Event-U-ally

December 2008

Well, another year is nearing an end. It’s time, again, to take stock and look at all the year has brought. I’ve often found the best way to move forward in life and business is to reflect on the past, analyse what you’ve achieved, and plan where you want to be this time the following year.

For me, this year has been one full of excitement. I have seen Your Special Event take shape and go from strength to strength as I continually refine each aspect of the business. I have also met many wonderful people from businesses in the events industry, assisted clients with their special events, and been able to advise others as they seek to follow their dreams and start their own businesses.

Thank you to all those who have supported me in realising my dream to make planning personal events fun, easy, and stress-free! I have valued each and every one of you and look forward to all we can achieve in 2009!

November 2008

Aside from meeting with a couple of other celebrants, the highlight of my month was attending a 2 day women’s networking conference. It was amazing! There were at least 100 other like-minded women attending with several businesses displaying their products for us to trial. The talks were aimed at inspiring each of us to look at our own strengths and areas that could use improvement in our personal lives as well as our businesses. As well as the many networking opportunities, I enjoyed being able to meet women that could relate to my lifestyle, the encouragement we gave each other, and the fun we had together.

I heavily booked the first three of weeks of this month with meetings and site inspections so that I could retreat for the last week of November and the first week of December. I’ve been finding that with all the expos, networking functions, and meeting so many great businesses I haven’t had much time to enter all their information into my database. When a client contacts me I am able to search for appropriate businesses that meet their specific criteria easily and quickly on my database. However, as some of the information and price lists have been piling up of late, I decided it was time to take charge. So, I’ve planned to pack up my laptop and all the information I need to enter and get away from the office for a couple of weeks. This will provide me time to devote undivided attention to keeping all my information as current as possible. Even though the last couple of months have certainly been a blast, I must admit I’m looking forward to this change of pace.

October 2008

Most of this month has been spent organising weddings for clients at short notice. I’ve found that many couples decide to hire me after they’ve spent several months of their engagement trying to get around to organising something but either don’t have the time or don’t know where to start. I’m happy to say that in each case I have been able to provide all the referrals they asked for while still meeting their timeframes and budgets.

In the middle of arranging these clients’ events, I have also been able to visit several incredible venues for site inspections, members of a soft rock band, talented photographers, and mobile hair and makeup artists.

I had fun at the Diana Plaza Hotel Wedding Expo, where I met more businesses I can highly recommend. I’ve also been meeting with several celebrants I’ve been recommended, and it’s been a pleasure to get to know them and the various styles they can provide. As with photographers, it’s important to find a celebrant you get along with, communicate easily and feel comfortable with. After all, they will be guiding you through a very important day. Many of these celebrants are able to assist you write your own vows and can create any style of ceremony you desire.

After seeing the stress levels of many people before they become my clients and comparing that with their relaxed and happy air after they’ve hired me, my advice to all who are planning to marry is this – start planning early, agree on a set budget you do not want to exceed, and ... why not let me do all the leg work so you can sit back and enjoy the lead up to your special day.

September 2008

This was a very full month. I met with a couple more mobile hair and makeup artists (all of whom I was very impressed with), photographers, venues of different sizes and in different suburbs on Brisbane’s southside, party hire companies, and a lady who hand-makes stylish invitations and other stationery based in Carindale. I also met with the leader of a small jazz band, suitable for dinner music, birthday parties, or any other special occasion.

I attended The Glen Hotel Wedding Expo, where I met with a number of brilliant businesses in a range of areas of event coordination. The following week I met with one of the businesses I was most impressed with at the Expo. These two ladies specialise in orthodox weddings, christenings and baptisms and can provide everything required for such events. They were lovely and so willing to share their experiences with me. I would be more than happy to refer any suitable client to them.

August 2008

As well as meeting with a couple of ladies who create bouquets and table centrepieces from lollies (what a novel and brilliant idea!!), I also met with several shoe stores and party hire companies. All of them provide niche services that very few other businesses provide. One of the great businesses I met with stocks bridal and evening shoes for ladies with feet that are smaller or larger, shorter or longer than the sizes normally stocked in stores.

I’ve discovered that one of the perks in this line of work is that as I meet the various businesses and venues, they also invite me to their VIP functions. I went to one such cocktail party this month – the launch of an upgraded function room at one of the hotels in the city. It was an incredible evening with actresses dressed up in period costumes with their waiting trays built into their skirts, gorgeous product displays ... but my favourite was the mammoth chocolate fondue fountain!

July 2008

I’ve met with several vehicle hire companies this month – everything from limousines to vintage cars, from corporate vehicles to horse-drawn carriages. All were friendly, professional, and eager to go above and beyond to provide excellent service. There is certainly something to suit every style of occasion!

I also met with a lady, Nathalie, who co-owns a pampering business. While she is based in Sunnybank Hills, she provides a mobile service all over Brisbane and the north and south coasts. The idea behind her business is to have various pampering stations set up around a room so guests can work their way around from station to station, experiencing pampering such as a massage at one station, a pedicure at another, a facial at yet another. Clients can select how many stations they want and what type of pampering they’d like at each one. These parties are perfect for hens, birthdays, divorce parties, or ‘we just want to get together and have fun’ parties. And, the best part is that the professionals at each station can teach the guests how to perform the pampering on their friends themselves. This way, you can get a great massage anytime you want!

Nathalie also introduced me to a wonderful networking group for women in business. I’ve signed up to receive their email newsletters, and plan to attend one of their conferences later in the year.

June 2008

I met with a couple more photographers this month, as well as a lady who does absolutely incredible floral arrangements. Another related area I’ve begun meeting businesses in is videographers. As with photography, there are many different styles of videography, so it is important to meet with the videographer before you hire them and look at some of their previous work – just to make sure it’s what you’d like for your special day.

Then Karen, who I met earlier in the month at another networking lunch, took me around Brisbane city for site inspections in three different hotels. I’ve been getting some great ideas of how clients can take the same venue and, by using different layouts, decorations and theming, create completely different looks. All it takes is a little vision.

I also need to give a big plug to the Stamford Plaza chocolate hi tea buffet! I went with a friend of mine and we had such a great time. But, then, how could one not with all that chocolate!:) They hold these buffets regularly, and, for $35.00/person guests can eat as much as they like of the sandwiches, scones, chocolate-dipped strawberries, chocolate slices, hot chocolate, and anything else chocolate that you can imagine. Definitely worth inviting your friends to the next one for an indulgent afternoon out!

May 2008

I met with Matt, from the photographers’ studio that shot my cousin’s wedding, to arrange a photo shoot for myself. They did such an amazing job with the photos at the wedding and were so friendly and easy to get along with that I felt comfortable approaching them to take photos of me that I could use on my website and in advertising. We arranged to meet at Southbank one afternoon. I’d never done anything like it before, but Matt had lots of great ideas and made me feel completely comfortable. And, I must say Matt worked a miracle with his camera!

April 2008

This was a big month for weddings! One of the inspirations that made me contemplate starting this business was when my cousin approached me to design the orders of service and table settings for her wedding in Marburg. At the same time, a friend of mine asked me to organise, cater for, and decorate the afternoon tea following her wedding for over 300 guests. The afternoon tea was in a hall in Coorparoo, while the reception was at a venue with an old world charm at Mt. Tamborine. I found I enjoyed working with both of these special ladies to make their weddings special and all they’d dreamed of. Seeing them so excited in the lead up to and their radiance throughout their wedding days reaffirmed in me that this is how I want to spend my life.

In the midst of all the wedding arrangements I met with a bra and undergarment company specialising in larger sized women. They are brilliant! Not only do they provide comfort and fit, but they stock everything from lacy lingerie to the more cotton comfort items.

March 2008

WOW! The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Bridal Expo was the biggest expo I’ve ever been to! It took me several hours to work my way through all the stands, talking with each of the businesses and introducing myself and my event consultancy business. They were all keen to talk to me and explain their services to me.

One of the businesses I’d met with recently gave my details to a man needing some audio visual equipment for an event this month. I was able to provide him with the details of a business that could supply all he was looking for and at a great price. He was so grateful for this referral and it felt wonderful to be able to assist him in this way. I’m finally doing what I set this business up to do – taking all the stress and leg work out of planning and arranging personal events for clients!

February 2008

There is so much to do on the day of your wedding, which is why I love mobile businesses – especially for hair and makeup. It means the bridal party doesn’t have to rush from one studio to the other, getting themselves into a fluster. I met with 2 great mobile makeup artists this month who were particularly friendly and accommodating. They are both willing to travel outside Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast and even out to Toowoomba. Their folios were also very impressive.

I also attended the Wedding Open Day at Customs House and met several businesses that have agreed to meet with me again soon to discuss their services in more detail. Customs House is a lovely venue for elegant and stylish events.

I attended my first business networking breakfast, BNE, as I was invited along by the guy who designed my stationery. It was interesting to meet other the businesses and discuss how they overcame the many hurdles business owners can face.

January 2008

I’m so excited to have you read the very first blog for Your Special Event. It was only a few months ago that I decided for certain that I would leave my career in administration to pursue what I felt was my ‘calling’. As I helped one of my friends and also one of my cousin with aspects of the respective weddings and seeing them both so excited I felt alive, and ... well ... I was hooked. I enjoyed sourcing appropriate catering, table decor and stationery for them. Both weddings came together very smoothly and were beautiful on the day.

My friend and also my cousin and her family encouraged me that I had done a wonderful job for them and they thought I was really in my element. I started thinking about it more seriously after their support. I’m a very organised person. Once I made the decision to start my own event consultancy business, it wasn’t long before I’d registered the business name, applied for an ABN, organised my stationery, and started working on my logo. I started sourcing the various businesses I wanted to meet with that I may refer clients to in the once the business is set up. I met with a wonderful photographer who would make anyone feel comfortable being in front of a camera all day I also met with the staff at a restaurant in the city that often caters for personal functions, both based in the Brisbane CBD.