, and this will help you choose from the venues that become available to you.

Then think about the accessibility of the place. If you are holding a conference for a large number of guests for example, is it easy to get to the venue? Guests may be travelling from far away, and in the city the other side of town can be far away. So make sure that you know about public transport links and how effective they are. Your guests will want to know.

Then get out there and visit the venues that you think would be suitable for your needs. Visiting them will give you the best idea of the furnishings and the other aspects of the environment, such as the other rooms around the room you will use, the privacy and so on. You will only get a true feel for the venue by visiting it, so make sure that you fit time into your schedule to do this.

There are also restrictions as regards the use of rooms and venues. Wedding organisers often fall foul of this aspect, when they find that hotels will not allow posters to be put up, or banners. Even if your event does not have a lot of issues as regards this, it will be worthwhile knowing what restrictions are.

Finally, as part of this basic checklist, make sure you know about the toileting arrangements. Are they appropriate? Do you have any guests that will require disabled facilities, and to what extent does the venue manage this aspect of events?

Get these things into your planning schedule, and you should have the basis for a good, well planned event. If you are truly, truly stuck, you can also hire the services of a good event planner to help you with some or all aspects.

Author Bio: Dave Matthews is writing on behalf of Owl Event Management, a leading UK event management company.

Category: Advice
Keywords: event planning, event management, event organiser, conference planning, event plan