CELESTIAL ROMANCE

We saw. We came. We left in awe! There is a huge advantage being part of Celestial Romance – A Wedding Showcase alongside With Love Yumi and Lagun Sari. This event marks Yumi’s first runway featuring her newest line of intricate workmanship and of course, the grand opening of Lagun Sari’s newest spot at Bukit Timah.

The highlight to us was not just in the event itself but mindfully looking at the amount of work needed behind the scenes. We dare say that every single being in that pristine space did their part! The takeaway? Communication is definitely key. From collating the list of vendors, to delegating the MUAs (for the uninitiated, Make Up Artists) to the models, to transporting all the products and outfits, to ushering the guests that made time for the event and making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible. Not even the slightly gloomy weather, as we remember it, stopped the flow of things.

This is our third major event with With Love Yumi and here are some tips we have learnt so far. Hopefully these will come in handy when you run yours!

1) Determine your expected Return On Event (ROE)

What is the goal of the event? It might be as simple as doubling the number of registrants from your previous event. And since it’s rare to plan your event in isolation, it’s important to share what success looks like to all of those involved.

2) Figure out when to start planning your event

The question we often ask ourselves, “How far in advance should we start planning our event?” It depends. If you’re doing only one event a year, we would start planning about six to nine months in advance. This will allow plenty of time to secure a date and location. Regardless, it’s important to send out a “Lock The Date!” on your social media platforms as soon as the date and location are set. This will give people the opportunity to offer input about what they would like to get out of the event and make sure they get it scheduled on their calendar!

3) Create a timeline for your event

Once you have secured a date and location, we recommend writing out a schedule of weekly tasks, with specific dates for completion and who is responsible for completing them. Most importantly, make sure everybody on your team is on the same page. This will keep things on track so nothing falls through the cracks. Highly recommend a Whatsapp group chat with the relevant teams copied in.

4) Make sure attendees can get the information they need

One much overlooked practice is to have a single point of contact for an event. This would include a name, phone number or an email address for this person. You also want to make sure the event details are clear. Whether it’s directions to the event, transportation information or parking facilities. You want to avoid no-shows or latecomers because the little things were not highlighted in your event materials.

5) Make it easy & affordable for people to register

If there is a fee to attend your event, provide an early bird discount. This will encourage people to register early. It can also have a domino effect for increasing attendance. The act of seeing early registrations will provide social proof to others that this is something they should jump on.

All in all, successful meetings and events are vital to the overall success of small businesses like us – Being able to speak face to face with our audience are good opportunities to present your brand so it’s important to make this a great experience for everybody. All the best!