Planning a memorable awards ceremony

Let’s face it, planning an awards ceremony is difficult at the best of times. You have so much to do, from choosing the venue to invitations, entertainment, AV hire, facilities, food, drinks and decorations. That’s a lot to consider, so if you’re faced with the dreaded task of planning a ceremony for your company, we have some handy tips to give you some essential guidance.

Start by deciding on the budget you have to work with. It’s important to work closely with your board of directors or manager to ensure you have a correct sum to hand, and try to have the budget signed off in writing so you can not be held to account should you exceed the agreed budget. Once you have a number in mind, you can then begin to plan out each of the elements. One of the first things you’ll need to do is book the venue. If you’re too slow, you could miss out and struggle for a location, so nailing the venue early doors is always a wise decision.

Next up are the invitations. These also needed to be planed early, so you will need to decide whether it’s specifically for your employees or colleagues, or whether there is also room for clients, and relatives etc. So think carefully about numbers, because the larger the head count, the more budget you’re going to need to spend. Then there are the invitations themselves. We recommend you give people a paper or card invitation to hand and then follow up with an email invite so they can add it to their calendar online and offline. You can then send out reminders closer to the event or even run a Facebook event page to see who is coming. Make sure people RSVP early too so don’t be afraid to chase. If they are at a stage where they can’t say yes or no, presume they are coming just to be safe.

Like all good award ceremony organisers, once you have the venue sorted, and invitations dispatched, you can focus on the fun stuff, like the equipment for the presentations, the music, dress code and the disco, if you’re having one. You’ll need to decide just how professional you want the event to be, so think carefully about the music you play, the signage, decorations and food. Is this going to be a small affair for a few hundred employees or a grand event for thousands of people? Most venues will have planners you can speak to, and they’ll ensure you choose the right services or packages for your needs, but beware, if you exceed your budget, you will be held to account, not them, so you have to take what they say with a pinch of salt.

We hope this information will serve you well as you plan your awards ceremony, but should you need any further information, please check back in the near future, as we’re regularly covering corporate events and the planning stages leading up to the occasions, with handy tricks and tips.