Event Planning Tips – Behind the Scenes

Event planning tips – behind the scenes.  These are event planning stories, where things went wrong (and they were resolved) without any names given.

As an event planner, my background includes producing live events for our clients since 2003 and prior to that, I produced live game shows for Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Game Show Network all over the Country for seven years.   As a rule of thumb, live events open the door to situations that can go wrong, even under under the best of circumstances.

1. If you have a guest(s) that has a drinking problem, please make sure that you notify your vendors, so your family member or dear friend does not keep drinking until they get sick or even worse.  A few years ago, one of the family members (she was in her early 20’s) ended-up passed out outside the venue (wine vineyard) at the end of the reception. Sometimes there are different bartenders handling bar and wait staff are pouring wine during the dinner, so it can be challenging to track how many drinks someone has had through-out the night.  Some people are skilled at fooling the best professionals at any type of venue. When my team informed me of the situation, we immediately turned her on her side, so she would not choke in case she got sick. The bride’s father, who was a doctor, was immediately notified of the situation.  The guests never knew about the incident and the bride learned about it after she returned from her honeymoon. The female guest was fine and hopefully is doing well in her life, but for us it was a scary moment.
2. If something should go wrong at your event, please have a go to person in place, so the bride and groom can enjoy their day.  Their day is special and they should be relaxed and be able to enjoy themselves.  We did a wedding where the contracted parking lot did not allow the guests access to park at the contracted time. This was a fully executed agreement that was approved and signed by our Clients.  Our Clients paid a good deal of money for a specific number of parking spaces, along with the required parking attendant and supervisor.  Earlier that same day, our shuttle company delivered the parking passes to the attendant and we were assured that all was set and we were good to go…so we thought. When the guests were denied access, some of the guests called the bride’s parents to inform them and the bride and groom were notified. When we were told of the situation, my team and I immediately responded and worked with the shuttle and parking lot companies to resolve the issue.  Everything ended up working out and the bride and groom and their guests had a great time (plus the photos  and video of the wedding were lovely), but it was truly unfortunate that this happened.
3. Drinking and toasts – please make sure that anyone who is going to be giving you a toast is not intoxicated.  You don’t want to risk being humiliated in front of family and friends on your wedding day. Several years ago, we produced a wedding for one of the kindest couples. I noticed that one of the bridesmaids, who was set to give a toast was very tipsy when we were lining-up the wedding party to enter the reception (about 20 people). I felt something was not right and I gave our B&G a heads-up.  Our clients were super nice, so they thought it would be okay to proceed with her toast. Needless to say, it wasn’t okay. The bridesmaid ended up telling a couple of  “fun” stories about the bride during her “single years”. The MOB ended up leaving the room during the speech.  The groom was polite and waited long enough before he finally had the DJ cut her mic-off. After her mic was cut, the bridesmaids removed her from the dance floor.  The MOB returned to her table and the reception was great, however, it was embarrassing for the families and our couple.  I will never forget the look on the bride and groom’s faces as they sat at their sweetheart table facing their guests. Right after it happened, I made them laugh and told them that hopefully, someday in about five years, they will look back at their video and have a good laugh.  My guess is that the edits of the toast hit the edit floor and never saw the light of day.  xo
4. Signing contracts with venues – please make sure that you read how many setup hours you have in the agreement before you sign on the dotted line.  Awhile back, one of our clients signed a contract with a venue and our client was given a very small amount of time for setup.  Unfortunately, our client needed double the time that they were given.  We were hired after the agreement was signed and for almost an entire year we worked with all the vendors to accomplish this challenge. Setup went well, but it was very stressful for everyone.  As the guests were waiting outside the doors to the ceremony, our florist was standing on a ladder placing the final floral touches on the Chuppah.  We ended up starting a few minutes after the target start time. In addition, the photographers had to get their pre-ceremony room shots taken before doors could be opened. Love my job most of the time. xo
5.  Are you planing on leaving the venue during cocktail hour for those romantic photos? Check this out – awhile back, we had a wedding at a beautiful venue in Southern Cal over-looking the ocean.  Our clients had planned, along with their photographers (husband and wife team) that they would leave the premise and take photos during the cocktail hour.  Well, about 2 hours later they returned.  Thank goodness the venue had enough appetizers (they improvised during the last 1/2 hour) to keep the 180 guests happy. When the couple returned with the photographers, the photographers insisted on another 15 minutes to get the room detail shots. Of course they did!   The bride and groom were fine with the request so they could enjoy some appetizers and cocktails with their guests. 🙂 We later learned that the photographers had not preplanned the different places that they were taking the B&G for photos and they were denied access.  They forgot to inform our office of the off-site photo shoot, plus, they were out of the Country until right before the wedding.

In summary, when you are planning your wedding, please hire a planner that you really like and value their experience to handle any emergencies that may come up. Remember, these are live events and things can go wrong.  Most importantly, please keep a sense of humor on your wedding day and focus on the person you are marrying.

And finally, embrace the fact that alcohol can cause awkward moments, as well as be very dangerous, so please plan accordingly for the safety and well being of your guests.

For more information about planning an event, please call our office at 310-994-7789.

Here is a link to our event galleries – https://giannaandcompany.com/special-event-wedding-galleries-los-angeles/