Budget. That’s really the beginning of your event, right after you get the notion that you want or need to have an event, that is… And that’s what I wanted to talk about briefly: Your budget, and its impact on your event. Seems kind of ...simple, right? Right…and wrong.
The definition of “budget” is as follows:
A systematic plan for the expenditure of a usually fixed resource, such as money or time, during a given period.
The total sum of money allocated for a particular purpose or period of time.
It’s important to understand what a budget is really for, and why it’s important to have one. First of all, when you budget for something~let’s say Grampa and Gramma Opaldome’s 50th anniversary celebration~what you are doing is this:
Acknowledging that not only will you need financial resources, but that those will have a limit, whatever that limit may be. As the definition above mentioned, a budget is fixed, allocated for something particular. It’s a good idea to keep this in mind while planning, because while resources are limiTED, the number of things that can and will eat through said budget when it isn’t respected are limitLESS. So, back to Gpa and Gma O…
You realize, with a shock, that the big 5-0 is coming up. 50 years of making pancakes for the same person is kind of a big deal, and so you decide to stage a thing. Great. Now what? Well, obviously, you should call Jennifer Holly Events, and here is the reason: We can and will respect your budget, whatever that is, and if you don’t have a budget when you call, we can and will help you figure that out, as well.
We’ll start with some basic questions:
What kind of event would you like to host?
Are you hosting alone, or is this a group effort? If so, will the cost be evenly split, with each sibling or grandchild contributing an equal share?
How many guests will be invited?
So, that’s the “simple” part, and gets us started.
Now Holly and I know that:
You’d like to have a formal, sit-down dinner for 300 guests and that the costs will be split among you and your 3 siblings. You personally can put in $250.00, and they’ll each do the same, so we can plan on a total budget of $1,000.00 for this event. That gives us a per-guest budget of a little over $3.00. Now, the not-so-simple part…budgeting reality into the mix.
The reality is, no matter how we slice it, not even JHE can design a formal, sit-down dinner for 300 guests for $3.00 apiece. And we’re pretty brilliant. So many things have to come out of that budget~food, wine, invitations, postage, decorations, venue rental, paying your coordinator, etc… But don’t despair! We are not yet beaten! Never say…well, you get the idea. Here is where we start “creatively thinking…”
First, we will ask, how married are you to the 300 guests and a formal dinner? You will likely hesitate for a moment, wanting to do so much for G&G O.
Sensing your distress, Holly will suggest that we all talk a bit more, and when we do, we’ll discover that:
Realistically, at least 150 of those 300 guests are out of state and you don’t expect them to attend, but they must be invited. And we know from experience that about a level third of your guests who plan on attending…won’t, for whatever reason, so now we’re down to approximately 100 guests. POW! Your budget just got a little more comfortable.
Gpa and Gma are not really all that comfortable in expensive formal settings: Gpa was uncomfortable the last time a family dinner was held at Olive Garden, and Gma insisted on using her teabag five times because “$2.00 for a cup of tea is so expensive!” What will they think about chair covers and crystal? After all, this is THIER party… BAM! More comfortable still.
Gpa actually proposed to Gma at a church picnic back in the day, and WHOOSH! An idea begins to take shape…
At this point, I’ll probably suggest that you let Holly and I discuss the notes which we’ve been taking so diligently, and we’ll schedule a second meeting, within a couple of days. You agree, and when we meet again, we have several design proposals, but honestly, this is our favorite:
We’ve contacted a local tree farm, and while they usually don’t have events held there, they are off season, so we were able to get them to agree to let us use a small portion of their land for a nominal fee. We’ll bring in tables and chairs (with an open tent on standby in case of rain), and we’ll provide a lovely dessert bar and some punch and coffee. There will be linen and lace tablecloths, fresh flowers and paper lanterns. Soft music from the year they were married will play in the background. We’ll set up a table for framed family pictures, if you like, and we can get you in touch with one of our photography EDPs. With a few extra details from the fam, we can maybe even recreate the atmosphere of the original proposal, just a bit. And Gma should get a new dress, because she is about to be AMAZED. All beautifully elegant. All within budget.
Sound too good to be true? Of course, I’ve used made up numbers for this example, but the point remains the same: Having a budget, and being willing to work within it and adjust where necessary: THAT is what leads to the ultimate success of your event! The tree farm scenario? TOALLY POSSIBLE, with enough forethought, and some creative design. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the point that I really wanted to hit: It just isn’t necessary to spend unheard of amounts of money in order to achieve a high note! If you hesitate to call an event coordinator because you think that that sort of thing is just for big, costly events, well, that’s just not true. At Jennifer Holly Events, we are equal opportunity event designers; we want to create something beautiful for you, and we don’t believe that you should have to “break the bank” for that to happen!
Contact Jennifer Holly today, and let’s talk!
The definition of “budget” is as follows:
A systematic plan for the expenditure of a usually fixed resource, such as money or time, during a given period.
The total sum of money allocated for a particular purpose or period of time.
It’s important to understand what a budget is really for, and why it’s important to have one. First of all, when you budget for something~let’s say Grampa and Gramma Opaldome’s 50th anniversary celebration~what you are doing is this:
Acknowledging that not only will you need financial resources, but that those will have a limit, whatever that limit may be. As the definition above mentioned, a budget is fixed, allocated for something particular. It’s a good idea to keep this in mind while planning, because while resources are limiTED, the number of things that can and will eat through said budget when it isn’t respected are limitLESS. So, back to Gpa and Gma O…
You realize, with a shock, that the big 5-0 is coming up. 50 years of making pancakes for the same person is kind of a big deal, and so you decide to stage a thing. Great. Now what? Well, obviously, you should call Jennifer Holly Events, and here is the reason: We can and will respect your budget, whatever that is, and if you don’t have a budget when you call, we can and will help you figure that out, as well.
We’ll start with some basic questions:
What kind of event would you like to host?
Are you hosting alone, or is this a group effort? If so, will the cost be evenly split, with each sibling or grandchild contributing an equal share?
How many guests will be invited?
So, that’s the “simple” part, and gets us started.
Now Holly and I know that:
You’d like to have a formal, sit-down dinner for 300 guests and that the costs will be split among you and your 3 siblings. You personally can put in $250.00, and they’ll each do the same, so we can plan on a total budget of $1,000.00 for this event. That gives us a per-guest budget of a little over $3.00. Now, the not-so-simple part…budgeting reality into the mix.
The reality is, no matter how we slice it, not even JHE can design a formal, sit-down dinner for 300 guests for $3.00 apiece. And we’re pretty brilliant. So many things have to come out of that budget~food, wine, invitations, postage, decorations, venue rental, paying your coordinator, etc… But don’t despair! We are not yet beaten! Never say…well, you get the idea. Here is where we start “creatively thinking…”
First, we will ask, how married are you to the 300 guests and a formal dinner? You will likely hesitate for a moment, wanting to do so much for G&G O.
Sensing your distress, Holly will suggest that we all talk a bit more, and when we do, we’ll discover that:
Realistically, at least 150 of those 300 guests are out of state and you don’t expect them to attend, but they must be invited. And we know from experience that about a level third of your guests who plan on attending…won’t, for whatever reason, so now we’re down to approximately 100 guests. POW! Your budget just got a little more comfortable.
Gpa and Gma are not really all that comfortable in expensive formal settings: Gpa was uncomfortable the last time a family dinner was held at Olive Garden, and Gma insisted on using her teabag five times because “$2.00 for a cup of tea is so expensive!” What will they think about chair covers and crystal? After all, this is THIER party… BAM! More comfortable still.
Gpa actually proposed to Gma at a church picnic back in the day, and WHOOSH! An idea begins to take shape…
At this point, I’ll probably suggest that you let Holly and I discuss the notes which we’ve been taking so diligently, and we’ll schedule a second meeting, within a couple of days. You agree, and when we meet again, we have several design proposals, but honestly, this is our favorite:
We’ve contacted a local tree farm, and while they usually don’t have events held there, they are off season, so we were able to get them to agree to let us use a small portion of their land for a nominal fee. We’ll bring in tables and chairs (with an open tent on standby in case of rain), and we’ll provide a lovely dessert bar and some punch and coffee. There will be linen and lace tablecloths, fresh flowers and paper lanterns. Soft music from the year they were married will play in the background. We’ll set up a table for framed family pictures, if you like, and we can get you in touch with one of our photography EDPs. With a few extra details from the fam, we can maybe even recreate the atmosphere of the original proposal, just a bit. And Gma should get a new dress, because she is about to be AMAZED. All beautifully elegant. All within budget.
Sound too good to be true? Of course, I’ve used made up numbers for this example, but the point remains the same: Having a budget, and being willing to work within it and adjust where necessary: THAT is what leads to the ultimate success of your event! The tree farm scenario? TOALLY POSSIBLE, with enough forethought, and some creative design. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the point that I really wanted to hit: It just isn’t necessary to spend unheard of amounts of money in order to achieve a high note! If you hesitate to call an event coordinator because you think that that sort of thing is just for big, costly events, well, that’s just not true. At Jennifer Holly Events, we are equal opportunity event designers; we want to create something beautiful for you, and we don’t believe that you should have to “break the bank” for that to happen!
Contact Jennifer Holly today, and let’s talk!
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