Event Coordinator Tips: How to Talk to Your Event Coordinator

There are a lot of people who think that event coordinators are merely girl fridays who are willing to do their client's requests no matter how difficult they may be. Sometimes we get yelled at, and mistreated. Clients who do not show up on time for an appointment? Clients who cancel at the last minute even if you already booked a lot of things for them? Clients who overly demand beyond what's on black and white? That, and so much more.

Not to say that most clients are like that, but there are others, especially who just hired an event coordinator for the first time, who really have sky-high expectations. Worse, these clients even have the narrowest budgets. Dear clients and clients-to-be, I hope you weren't guilty of what I just said.

See, these situations can be lessened if only there was proper communication between the client and the event coordinator. Here are some tips on how to talk to your event coordinator:

1. 4 WS first. What is the event? When is it taking place? Where is your preferred venue? (If you're not decided, ask for suggestions based on the other factors.) Who are you celebrating the event for?

2. Clearly state what your expectation for the event is. Say "this is what I want and this is what I expect". Lay down the information to the last detail. For everything, ask the event coordinator if it is doable.

3. Clearly state what your BUDGET is. This is very tricky since many people underestimate the things needed for an event. For example, a wedding. If you are covering for 100 guests with hotel reception, with 100 souvenirs, around 50 invitations, photo and video coverage, bridal car rentals, formal wear rentals, event emcee, event decor, stage decor, etc. Certainly P100,000 might be short if you have very high expectations. The lowest, safest number that we work with for a wedding with that caliber of production is P120,000. That includes everything already.

4. Look for a MOA or a service contract and sign it as soon as you pay a down payment. The down payment is needed for the event coordinator to have something to work with (do initial legwork, etc.) and for the booking of the date.

5. Treat your event coordinator as a professional (just like you) and s/he also has value in the industry that s/he works with. Come to the meeting on time and treat him/ her just like you would a boss or a client. The better your relationship is, the better the event will turn out to be.

Those are the general rules. Good luck to your event!  :)

Spend for the Marriage, Not the Wedding

If you are getting married but you are a little bit short on the budget, then be very practical about your wedding and, instead, spend more money investing on your MARRIAGE rather than on a one-day affair such as your wedding.

There are a lot of women who want their wedding days to be as magical as it can be, and they whine and pout to get what they want. They grew up looking at the fairy tale endings of their favorite books, on posh bridal magazines and they have been feeling the social pressures that come with being a bride—having a nice shower, a big ring on your finger, and a grand wedding.

Their fiancés, on the other hand, simply want to please them and if they don’t work together to do the budgeting and to arrive in certain compromises, then you don’t need early warning devices to tell you that they are only heading towards disaster.

It’s simple really. If you want to get married but you’re short on money right now, you can either postpone the wedding so you can have more time to save for it, or you can push through with it on your desired date but not go all-out in the spending anyway. It’s such a bad idea to end up working doubly hard while you’re still starting as a family just because you wanted those designer table runners on your reception tables. Or specifically wanted a Benz as your bridal car.

I know a once-bride-to-be who wanted her wedding to be very special. She was the only daughter and was the youngest so her family really wanted her once-husband-to-be to shoulder a big part of their wedding. The family even wanted to name it a dowry and asked P100,000 from her once fiancé. What the guy did was to loan a big amount of money so she got the wedding that she wanted. The ending? When she finally got to live with her husband under one roof and shared a life with him, she also shared the burden of paying the loan. So her wedding pictures looked good, alright. But afterwards she looked so haggard from working so hard.

Be smart about this issue; after all, you’re taking a big and bold step towards a whole new life. Remember that the money that you spend in your wedding will also be helpful when you begin setting up your new home where you will start your family. Imagine how many kitchen implements a designer gown could get. Or how many bathroom essentials your expensive chocolate fountains could afford. Be very smart…it’s about time.

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One of the smartest decisions that you will make in the course of your wedding planning is hiring a wedding planner or a wedding coordinator. They will hold your stress buffer and they also have the right network for the quality wedding suppliers at any budget. At the end of the day, you will find out that you saved a lot of time, effort and money because you got the right person on your end. 

We, at PREP, have years of experience planning weddings...and start-up marriages. Tee-hee. We have seen many couples make good and bad decisions in planning their weddings so we'd be able to hold your hand throughout the process. Ready to book your wedding? Want to inquire about our wedding coordination packages? Shoot us an email-- prepdavao@gmail.com. :-)