Cool Party Host

Attention Party Planner,

If you want to know the very best way to ensure that your event goes smoothly, keep your vendors in the loop.That means ALL of them including your venue, your caterer, the provider of supplies such as tents, linens, port-a-potties… and especially your performers.

Your performers are not mind-readers, even if they are being hired to provide fortunetelling.

Case in point.

A corporate client had contracted us to provide two caricature artists for their holiday party. They were unsure about the precise time they wanted the artists to work. Over the course of several months they changed the artists’ time slot several times. We had many conversations and written confirmations. Finally, two weeks before the event, the client told us they had made a firm decision about the time slot and it was final.

The day before the event I called the client to reconfirm details. It was then that I found out that the final decision had been changed yet again. Only this time, they hadn’t told us until we happened to ask.

Fortunately we were able to accommodate the change.

But had we not connected, the client would have wondered why his artists were an hour late–and the artists would wonder why the client was upset. In a tightly scripted event that difference would have made all the difference.

The moral of the story:

Communication is the key to a successful event. If you are the party organizer, you make the final decisions about the way you want your party to flow. You decide which services to use, how much you want and where.

Every organizer has a vision how they expect the event to flow… what is supposed to happen and when. This is even true when the party is very casual. Be sure to communicate that with your vendors. Your vendors will generally confirm with you shortly before the event, but oftentimes things move quickly and details can easily be lost in the shuffle.

Also, point out guests slated for special or preferred treatment. Most times, your performer has never met you or your family in person, so he will not know the names of family members–much less what they look like. You have to tell him.

If you are the provider of entertainment, make it your standard operating procedure to check in with your client shortly before the day of the event to confirm details. Nearly all problems that arise in the course of an event between client and performer have their roots in poor communication and unrealistic expectation.

Make sure you reconfirm important details such as the desired start time, make sure you have a clear information regarding the address and location of the party site, any client special requests, etc.

Keep the lines of communication open and you will prevent many headaches.