How to Make any Event Special

Outcomes NOTE: This is a self-directed course. Students will receive feedback on the final week`s assignment. Exercises completed before that week will be used to tailor the course to the student`s needs but will not receive individual feedback. Assesment takes place in the form of students drawing up a mock (or real) plan for a special event. Facilitator offers critique and feedback on this plan. Assessment Students will learn aspects of event planning including catering, decorations, entertainment, budgeting, atmosphere, location, and theme. They will also learn how to better organize their events. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Students determine needs of event and begin budget based on categories. General organization skills are also discussed. Students look at location and atmosphere including features and budget. Students evaluate catering and entertainment needs and budget. Students work at preparing events based on theme and also at decorations and party favors. Students look at guest lists, thank you notes, and other etiquette items. Students complete plans for their special event and submit them for feedback. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SAMPLE LESSON WEEK 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the purposes of this class, your assignments will be one ongoing planning of an event (made-up or real). You will turn in your final planning sheets and notes to me at the end of the course. Together, we will evaluate the potential event. Because this course extends over six weeks, we will explore a different aspect of event planning each week. In the final week, you will also turn in your event planning notes. I suggest you begin keeping either an event diary either on your computer or in a spiral bound notebook. As you begin planning future events, you can look back and utilize some of the same ideas again or know which things didn''t work out. We will be going through the "ABC''s" of event planning. Each of these steps may seem to be common sense but we will also explore how to make each stop along the way more special for the guest(and easier for you). The first step is "A"ssess the situation. As you begin your event planning for this course, you need to assess the many aspects of the event. Some things to keep in mind include: How many guests Preferences of guests Budget (next week''s letter) Theme Food and beverage needs Space needed Timeline As you begin your initial planning, the list above will help you determine what type of event you are looking to hold. For example, will you have fourteen screaming teenagers or eight senior citizens? Will there be a thousand hungry college students or five of your closest friends looking for an intimate dinner? Do you have a potential budget of $5 or $5,000? By writing down these details initially, you put the building blocks for the rest of your event into place. This allows you to focus on the details to make you event memorable. For this week''s assignment, begin my making a list of details for your imaginary event. You can make this as outlandish or as realistic as you choose. In this planning stage, you aren''t looking at specifics. You are just creating a list of items that you need to focus on in coming weeks. I have listed some helpful websites below to get you started. These websites are only guides to offer potential assessment tools for different types of events. http://www.party411.com/corp-guides.html http://www.kdl.to/guides/corpevntpl .htm http://www.rco.on.ca/intro/upcoming/WRWEventPlanning.htm http://wedding.gogrrl.com/home/a_plan.asp http://www.weddingdetails.com/planning/ Contact Hours: 24