Why you need an event planner

If you’ve ever planned an event bigger than the average birthday party, the thought has inevitably occurred to you – drowning in guest lists, catering invoices and venue choices – of why you didn’t just pay someone else to do all this for you. Guess what? For your next event, you can do just that. No need to put your life on hold for your daughter’s wedding, grandmother’s 70th birthday, promotional event or corporate Christmas party; a professional event planner makes your event their full-time job so you can get on with your life and enjoy yourself when your party finally starts.

One thing that puts many people off hiring an event planner for their private events in London is the fee. When you factor in the cost of food, venue hire, decorations, invitations, the bar tab and everything else – that added expense looks like far too much. But what you might not realize is that an event planner has a network of relationships with venues, caterers and suppliers so they can get you lower prices on just about anything you need. While you might struggle to find the perfect venue on your own, your planner has worked with many of the local venues already and knows the capacity, atmosphere and cost of each one. Whether you’re thinking of a Grand Ballroom or an outdoor pavilion, your event planner can tell you whether it’s likely to work for your event and find you a venue that fits all your criteria.

Secondly,  there’s the question of marketing. If you’re planning a family event such as a birthday party or a wedding, this might not be a problem; but what about charity or promotional events? Do you have the contacts and the know-how to make sure the right people show up and give you a Twitter shout-out? A capable event planner can point you in the right direction, call the right people and help you brand your event to attract the guests you need.

Most importantly, planning a big event yourself tends to involve quite a lot of stress. As the big day approaches, the event takes over your life with how much organising there is to do, but you keep yourself going with the thought that soon you’ll be sipping champagne and admiring the result of your hard work. But when you finally arrive, guess what? Everybody needs your help with something and before you know it, you’ve spent the entire event directing operations with barely a chance to enjoy yourself. This is the biggest reason to hire an event planner: they do all the hard work for you both in the lead-up to the event and during the event itself. When there are questions, emergencies or last-minute changes, theirs will be the phone number that everyone has on speed-dial. They can keep all the balls in the air due to years of experience and no distractions, and on the day, you can feel free to greet your guests, enjoy the canapes and make it a party to remember.