Contributor Post
Entrepreneur: Brittany Garman
Company: BashBLOK
Title: Co-Founder
Industry: Event Planning
Let’s face it…party planning is stressful! At BashBLOK, we have planned countless events and regardless of preparedness there is always an unexpected detail that can throw you in to a tailspin. However, realizing there is a solution to every party planning problem and that your guests will never know you ended up going with plan B can keep you on track and stress free. Any time we work with clients we strongly encourage putting together a timeline and sticking to it. Spreading out tasks and taking things one step at a time makes all the difference in the world but also we more than understand that sometimes you just don’t know where to start. So, with all that understanding and our passion for planning, we have a super handy dandy checklist to get you started on putting a plan in action for your next bash.
We give you, the BashBLOK-A-Genda!
6-8 Weeks Before the Bash
You’ve decided you want to host a gathering…awesome! Start with the basics.
- Set a date, time and location
- Determine your number of guests
- Start thinking about catering vs. cooking
- Decide on a theme which will of course, impact decorations and potential printing designs.
- Book any vendors you may decide to hire…caterers, photographers, DJ’s, bands, etc.
4 Weeks Before the Bash
More concrete details need to be put in place.
- Send out invitations. If you are doing printed invitations be sure to allow extra time for production and addressing (usually 2 weeks is enough).
- Start shopping for supplies and decorations. We are huge fans of Oriental Trading and Paper Eskimo.
- If you are hiring musical entertainment, put together a list of songs for a DJ or band. You want to make sure a band has sufficient time to learn songs if you need something specific.
2-3 Weeks Before the Bash
- If you plan to have activities, put together a schedule for such and purchase appropriate supplies.
- If possible, start thinking about staging your space and get an idea on how you will arrange food and decorations/flowers.
1 Week Before the Bash
- Touch base with guests, if you sent digital invitations a reminder message is super simple.
- Put together a timeline/agenda for your party
- Think about a music playlist if you are putting together your own background jams.
2-3 Days Before the Bash
- Start purchasing food and if you are cooking, make as many things ahead as you can. We are big fans of things that can be prepared a day or two in advance then either refrigerated or frozen.
- If you are offering favors, get those babies prepared.
- Clean your space or be sure to have a cleaning crew scheduled.
- If possible, start putting out decorations and flowers.
1 Day Before the Bash
- If you are baking anything this is, in our opinion, the time to do it. You want baked goods to be as fresh as possible without having to do a day-of bake.
- If you’ve booked vendors, touch base to confirm delivery and arrival times.
- Pick up any cakes or prepared food items.
- Do a final tidying of the space
5-6 Hours Before the Bash
- Finalize placement decorations/flowers and be sure to have serving pieces arranged and ready for food. If you have already staged this should be pretty easy.
- Set up activities
1-3 Hours Before the Bash
- Get yourself ready
- Set up the food
- Lastly, crank up your favorite song and get excited that you are having a party!
Want tips and help planning your next event? Be sure to sign up at www.bashblok.com to experience the easiest and most collaborative way to manage all your events for free!
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