It doesn't matter what the event is, there will be a lot of planning and organising to be undertaken. What most people underestimate is the amount of time it takes to plan a successful event (no matter whether it is your wedding day, a birthday party, a conference or anything and everything else) and it can be extremely easy to forget some of the steps you need to take to ensure the event runs smoothly. The following is a set of guidelines and suggestions as to how to make your event run smoothly.

1. Choose your date carefully.

Venues may be booked, so avoid doing any kind of marketing / promotion before you have your venue locked in. This includes telling your parents you are going to get married on such and such a date at such and such a place.

Give yourself lots of lead time to organise it. If you are getting art work organised for brochures, flyers and marketing you will need to ensure the designers have time to concept and get the proofs organised before printing. Again the same goes for organising your wedding day. Printers need time to print stationery, invites, menus and orders of service, so ensure you give yourself plenty of lead time.

If you are planning a corporate event, it is always a good idea to make sure your "competition" isn't doing something similar around the same time. This is especially true for training courses and conferences.

2. Choose your venue.

Will people need to drive to get to the venue, is there adequate parking at the venue? Or nearby?

Is cost a factor in your overall event plan?

Will you need to factor in accommodation into the event plan? Can your venue hold the required number of "guests"?

How many guests can the event hold? Is this a factor in the number of people you are going to be able to invite?

3. Coordinating the event with the venue.

Events usually require a range of additional services, apart from the venue hire itself. These include:

• Refreshments
• Audio Visual Hire / Disco / Band
• Access to the venue prior to the event
• Parking / Disabled access

Deciding on the style and theme of the event during the planning phase will determine most if not all of the above.

4. Choose your theme and title of the event.

If your event is personal, this will be easy. But if you are planning a corporate style event, then you will need to choose something that is easy to remember, is catchy and can be promoted easily. This can also be used on the marketing material you decide upon.

And finally - make sure your theme is appropriate to the event you are planning.