You’ve spent months planning an event and making sure everything turns out EXACTLY how it was envisioned. Don’t mess it up at the very last minute! Here’s a list of 4 things you won’t even think about bringing on the day of an event that are kind of important.

1. Emergency Supply Kit. This includes a first-aid kit, because event planning can be dangerous! A lousy paper cut cannot hinder a busy day setting up for an event! The Emergency Supply Kit should also include pens, sharpies (you’d be surprised at how often you need one of these), rubber bands, paper clips and last but certainly not least, business cards because everybody is a potential client- or you may want to give that hottie setting up the AV your number, but don’t want it to be too obvious 😉

2. Phone Charger. You would think that this is an obvious one, but in the midst of packing your car up with everything else you need for the day of an event, your phone charger is seriously the LAST thing you’ll think about!

3. Snacks and a water bottle- or your drink of choice (we aren’t judging). On the day of an event, you don’t know when you’ll get to eat a meal, or if you’ll even get to eat one at all. I don’t know about you, but I get GRUMPY when I get hungry, and ain’t nobody got time for that!

4. Clothes for the Event. This is another one that you’d think would be obvious, but it’s so easily overlooked because you’re worried about everything else. On the day of an event I’m usually wearing comfortable clothes and shoes that I can move heavy tables and such in and then get ready in the bathroom before the event starts. Remember to bring not only clothes and shoes, but also makeup, hair styling products, and probably the most important thing-deodorant. Forgetting deodorant can be deadly. Literally.

Obviously, there’s so much more that you’ll need to bring on the day of an event that are more specific to your event, but those are just a few things the Epic Events team thinks are Must Haves for every event! Until next time, keep it classy and stay prepared dear friends.

Epic Events is in the midst of a heavy event-planning season. We’ve got a bunch of super fun and EPIC events coming up in the fall that we’re getting ready for. With that being said, I’ve come up with some things that if over-looked in the planning process, could be disastrous the day of an event.

Coat check-If your event is during the fall/Winter, you need a coat check. People that are rollin’ up to your winter event in their lavish fur coats don’t want to have to sling it on the back of their chair or hold it the entire time. Make sure you have a place for people to put their coats without fear of it being taken, and make it easy for them to pick up on their way out.

 North West rocking the mess out of that fur jacket.

Trash Cans- these are super easy to completely forget about. You’ve spent so much time picking out the perfect hors de ‘oeuvres and cutest little plates and napkins to put them on, but what do your guests do with their trash? Or maybe your venue already had trashcans but they are super small and are filling up quickly? Who is responsible for taking the trash out and putting a new bag in? Make sure you know the answers to these questions before people start throwing their trash on the ground!

Electrical Outlets– When you’re on a site visit, you should check to see first, if they have electrical outlets, and if they do, how many and where are they? You’ll need AT LEAST one outlet for each DJ, band, restaurant, and other entertainment you might have at your event. If you only have a couple of outlets, you run the risk of blowing a fuse. Both literally and metaphorically! Save yourself the stress and figure out the electrical situation before the day of the event.

Proper Bathroom facilities– this can seriously make or break your event! You could have the most Epic event in the area, but if you’ve only got 1 bathroom for both the men and women, and it’s a gross port-a-potty, that’s all they’ll remember. I know, you’re probably thinking “Krystal, that’s ridiculous. People don’t care THAT much about bathrooms.” Au contraire mon ami! People take their potties seriously! Make sure you have plenty of CLEAN bathrooms for your guests to use.

There’s nothing wrong with spending a little on bathrooms! These bathroom trailers are so nice!

I hope this blog post saves you from a possible disaster the day of your event, and if it does, you’re welcome.

Until next time friends!

So you’ve read and followed the quick tips that I gave for planning an Epic Event (that was a smart move on your part). So now what? Your event is all figured out on paper, but how do you make it actually happen? Here are 3 steps to start you off in the right direction of turning your perfect-on-paper event into a reality!

Form a Committee to Help

Large, small, it doesn’t really matter. There are pros and cons to both. Just find people who can bring something to the table. People who have connections and aren’t afraid to ask for favors or even people who are just super creative. There’s so many different ways to help out. Just remember that there will probably be 20% of the committee doing 80% of the work, but that’s okay! The 80% of the committee not doing as much work will still be useful. Like they can bring the wine to the meetings.

This is part of our fabulous Fandango Committee at Fandango 2014!

 Find a Venue

After you and your committee decide what kind of space you are going to need and what date you want, find a venue ASAP. Especially if you plan on having it during the spring, fall or around a major holiday because those are heavy event seasons and you’ll be competing for a date against graduations, bridezillas and everyone else for that matter. You can’t really move on with your event planning until you’ve secured a venue.

 Figure out Sponsorship Levels and Approach Potential Sponsors

This is where your committee of go-getters will come in super handy (especially if it’s large). Start asking businesses to sponsor and donate to your event. Hopefully your committee members will have all sorts of connections and will secure some really awesome sponsors. Before you do that though, you have to decide what your sponsors will get in return for their donation or sponsorship. Things like what kind of publicity will be given based on different levels of support, and how many complimentary tickets each level will receive.

 Obviously, there’s so much more that needs to be done before making your dream event a reality, but I think those are three action steps that need to be done before you can plan anything else. Hopefully you find these helpful in planning your EPIC Event!

 Until next time friends!

Hello friends! Epic Events Inte… I mean Epic Events COORDINATOR here. That’s right, I’ve moved on up in the world and am no longer the intern. I graduated college last Friday and started Monday as a full-time Epic Eventer!

This was right after I got my diploma!

Being that this week marked “the end of a chapter and the beginning of another” as the ole cliché goes, I’ve decided to share some of the wisdom I’ve gained while being the intern here at Epic Events.

1. Before you answer/make a business call, make sure you know who, what, when, where, and why. Otherwise you sound like a dummy on the phone scrambling through your notes trying to find the date and time that you swore you had written down somewhere.

2. Always have pen and paper to take notes at every meeting, and make an Action Item list to have done before the next meeting. You think you’ll remember everything that was discussed, but you won’t…trust me.

3. Make sure you bring (or better yet, wear) a comfy pair of shoes to every event. Rarely do I sit down during an event, so the first thing I want to do when it’s over is take off my heels and put some flats on. It makes the tearing down process 1000x better!

4. Always double check an email/Facebook post/ Tweet before you publish it. I would suggest maybe even triple checking to save yourself from embarrassment.

5. This one is super important. Save EVERY email conversation that you have with a client or vendor because there’s a good chance that you’ll need to reference it again. Seriously. That email about which committee member brought straws at last year’s event could end up saving you tons of time and money.

This is only a teeny tiny microscopic list of everything that I’ve learned from being an intern at Epic Events. I’m so excited to be working for such a great company and doing what I love!

XOXO

Krystal Rodriguez
Epic Events Coordinator

SPRING IS UPON US! Time to put up those Ugg boots and paint your toenails because its sandal and tank top season!

This weather has the Epic Events team in the mood for a sweet drink and I have the PERFECT recipe to go along with this PERFECT weather! I like to call it Epic Punch. I brought it to a party and it made me a celebrity. Seriously. Everybody was raving over it…and me for making it.

So if you’re up for running from paparazzi and feeling like a celeb, here’s the recipe:

-1 cup frozen concentrated lemonade (thawed)
-6 oz frozen concentrated orange juice (thawed)
-2 cups cranberry juice
-3 cups water
-¼ cup super fine sugar (I used normal sugar and it worked just fine)
-2 liters lemon-lime soda, chilled
-Sliced lemons and oranges (optional)
-Ice
-Vodka

All you have to do is get a large punch bowl, add the lemonade, orange juice, cranberry juice, water and sugar and stir it all together until the sugar has dissolved. Next, pour the Lemon-Lime soda into the mix. Last but definitely not least, add 3 shots of vodka (or more if you want to PARTAAAAY!) and stir the mixture around a bit more. Chill the mixture for a couple hours (or until you’re tired of waiting), and when you’re ready to enjoy it, pour it over some ice, and serve!

The only thing left to do is have fun and be sure and Drink Responsibly and Never, Ever, EVER Drink and Drive!!

Love always,

Your Epic Events Intern, Krystal

For some reason, people have this crazy idea that in order to throw an EPIC event; you need to have an EPIC budget. False! It’s totally possible to host an EPIC event without having to empty out your piggy bank, and here’s some tips on how!

GETTING THE WORD OUT
Unless it’s super formal like a wedding or some hoity toity event, you don’t need to send out paper invitations. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s this really cool thing that everybody and their grandma has (literally, people’s grandmas are on there) called Facebook. And email. And Twitter. And you can send all the information about your event to your friends for FREE!

DECORATION
This is the part of planning your event when it really helps to be creative. The best way to save is by DIY decorations! All you have to do is get those creative juices flowing and the dollar/craft store can have everything that you need to make your event look fabulous! I’m a poor college student so trust me on this one; the Dollar Store is everything. Especially if you’re doing a themed event like New Years or the Fourth of July. The dollar store has cute paper pom-poms to hang or even use as centerpieces, colored paper for DIY confetti, balloons, and some stores even have artificial flowers.

Ya’ll, this paper chandelier is so great. And so cheap to make!

FOOD
If your event isn’t too big, making the food yourself is a great way to save. But let’s face it, not everybody is a Betty Crocker. If that’s the case then you can do more of a “potluck” style event and have everybody (or just the people that you know can cook well) bring a dish! Food always tastes better when somebody else has made it anyway.

DRINKS
Alcohol can really be a budget buster when planning an event. Making it “BYOB” (Bring-your-own-bottle, for those not in the know) not only saves you a boatload of money, but also allows your guests to drink whatever they want because they brought it themselves! You can also keep it simple by just offering one “specialty” drink for the night that goes along with the theme of your event. That way, you’re not spending tons of money on every kind of liquor or wine at your fav liquor store.

If you remember nothing else from this blog post, remember this: KEEP THINGS SIMPLE. Planning an event doesn’t have to cost you tons of money! You think your guests are going to remember those humongous centerpieces with 1000 different kinds of flowers? Probs not. What they will remember is the great time they had and memories they made with their friends, and you know what? That’s priceless.

BAM! You can go ahead and quote me on that. It’s brilliant, I know.

How many of you want to put on the most EPIC event but have absolutely no idea where to start? Have no fear! Epic Events intern, Krystal is here to give you some quick tips to help you get the party started!

4 Quick Tips for Planning a Successful Event:

1. What’s your Objective?

Do you want to throw a rockin’ New Year’s Eve party for your close friends to start the year off right? Or are you trying to plan a golf tournament to raise money for a non-profit? Figure out why you’re having this shindig and what you want your guests to get from it!

2. Who’s your Audience?

Who do you want to invite to your event? This is super important because it helps you know how you should promote your event and more importantly, it helps you figure out what will go on during your event.

3. What’s your Message?

This is especially important if you are planning a fundraiser. If you are trying to raise awareness or money for an organization, let everybody know, and let them know ALL THE TIME. For instance, if you’re trying to raise money for an animal shelter, don’t be afraid to get all Sarah McLachlan on people and pluck at their heartstrings…over and over again. You want your guests to remember your message!

And last, but certainly not least…

4. What is your Budget?

I kind of think this is the most important part of planning an event. Make sure you decide how much money you want to raise (if that’s the kind of event you want to have) and plan your budget around that! If you’re not planning a fundraiser, make sure you set a budget and STICK TO IT. If you don’t have an EPIC budget, don’t sweat it, you can still have a fabulous party on a dime!

We’ll talk more about Partying on a Dime next time, so stay tuned and don’t forget to share this info with all your Epic friends!

Most of us will plan an event at some point in our lives. Whether it’s a birthday celebration, holiday gathering, anniversary party, wedding, fundraiser or a company picnic. And of course we want our guests to leave impressed!

So how do you plan an impressive event? The perfect venue, food, décor, activities, party favors and so much more have to be considered for your specific guests.

Working in the event industry, we know of the many upcoming and unique options out there for all the considered categories! Yet, most people seem to stick to the same ole boring stuff when it comes to hosting their own event. Well, Epic Events is putting forth all its efforts to keep you from being a victim of ho hum events.

How are we going to do that, you ask? Well…we’ve created the Party & Event Expo in OKC to connect you with the best resources in the event industry! Here you will find all the resources needed to plan and execute a one-of-a-kind event of your own. This week we have been working hard to secure a variety of exhibitors to connect all you professional and just-for-funsies party planners. These businesses have the creativity we all desperately need to bring to our own events. Leave it to the pros to help bring your vision to life! 

The Party & Event Expo had great success last year and we believe in even bigger and better EPIC things for 2014! So stay connected with us as we keep you updated on the progress of all things Party & Event Expo related!