“How are your parties always so ‘sweet’!” I know what she meant. Anyone can plan a party but infusing it with more than the food, drink and entertainment is what makes it “sweet”. I never planned to be an event planner. I’ve always wanted to be a hairdresser from Age 12. It was considered a No No and I was told so! Years later I owned a wig business! I come from a family where every birthday was celebrated and every significant one was party-fied by my mother that great woman! When I had my children their parties was so well sought after and St Raphael's mum’s will bear me witness. On one occasion their invites were scrolls. I would open a file with plans and budget sheet, vendors, ideas and vision sheets😎 I further honed my craft turning Party Packs into Magical boxes, interesting, colourful, unusual and quirky! Once I was contracted to create a gift pack for a 10 year old and I sourced Bazooka Chewing gums and created an old school vibe. My Children all had unique events from Party Buses to Limo Parties, Paint Ball to Laser, Skating parties to Red Carpet events. Back to the sweetness…..❤️ Rule 0: This applies to all events, know your client, (create a requirement form), Have an initial consultation, know your budget, work within this. Budget drives everything. Just to let potential clients know. I save you money when you give me a budget! That's it. Every good planner will tell you that having a budget means less time is wasted in sourcing event suppliers, venues or experiences. I also aim to work within it and where possible have a bit left over! For destination events. Additional Rule is: Always gift an experience to all your guests. We have had City Tours, T -Shirts, Dinner and Lunches, Zumba/Aqua Zumba, Cruise etc gifted to guests by celebrants. They’ve paid a lot to follow you wherever you’ve dropped a pin in the map sometimes at great expense to celebrate and honour you . Honour and thank them in return. Always have a professional Videographer and Photographer. I have guests who resist videography tell me later that they wish ... For Local or what I call on the ground events simply because I have no reason to see Heathrow or Gatwick. Remember overall Rule 0 above.
All my clients are sent a requirement form. That is the key to consultations it is so granular and makes life easy as we go along. It is a know your client, their preference and their must have versus their Lai Lai (not on this earth) needs. It will ask for your budget, if you have contacted any venues or suppliers all the way to what colour Napkin you need. Location seeking is easy when you have a requirement form in your hands. Sometimes clients already have a few venues in mind and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they’ve booked it, run into problems and come looking for me. I’ve planned End to End events in 2 weeks, 10 days for 120 guests, 7 days for 80 guest and 5 days for 100 guests. Im a magician too! I’ve planned events over months and the longest time I have ever been given is 7 months. That was for a destination event that had so many moving parts. Started with 50 guests and at last count we exceeded 115. We had back to back activities over a 5 day period in Dubai! My parties are “sweet” because sometimes I make the impossible happen, the you can’t have that becomes you can. I never think oh “I’d like that” I think , “My client will love that”. Then I find a way to make "that" happen within budget. I seek ideas that fits into their personality and sometimes I seek outlandish ones they’ve never considered. I like fresh and I like old and regular so I mix it up. I like fun, your event will be fun if I’m doing it, that’s me infusing the sweet. A magician may work, dancers, sax player, vocalist or none of the above! Your party should be tailored to you! A musician used in one event may not suit yours. An MC or Videographer used for an event may not be suited for yours. Planning means pairing you up with the vendors that are able to create real and memorable experiences from your dreams or vision. I build a TEAM with all of the vendors, their welfare, their payments and their comfort is important to me and I ensure this translates to clients. Two friends approached me. One referred me to the other. Down the line I realised "they’re sharing too much!" Parties were beginning to look alike. I drew a line. Rules established. I called both and asked that they do not share their event plans. I explained that I wanted a separate fresh and unique experience that is not blurred or distracted by someone else's dreams. I also added, "do not ask me about the other person" They agreed even though one kept trying to push the boundaries set by asking me questions. At the end of the day, they both had similar but totally different events with mutual guests. The feedback was fantastic! Gift sourcing is a favourite of mine too! I did one in Rhodes for a friend 2019 and remember how I was trying on footwear to make sure the custom slippers sizes would fit and one thing I always do is use my own funds to purchase a sample especially customised goods. I map out the delivery time scale ask questions, test out the products before asking the client to go ahead with purchase. A great party is dependent on the DJ, Guest, Drink, Food, Ambience - In that order. You will remember if you danced or not and what level of dance! You will remember who was there, if you had enough to drink and eat! You will not remember the decor unless it was awful! Guest Management is crucial too. I have a robust system that works and continues to and it comes as part of the package for our full event planning package. The countdown reminders, the graphics in the videos, the music it all creates a sense of expectation and we are ready to deliver! My pricing is fair, clear and straightforward. It’s valued according to what I put into your event. However, I always put in far above what clients expect. My plans add value to your vision and creates memorable experiences for you! Each event lessons learnt from previous ones are applied. I grow everyday. I’m not where I “wanna” be but I’m threading well. My event packages are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. So if you ever are seeking your suppliers to your venue and my guest management to my planning, I’ve got you covered. 😃 I pour my passion for planning and my creativity into your event. I am here, call on me to help you create experiences and memories to last a life time! Wishing you a fab week ahead! Eddiiez
2 Comments
Chin Okunuga
9/7/2023 09:17:41 am
If I had to write my full testimonial, it would be too long. Eddiiez events planned me, my family and my 50th birthday event. It was a destination event and everything she described she does, she did and more. She got vendors and built relationships with each of them, you’d think she’s met them before. She planned every event with precision, one of them on its own would have been a whole party.
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Eddiiez
9/7/2023 03:19:21 pm
Dear Chinyama,
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AuthorEddiiez Archives
July 2023
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