Budget Planning

A budget, within the context of Event Planning, is the amount of money that can be allotted to an event. Sometimes, an event doesn’t have a budget and the event planner is free to make the event as fantastic and elaborate as possible but most events, however, especially corporate ones do. This dollar amount is more like a guideline for the event planner either match or come close to matching it. Budget planning is a never-ending process for both the event planner and the client until all aspects of the event have been secured such as:

• The catering menu
• The location
• All vendors
• The d�cor
• The lighting and sound

Budget planning is a delicate balance because you want to be able to give the client everything that they want for the amount of money that is allotted. If the catered menu is the most important aspect to the client then perhaps other things have to be downsized or considered more carefully. The budget also consists of thing such as labor and tax. When a client calls Event Solutions, we must first find out all of the pertinent information such as:

• The budget
• The date of the event
• The approximated time
• Anticipated location
• Number of guests
• Theme and Vision
• Types of food
• Entertainment ideas

We try to collect all the information we can and then go from there. The most important pieces of information are the possible dates and times of the event. This is important because if the client does not have a location we can first find out which spaces are available and how much it will cost for the number of hours. Then we would want to know the client’s theme or vision of what they want their event to look like. What does the client they have in mind in terms of d�cor and entertainment?

The client’s vision directly affects the type of food that will be served and the location that is eventually chosen. After all of these logistics have been laid out and the event planner begins to compile options, we need to know the client’s budget. It is our goal to give the client the event they want for the money that they have. So, if we find a location that the client has to have, we need to tailor the other aspects to make sure the event stays within their budget.

Once the client approves and chooses their preferences from the proposal, the event planner can begin to really assess where the budget is and can begin to tailor things. Sometimes, a client is okay with the budget being a higher than they anticipated especially, if they are getting everything that they want. Costs such as labor and tax can not be reduced.