Now that Prismm has been subsumed by Cvent, it is terrible! I miss all of my tools and templates. They have gotten rid of everything that I loved about the app for floor plans for social events.

I'm going to continue with it for another month as I am in busy season, but I need options for other floorplan software for mostly social/milestone events (weddings, mitzvahs, fundraisers, 50 - 600 guests.) Thanks for any recommendations!

I've been speaking with a few wedding planners recently and I keep hearing the same thing, the actual planning and creativity is the fun part, but the business side is a mess.

Things like onboarding new clients, creating and tracking budgets across multiple weddings, chasing vendors for confirmations, building timelines, managing contracts, and keeping clients updated, how are you currently handling all of this?

Are you using a full platform like HoneyBook or Dubsado, or are you still in spreadsheets and Google Docs? What does those tools get wrong for your specific workflow?

Most importantly, what's the one thing you find yourself doing manually every week that you keep thinking should just be automated by now?

Not selling anything here, genuinely trying to understand the real friction before building anything. Would really appreciate honest answers from people actually running their own planning businesses.

What giveaways or party favors seem to be a big hits at events? Not things you'll leftover in the trash, on tables, or floors later. We are trying to cut down on waste and want people to enjoy and actually use the give outs. I think people have a million totes...something different

Hello all,

I and my brother are planning a firework event, a large one, (about 15k) and we have done a prediction of about 2200 people just to break even.

We would like 3000 people but how do you plan to bring that many people to come to the event. Like we have the space and things like that but how do you actually get 3000 people to buy a ticket? We have a stage and 2-3 bands, street food and a bar, (potentially a fun fair)

Im just worried we wouldn't sell the tickets in 3 months.

Are there any tips or things like that?

Thanks

Hey fellow event planners! I love reading case studies here, and I want to share one of ours to help inspire others. I would love to see more people post these! (Video is at the bottom).

Today I want to talk about a huge company anniversary event we planned for 6,500 people. It was for a tech company in San Jose, CA called Supermicro. They were celebrating 30 years and wanted to go big right on their own campus.

We did the whole thing right in their actual employee parking lots and open areas.

If you plan on-site corporate events or big company picnics, you know that using a client's actual property is a giant puzzle. Planning the guest flow and decor so it does not feel like a open parking lot is a huge challenge. Plus, taking away parking spaces for 6,500 guests has its own logistical headaches!

Here is exactly how we did it:

Mapping the Space and Crowd Flow

First, we had to map out the area. We looked at where the entrances and exits should go, and where to make wide walking paths. We needed to find the perfect spot for the main stage so all 6,500 people could gather comfortably at once.

Once we had our main stage set, we spread the other attractions out to the far edges of the property. We did not put all the food and games in one spot. This forced people to walk around, which kept the lines short and stopped bottlenecks. To help even more, we had performers wearing "strolling tables" around their waists passing out treats on trays.

https://preview.redd.it/87xweq040x1h1.png?width=1030&format=png&auto=webp&s=e524baa50cabca1256379a458094b9c8ce5ae113

High-Turnover Entertainment

The theme was a circus carnival. We used themed decor and matched everything to Supermicro’s red and blue brand colors.

https://preview.redd.it/71h1eq090x1h1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d60e79c50bfa9f9b27f8eeea1663f97b7dce807

To keep lines short, we used 15 classic carnival games (like Ring Toss). These games only take about 1 minute per person, so everyone got a turn quickly. We also hired two bubble artists. Huge bubbles drifted overhead, which added entertainment and acted as moving decor for the big open space.

https://preview.redd.it/9vprptn50x1h1.jpg?width=550&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47f4dd83193d89f05343b730783139f02c8cb167

Food Trucks and Band Strategy

For food, we served Chicken and Seafood Paella, Rotisserie Chicken, BBQ Pork Ribs, and Vegan Paella. These were served from high-volume food trucks so the food stayed hot, fresh, and fast. We also had a Tap Truck for beer and multiple water stations everywhere.

For music, we booked the band Scary Pockets (funk covers). Putting a high-energy band on the main stage at the 3-hour mark was actually a secret crowd-control trick. It naturally pulled over 2,000 people away from the food lines right when the catering staff needed a break to restock!

https://preview.redd.it/pk6ztwoc0x1h1.png?width=1030&format=png&auto=webp&s=e78cd971e404ccae0a2517fc9da3652d8fc5f93b

Branding and Security

We used the company's 30th-anniversary logo on all the signs and decor. We even had a Photo Mosaic Wall. We took photos of the guests at a photo booth and placed them on a giant wall to form the company logo.

https://preview.redd.it/1i9w22le0x1h1.png?width=1030&format=png&auto=webp&s=df66eaea53ea3ebfc4f28c87c2b93c36a39301d8

To close off the open areas and create boundaries, we used perimeter fencing mixed with the vendor vehicles. Security and traffic control teams helped manage the cars. Since we used the main parking lot for the party, we used big signs and staff to direct guests to a designated parking area nearby, just like a large county fair does.

If you are an event planning company looking to scale up to huge crowds, layout is everything!

https://preview.redd.it/1735g9gl0x1h1.jpg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45a0ebd0ef992c818a2cd26ac5e05fe264cffdfb

Drop a question below and I will do my best to answer everyone!

Link to Youtube Video

https://youtu.be/VyVpS89zIuE?si=kFuJu_nENE9-ndhb

Hello, I hosted 2 events, the first one went super viral on tiktok and was sold out! Great!!! However when I did the follow up event, I had half the attendance. I followed the same steps as last time as terms of posting schedule, but the algorithm just didn't push it. So my question is, when the algorithm isn't working in your favor, what are some other ways you can promote?

I currently don't live in the same city the events take place so its harder for me to go out and tell everyone about it. So what are some things I can do?

I’m planning a birthday party and the space is quite large and they have a very small budget for decor. I’ve tried to spread the decor out in the past and it just looks cheap and unintentional. Should I consolidate the decor like around the food and cake ? Or any ideas to bring life to the other areas?

What can I do to better myself for a entry level position or a something like a internship.

I’m an independent event planner in the Washington, DC area and recently encountered a situation that I have not seen before in more than 26 years in the events industry.

A nonprofit client engaged a third-party event staffing company to manage beverage sales at an event. The client supplied all of the beer and wine. The staffing company was responsible for chilling the beverages, providing POS systems, staffing the bars, and selling the product on my client's behalf.

At the conclusion of the event, when I went to collect the remaining inventory, I was informed by on-site staff that all leftover beer and wine had already been packed up and taken offsite to the company’s office.

When the client followed up several weeks later, they were told the remaining inventory was no longer available.

We had:

• A detailed inventory of all beer and wine delivered to the event
• A sales report showing what was sold during the event

Based on those records, there appears to be a substantial variance representing hundreds of bottles of beer and wine.

In my experience, when a client provides the alcohol, any unused product is typically returned to the client unless there is a prior written agreement stating otherwise.

Has anyone else worked with a staffing or event management company that removed and retained leftover client-provided alcohol? Is this considered standard practice, or outside normal industry expectations?

I’m interested in hearing whether others in fundraising, hospitality, or event planning have encountered a similar situation.

Hey everyone

We've recently had this question because noticed that at least for some people they were missing events they would have otherwise gone to if they knew about it. It seems like there is not a central place to just find anything and everything around you

W@ is an app we built to help both the event host and attendee

We were wondering if this is something event planners would find useful?

I’ve noticed guests at corporate events, networking receptions, and even weddings seem harder to impress lately because they’ve seen the same entertainment concepts over and over.

For planners, DMCs, hotels, or corporate event teams here — what interactive activations are actually working well right now?

One thing I’ve personally noticed doing really well lately is live cigar rolling because guests naturally gather around it, ask questions, network longer, and treat it almost like part entertainment / part hospitality experience.

Especially seeing it more at:
- golf tournaments
- sponsor lounges
- trade shows
- VIP receptions
- cocktail hours
- charity galas

Curious what other event experiences people are seeing guests genuinely interact with lately instead of just walking past.

If there was a way to deliver personalized schedules to every guest/attendee + the ability to send live updates/messages at any given moment to specific groups/people would that be something useful to you?

How do you currently handle creating different schedules for all different people and live communication updates?

Looking for an event coordinator role remote or in northern nj. I have a degree in business administration management, but no background in event planning/management. I really am interested in breaking into this career for corporate.

I have applied with Maritz, thought I was getting the job, was declined for someone with more experience.

Is anyone hiring?

Hello!

Firstly, I want to say: I have a ton of experience. My mother worked a non-profit government position where she was an event planner, and I was her (volunteer) assistant, and planned a lot of the events myself for ten years. I only stopped, as I got my degree Music Education, and became a band director and moved to Florida. For three years, i have planned multiple award ceremonies, band fundraising events, parties, concerts, musicals, dinners, etc. I am getting out of education, and I would really love to be an event planner for a career, but I have no idea how to get my foot in the door. I know the job market is saturated, and it's already difficult just applying anywhere. I don't know if the fact that a lot of my experience is through education, or volunteered base is making me seem like I'm entry level, even though I've been doing this for 13 years. I'm sure there will be some things I'll need help with or need to know, but for the most part my events that I held by myself have always gone very well with great turn up with both locations.

I don't really know anybody in Orlando, and would love to at least get an assistant job to start off. Even if I need to work as an intern just so I can get relevant experience. Any tips or pointers? Maybe advice?

I'm looking to interview an event organizer with experience planning garden parties for content for an American brand with 57K Instagram followers. You get free content and exposure in exchange.

If interested, please comment how many garden parties you've organized.

I’m curious from a planner’s perspective what’s one part of event planning that clients consistently think is “simple” but is actually way more complex behind the scenes? It could be timelines, coordination, styling, vendor management, or even small details like tablescapes and guest flow. Would love to hear real experiences or common misconceptions you deal with on the job!

Helping produce a community festival (expecting around 2,000 people over a day) and I have no idea how to figure out how many food stalls is "enough" without either leaving people hungry or having vendors complain they didn't make money.

Is there a rough rule of thumb? Does it change depending on the type of event or how spread out the crowd is across the day?

I help organize events and last-minute travel changes can be brutal.

Has anyone used private travel to avoid major scheduling issues?

Doing paid events for a while now, few hundred guests a month spread across a few shows.

Ticketing tools (EB, TT) cover the revenue side fine. The problem is everything else. After every event I'm sitting in front of a gsheet typing in costs venue, staff, ads, refunds, no-shows. Then trying to figure out which customers came back from last time, who I should invite again, which events bring the repeat people. That info is in like 4 different places.

The big event platforms cost too much and feel built for conferences and corporate stuff, not for small operators running recurring shows.

So I'm asking - is everyone else also doing it in sheets? Airtable? Some CRM? Just looking at ticketing reports and hoping?

Anyone tracking repeat customers properly or also just by feel?

Honestly starting to think nobody has this solved at our scale.