Best Event Planning Checklist & Free Checklist Template

When organizing an event, it is very important to have a well-designed plan that covers all the key elements required for this occasion. It assists you in keeping every single prospect under consideration and makes it possible to conduct any program and event symmetrically. 

Contrary to this, if you don’t have any list or map, theoretically, it can create a mess during the event despite all the preparations and efforts you put in. Preparing a complete mind map of an event can be more challenging than organizing it.

While discussing my experience, designing an event's structure sounds like solving a complicated puzzle. Whenever I encounter the responsibility of managing an event, I am more likely to acknowledge the significance of having a well-prepared event checklist. 

It helps me to keep a bird’s eye view on even a minor detail or task that needs to be done for the event. It also enhances the chances of success of that event.

Types of Events

You might have seen many social and professional events occurring in your surroundings and often attended them. Generally, there are four main types of events:

Each of these events has its specific management requirement. You must have a well-ordered and flexible checklist to meet all the requirements.

Event Planning Checklist

Planning an event is a huge undertaking. With countless moving pieces, keeping track of intricate details can sometimes be hard to achieve the task. However, I have come up with a formula for successful event planning. Yes! You can manage the event without missing a thing with the event planner checklist I have devised using my experience.

Here are the factors you must take care of.

Goals and Objectives

Before you start setting up the stage, calling speakers, or contacting the sponsors, you must know the goals and objectives of your event.  

• For instance, planning an educational event will be pretty different from a more political one.
• If you are planning an event to collect donations for a certain cause, the event planning and its objective will be dedicated to targeting more audiences and collecting more money.
•  Likewise, if the event is dedicated to entertainment, your goal would be to amuse the audience.

Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself before stepping into event planning:

• What is the objective of the event?
• What goals are you expecting to achieve?
• How much profit do you expect to pocket from the event?
• Who is the target audience?
• What venue and location would work best with respect to the event?

Event Budget

• Your budget will decide how fancy your event can go. Before investing in your event, you must have a blueprint of where and how much to spend. 
• You can create a budget in an Excel sheet and organize your expenses.
• You can start with main categories like decoration, catering, and rental costs. 
• Furthermore, you can break down all your expected expenses in the Excel sheet. While sorting your budget, I would suggest you do the following tips:
• Determine the rental costs of the venue
• Contacting vendors and negotiating the costs. You can ask them for a discount.
• Contact the sponsors
• You must pay your deposits
• Decide ticket costs
• If you have planned a similar event in the past, you can use and modify the old budget

You should add the following costs to your budget list:

• Rental Costs
• Food and Beverages
• Speaker fees
• Travel costs
• Equipment costs

After determining the above-mentioned costs, you can create a comprehensive budget outline for your event. 

Date and Venue

• First, you have to start by deciding the event date. You need to be very vigilant when setting a date for the event. 
• Keep in mind the official calendar of the year and the personal engagements of the guests. 
• Target the date on a public holiday or when people won’t have to put off their schedule to attend the event.  You must consider:
• What date should you choose for the event?
• A backup plan or a second option for a venue in case of emergency.
• Speaking of the venue, you have to choose one which is accessible for the guests, and that passes the vibe check. 
• Furthermore, the location can be outdoor or indoor, depending on the running season.  
• For instance, you can go to outdoor venues during the summer and spring seasons. Whereas during the winter season, you must prefer an indoor venue that is warm and cozy for the guests.
• What could be the best location for the event?
• Will your venue accommodate the number of expected guests?
• You should also consider infrastructure needs like wifi, bathrooms, and the vicinity of restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls.
• Does your location need security?
• Do you need a legal license or a permit for the venue?

Create the Event Design

Creating your event design is just like writing a plot for a movie. You must design the timeline and assign different activities to a specific period. 

That way, you can cue your audience what the event will be about. It will clarify the agenda and goals of the event to audiences that will get to know about the event from some social media advertisement. 

In today’s era, where events are more about making videos and capturing photos, you must pay attention to lighting, sound, and technology so the attendees can enjoy the event. 

After all, the event is successful only when the attendees enjoy it. You need to keep in mind the program, layout, and theme of the event to create an event design. 

Here are the ways you can design your event like a pro:

Program

• The program needs to be captivating enough for the audience. 
• Hence, you should streamline the program events so that the audiences feel connected to whatever is happening in the event. 
• Here are a few things you can follow so that your audience celebrates the event as much as you want them to
• You should organize your program’ schedule 
• Streamline the activities smartly
• Add life to the program through entertainers and vendors 

Layout

• Your event layout is all about how you will utilize the space. The layout should cover everything from seating arrangement to the electrical cord placements to the food stall positioning.
• The design and scheme of the whole function must be fabricated before the day of your event.
• You can even design your layout on different online apps and share it with the vendors, clients, and the sound system team.

Theme

You must have planned your themes for a particular day in your university or college life. It is fun when you set a theme for your event as a professional event planner. But there is another side to it. 

• Adding a theme to your event can uplift the significance of your event’s agenda.
• It conveys a solid message to the audience and creates a sense of responsibility among the attendees.‍
• Creating Hype: When you set a theme for the event and inform all the guests about the event, the experience commences long before the event. Furthermore, it also sets the tone for the event.‍
• Creating a Cohesion: When all your arrangements are in harmony and follow a particular theme, it connects the guest with the event's agenda.‍
• Making the Event Memorable: Setting an enjoyable, nostalgic, or relatable theme for the event can make your event a memorable one for the guests. They will remember the event and might as well narrate their experience to their loved ones.

Plan Out the Decor

• Your event should be a feast to the watching eyes and to the listening ears. 
• It should not only be informative and entertaining but should also be pretty for the guests to enjoy the ambiance. 
• Everything should be decided with good aesthetic sense and fashion knowledge, from your color choices to the floral embellishment to the accent pieces.
• Remember, the decor also includes hygiene; all the tangibles should be clean, including the silverware.
•  Furthermore, a good ambiance includes aroma. For that purpose, you can either go with the scented candles or the flowers.

Speakers

• Speakers have a significant role in the success or failure of the event. Hence, you should be very vigilant when selecting speakers for your event. 
• I pay special attention to the guest speakers because these are the ones who can cover up for your shortcomings. 
• The speakers should be witty and aware of the audience and modern trends. 
• Furthermore, they should have some valuable knowledge to offer to the audience.

Here are a few factors you should look for in a speaker before hiring them for the event

• Speakers should make the event more engaging and offer great insights to the audience.
• They should know the audience and should have good communication skills.
• They should be witty and should know the mannerisms of public speaking.

Here are a few things you can do to hire a speaker that meets your criteria:

• Research potential speakers relevant to the agenda of the event
• Create a list of potential speakers
• Finalize the speaker considering their communication skills, their availability, and your budget.
• Collect their personal information and their achievements.
• Set a deadline for the content.
• Book their travel and accommodation.
• Inform them about the departure time, rehearsal time, and event date.

Sponsors

The size of your event solely depends on your sponsor. However, you should prefer to collaborate with multiple local brands that are growing. That way, you will get enough financial support from multiple sponsors, and they also get to advertise their products.

• Shortlist potential sponsors for your event that share a common connection with the agenda of your event. 
• Approach the sponsors and explain to them what they will get out of the event. 
• Propose ideas that will help them achieve their business goals through the event. 
• You should be responsive and flexible towards your sponsors.  
• Highlight the ways this event can create opportunities for your sponsors.

You can approach the potential sponsors by following the steps given below

• Research a list of sponsors that share common interests with the event agenda.
• Look for sponsors who have already worked for similar events
• Approach the potential sponsors.

Hire Entertainment and Plan Guest Experiences

• To enhance the guest experience, you can hire entertainers, from social media influencers to national or international celebrities and local musical bands to renowned professional singers. 
• If you get these entertainers to the event, you will have to do some formalities as well:
• Sign contracts with the entertainers 
• Book accommodation and set transportation for VIPs
• Set up a green room
• To enhance the guest experience, you will have to plan for activities like 
• Photo booths
• Guest-entertainer engagement stations
• Chilling zones

Event Marketing and Advertising

• Marketing is the key to a successful public event. If you want more than enough audience, you need to reach out to the audience first. 
• I prefer reaching out to the audience through paid or unpaid advertisements on social media platforms. 
• You can also print flyers and send emails for marketing.
• Your event plan should include the promotional or advertising plan you pursue months or days before.  
• When managing an event, you should set goals of what you want from this event like increase in social media followers, etc
• For an apt social media advertisement, research and create an engaging hashtag for the event. 
• After creating a social media account dedicated to the event and running a hashtag, you should ensure your online presence. 
• Create engaging content like making relatable memes and sharing witty posts that hit most social media users.
• One fantastic suggestion is to collaborate with social media influencers and get the cult's attention in one go. 
• Furthermore, connect with more people and create content highlighting your event's message.

You can do further by:

• Adding the event date to online calendars to attract more audience
• Collaborate with other content creators and advertise your event through blog posts
• Send emails reminding the parties about the upcoming event a month or even two before the event date.

The Event Planning Process: The 6 Steps 

Event planning can be as hard as spinning a thousand plates at once. But when done right, event planning can be the easiest and the best profession. You need only to follow the formula and keep things organized. You can solve the complicated event planning puzzle by dividing the whole process into 3 phases. You can also use eventify event planning software for your ease.

• Pre-event planning
• On-site setup and event management
• Post-event management 

Step 1: Pre-event planning

If your event is going to take place on a large scale, like national or international conferences or exhibitions, etc, you need to start your basic preparations a year before. Contrarily, if it is a small event, like a meeting, workshop, medical camp seminar, etc, it doesn't need that much time. 

You can arrange it within a few weeks. But still, to make a foundation, the expected time can extend from 5-6 months.

• The very first thing I always do when planning an event is to determine the goals and objectives of it. You need to constantly question yourself about what to do or achieve with this event. We must know about the purpose of our activity. 

We can organize a program to increase awareness about a specific element, promote our community or organization, generate revenue, or commemorate a significant achievement. 

You will have a complete know-how of the process when establishing particular objectives and goals.  It is similar to deciding where to go before you set sail.

Step 2: Select the Date of Your Event

When selecting event dates, we are always confused about which day or month would be the most appropriate. There are many things we have to keep under consideration when choosing a date. 

You should consider many points like whether the participants who are important for this event will be available on the day or not. 

Sometimes, other events also overlap with ours. Historical days and significant dates are always highlighted on my calendar, and you should note them especially to avoid conflict. Similarly, you should keep the changing weather conditions in mind. 

Choose the date carefully because it may influence the attendance and the success of your event up to a large extent.

Step 3: Develop an Event Master Plan

After selecting the date, you must design a model of the whole event, including transportation, location, speakers, event sponsors, budget, attendees, etc. This mind map includes every element necessary for the event.

Step 4: Coordinate with Event Suppliers (Catering, Equipment, etc).

Once we have fabricated the theoretical model of our event and the paperwork, let’s come to the groundwork. To fulfill the basic demands of our event, we need the collaboration of different professionals like catering services, decorators, suppliers, etc. 

I have built connections and professional relationships with these companies, and I can trust them in matters of quality and efficiency.

Step 5: Assemble Your Team

Only a solid and collaborative team can ensure the success of an event, so call a meeting with your team members to exchange related ideas and assign duties to them. The event management team consists of:

• Event Manager
• Event Planner
• Event Producer

There is a specific role for every team member. You should assign duties according to the skill of each team member.

Step 6: Establish an Event Budgets

You must be conscious of your financial resources and expenses while planning so many activities for an event to maintain a balance between both. Budget is a fundamental need of any event. You’d better create a written budget in which every aspect of costing should be covered because budget planning is really important in any event. 

I like to list all the expenses in my budget and compare them with my cash. Preparing the budget this way helps me cover all the expenditures within the fixed amount. 

Your budget should be flexible, which means keeping the required amount more significant than the expected cost. It will prevent chaos in any unexpected situation. 

Event Planning Tips

• No matter how hard you try and give your 100% effort, you will still face some loopholes in the event, like delivery delays, technological defaults, and unexpected weather. Because the event date has been decided and advertised, you cannot change that. 
• Now, you will need a plan B for certain things.
• One of the most fantastic tips that I can share with you as a seasoned event planner is for you to have an event organisation checklist. 
• You should keep checking the list on and off while managing the event. 
• Furthermore, to keep track of your progress and maintain the checklist, you can deploy event app software. 
• You can add your expected progress per day in the software and compare the estimated progress with your real-life progress in event planning.
• In addition, consider an indoor venue if you are planning an outdoor event. 
• A second venue will be helpful in case of an unexpected weather interruption or other administrative issues.
• After you have conducted the event, you should ask the attendees for the post-event analysis. 
• The attendees' feedback will help you get better day by day as an event planner. Trust me, feedback is the best guide sometimes.

Plan for Little Details And The Unexpected. 

• You cannot make your event successful unless you focus on minor details. Always be prepared in advance for unexpected situations. 
• Ignoring even a single prospect, despite its minuteness, you can face a hard time at the eleventh hour. 
• A slight negligence from your side can make it difficult to proceed with your event gracefully. 
• With my experience in event planning, I've learned that paying careful attention to detail and backup plans is necessary.

Here are a few things to keep in mind while planning an event

• If you put directions on the event’s website, ensure the directions are correct.
• What transportation options will be available for your guests, and will there be a parking site?
• How will the guests register themselves? Would they have to wait in lines?
• Will the guests have WiFi or electronic access, or should they arrange it themselves?
• What are the plans for security?
• Is there a go-to option in case of a medical emergency?

Post-Event Follow-Up

• After the event, you should evaluate and update your budget.
• But there are other things that you must take care of after the event has ended. Most people may skip the post-event follow-up, but I have learned not to make the sheer mistake over time.
• For example, you should check in the venue and ensure there is nothing left behind.
• Stay connected with the network you created while event panning. For instance, keep in touch with the venue staff and other stakeholders.
• Furthermore, don’t forget to keep all the receipts and document all the finances for future records.
• Lastly, send your acknowledgment letters to:
• Sponsors
• Volunteers
• Speakers
• Guests
• Donors
• Entertainers.
• You must also do the post-event publicity and share the highlights on social media platforms as well as on your official website.

Check out this Networking Event Checklist for [EVENT] and download it for seamless event planning. With this checklist in your hand, you will not miss out on anything.

Post-Event Analysis

• When your event ends, never forget to judge the whole process critically. It will help you evaluate how successful it was.
• Conduct a post-event survey asking the guests about:  
• What they liked the most about the event
• What they hated the most about the event
• Conduct a team meeting and debrief about the event to know the thoughts of your team.
• Evaluate the event thoroughly and analyze:
• Did you achieve the goals
• Was the budget manageable
• Which part became the highlight of the event?
• What gaps can be filled next time?