5 tips for organising your first event

Event planning is one of my biggest passions and over the years I've planned, coordinated and assisted many live events, picking up a few tips on the way. 

For a break down of where to start when planning events, please read my blog post HERE which includes a step by step guide on establishing goals to creating a plan of action. 

But if you are planning your very first event, then I have collated 5 tips to bare in mind. 

1. Start small

Make sure your event is local, preferably in a small venue which is signposted well. 

For good measure choose somewhere with good transport links, perhaps on a bus route depending on the type of event. But generally near an interchange or station of some sort. 

This will give your attendees no excuse to pass up the invite, as they will have the benefit of getting to and from the event easily.

2. Be Realistic

It's your first event and so you probably have visions that hundreds of people will attend and those big goals are great to have. However the likely hood is that 75 - 100 people might turn up and if they do, that's still a fantastic amount of guests. Don't be disheartened if there aren't as many people in the room as you'd hoped, because if they enjoy the event you will see them again and next time they are bound to bring others along too.

3. Rally round

Your family and friends will be the biggest source of help when setting up and shutting down your event. If you're planning a corporate event, then talk a few colleagues into giving you a hand. Not only will this keep costs down but knowing that you have others supporting you, will keep your stress levels low and you'll feel more confident knowing that someone you trust is looking after a specific element of the event.   

4. Ensure it is affordable

Make sure that at your first event doesn't cost you a penny. 

It is so easy to just pick up the cost of the flyers or table centre pieces but then your expenses pile up and you end up being out of pocket. Instead, try to factor in actual costs into your ticket price or offer the supplier something in return for a freebee. With a great team of volunteers on board (as explained in tip 3), they might even have the skills or connections which you can benefit from. 

5. Be Social

Use social media to promote your event, during and after the event to create a buzz and receive that all important feedback that can be used for future events. 

Share as much as you can about the itinerary, catering and entertainment (if applicable) to increase ticket sales, whilst allowing your guests to gain a sneak peak at what to expect. This will build up the anticipation and if done well, your guests will continue to talk about the event afterwards.

A bonus tip

Think about the little things 

Your attendees want to be wowed someway or another, no matter what type of event they are attending. Therefore once everything is planned and in place, I would recommended thinking about extra ways to make sure that attendees have a great time. This could be through adding entertainment and catering or arranging an early finish to their usual working day.  Those little gestures will impact on their enjoyment and will hopefully encourage them to attend your next event.

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Good Luck with your first event and let me know if you have any questions in the comments box below. Alternatively, please feel free to tweet me using @Krissie_Akrill 

Krissie 

Where to start when planning an event?

Whether you are planning a fundraising event for your favourite charity or organising a product launch, team building day or conference; here are a few guidelines on where to start. 

Establish event goals and objectives 

• What is the purpose of the event?
• Who will attend and why? 
• How will you achieve the end goal? 
• What will determine that the event is a success?

Identify team roles 

If you're solely organising the event yourself, identify the suppliers or companies that you will outsource some of the work to. 

If you have a committee or team of colleagues assisting with the planning process, then you will need to first establish the Event Manager to oversee and lead the team through to completion. Next, assign roles for the following: 

• Marketing 
• Venue management 
• Entertainment
• Volunteer management
• Sponsors 

Set the date and time

Depending on the scale of the event, usually  4-6 months is enough time to successfully plan your event and with this in mind, be sure to do your research before setting the date:

• Unless you are planning a child friendly event, try to avoid school holidays
• Check that there aren't similar events booked in local venues at the same time
• Find out if there are large sporting events taking place 
• Consult with the council to find out if there are planned road works that will impact guests arriving and leaving your event

Create a plan 

This plan should include all aspects of the event, including:

Marketing 

• Artwork (Posters/ leaflets)
• Website content 
• Social media 
• Tickets 
• Programme 
• Media relations 
• Signage 

Venue Management 

• Set up and shut down logistics 
• Equipment hire 
• Catering 
• Ticket sales 
• Contracts 

Entertainment

• Book speakers or entertainers 
• Ryder requirements 
• Insurance 
• Room specifications 
• Equipment 

Volunteer management 

• Volunteer recruitment 
• Training
• Briefing 

Sponsors 

• Sponsorship 
• Prizes 
• Partnership agreements

Once you've outlined the elements above, your plan should detail start and completion dates, before you assign each task to either a team member or supplier. 

Some event organisers prefer to use a gantt chart, however you can also input the plan into a shareable calendar, colour coding each section for ease. 

Then Voila, it's time for action.

... 

A couple of the above steps may not be relevant to your event, therefore if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them below. 

HOW TO: Cook a pork slow roast dinner | Krissie ♥

A few weeks ago I went back home to mum and dad's house in Hull for a couple of days and my niece and nephew came too. One night my Nanna was rushed into hospital and mum went to be by her side, so Aunty Krissie stepped up to the plate (literally) and cooked tea for us all. I've lived away from home since I was 18 (give or take a few months in between moving house) and I've cooked this meal at least twice a month, but I had to giggle when dad actually looked like he was contemplating not letting me cook. It's probably because I am accident prone, so luckily everything went well, otherwise I'd have never lived it down. 

Dad's an avid photographer with a camera and tripod, which meant that we set it all up and had a go at filming my first 'Cook with Krissie' video. You can tell that he left me to film though because it went out of focus half way through, and I now know to check that! 

It wouldn't have been a great YouTube video without an appearance from my little niece Isabelle, who thankfully didn't chop any of her fingers off and my dad who peeled the potatoes for me! 

Please take a look at the video I made and bare in mind that I'm not a chef, it's just the way that I like to cook. 

(Click the image to play)

Here is the recipe if you would like to have a go at making this meal yourself. Let me know if there are other methods to use or if you would like to see me making another meal? 

Good Luck! 

(Feeds 5)

Ingredients:

200g pork chops (one per person)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
10g butter
750g potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
Silver foil
sea salt
ground black pepper
1 onion
85g broccoli
Gravy granules 
280ml boiling hot water
5 mushrooms
5 carrots, scrubbed

Preparation method:

1. Brush both sides of the pork chops with butter, then grind sea salt and black pepper.
2. Chop up five mushrooms (more if you would prefer) into small pieces.
3. Peal and chop an onion 
4. Turn on your slow cooker and choose a cooking option that suits you best. Then add your pork chops into the slow cooker. 
5. Next add four teaspoons of gravy granules into a measuring jug and make up to 1/2 pint (280ml) with boiling water, stir well then pour it into the slow cooker.
6. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
7. Grate 5 carrots (one each) then chop them into small chunks.
8. Peel and cut the potatoes into large chunks.
9. Cut the broccoli into florets
10. Par-boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for about eight minutes, then drain well, return to the pan and shake with the lid on to fluff up the edges.
11. Place silver foil over a roasting tray and add the potatoes. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and shake to ensure the potatoes are evenly coated.  Drizzle two tbsp of oil over the potatoes and roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden-brown.
12. Boil the carrots in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain. 
13. Boil the broccoli until soft, then drain. 
14. 5 mins before the end, you can also add Yorkshire puddings into the oven to cook along with your potatoes. 

Dish it all up and voila! 

Keep smiling :-)

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 |Photobooth|                                                     |Week 6|

 

Social media favourites | Week 3

Here is this weekend’s second instalment of my social media favourites. 

I hope that you enjoyed week 2 that went out yesterday, as it was actually meant for last weekend but instead you can read both now! 

Don’t worry, there are enough great things to share and please let me know if you have found a story, video or quote that you think I would like to include in next weeks favourites by tweeting me at @Krissie_Akrill or leave a comment below. 

Yesterday I came across this quote from Dr. Seuss which is a great outlook to have on closing chapters in your life. 

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

1. Mother and Son wedding dance

Picture yourself enjoying a lovely time at your friend’s evening wedding party and it comes to the point of the night when the groom announces that he is going to entertain his guests with a mother and son wedding dance.

Once you have that picture in mind, take a look at the video below because you won’t expect what you are about to see.  Plus if you are in the mood for dancing, why not turn up the volume and join in! 

Source: +Doug Larson 


2. Coming out speech 

At the Time to Thrive LGBTQ conference on Friday, Hollywood actress Ellen Page came out as gay during her speech. Explaining that she was "tired of hiding" and "lying by omission".

Ellen also went on to say "I'm here today because I am gay. And because, maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.”

Hoping that her revelation will help other young people who are struggling with their sexual identity, it took lots of courage for Ellen to openly talk. 

Please take a few moments to watch Ellen’s speech in full and show her some support.

Source: @EllenPage

Go Ellen!

3. 20 things to start doing

During the many hours I spend swooning on Pinterest, I came across this motivational picture named ’20 things to start doing’ which reminded me of my New Years Resolutions and details tasks that are fab for anyone who would like to make a few tweaks to look and feel better. 

Plus if you are the type of person who starts new regimes and gives up after a few weeks, then the best advice I can give is to start with one task at a time. 

You could dedicate week one to task one and once you have practised drinking lots of water and green tea, you can then move onto the next task, continuing until you have added all of the tasks into your routine. 

Source: Please note that this image did not have a direct link on Pinterest, but can be found on my tumblr profile. @Krissie_Akrill

4. L-O-V-E Mr & Mrs Fletcher

Mcfly guitarist Tom Fletcher and his beautiful wife Giovanna have shared yet another amazing cover for the subscribers of Tom’s YouTube channel (tommcflytwitter). 

Over the years they have graced our laptop screens with many collaborative sing-alongs and this one was made even more special because Giovanna is pregnant with their first child.

The couple sang Nat King Cole’s 1964 hit song L-O-V-E and left a lovely comment for the viewers in the description box that read “Happy Valentine's Day from me and the wife (plus bump)”

If you are ready to smile from ear to ear, then be sure to check out their video and give them a ‘thumbs up’  to let them know that you are a fan! 

Source: @tommcfly @MrsGiFletcher

Also, if you haven’t seen it - you should definitely check out Tom’s wedding speech! 

5. Dancing with your dog

Carrying on with more YouTube inspiration in this weeks favourites.. 

I am subscribed to a channel named Hello Giggles which is described as the ultimate entertainment destination for smart, independent and creative females. 

I’d link to think that I fit that category.

The channel was founded by actress and musician Zooey Deschanel, producer Sophia Rossi and writer and internet sensation Molly McAleer. But you don’t have to be smart, independent or creative to enjoy this bundle of joy! 

Zooey demonstrates how to dance with your dog in three easy steps:


1. Pick music your dog will like
2. Cater your dance style to your dog
3. Work with your dog's size

For a detailed description, please click HERE and you could also join in with your dog whilst watching the video below! 

Source: @hellogiggles @ZooeyDeschanel

Happiness Fact!

The most powerful way to increase your short-term feelings of happiness is to perform random acts of kindness to others, or to send a letter of gratitude to someone you care about. Five such acts in a week will increase your happiness for up to three months.

Keep smiling :-)

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 |Week 1|                                                                    |Week 2|