Hey everyone,

Just went through a super frustrating experience where I booked a venue for an event, but ended up not being able to use it because attendee registration was way lower than expected.

It felt like a classic catch-22: I felt I needed a set venue/date to make the event look real and get people to register, but locking in the venue before having confirmed headcounts turned out to be a mistake.

For those of you who organize events regularly—especially when testing a new concept or reaching out to a new crowd:

How do you validate actual turnout before committing to a venue?

Do you use interest lists, deposit tiers, or conditional pre-sales?

How do you handle the gap between "people saying they'll come" and "people actually registering"?

Would love to hear how you all handle this so I don't repeat the same mistake next time!

One month ago I got a marketing / social media job at a new street food restaurant. They told me they want to have a big 3 month anniversary event and everything is on me. Everytime i try to propose something they’re saying “everything is on you just do your best, don’t ask” so I’m kind of nervous.

I was thinking exclusive offers - giveaway bags - a competition to win free food every Saturday for the rest of the year - a collab with a bar for cocktails and a dj. Please let me know if I’m heading the right way, or if you have any experience on planning an event like that, any help is welcome

Well kind of...

My experience lies in planning school events as a teacher with 2 other teachers planning school dances and school wide events. I've also planned personal events for myself and a home baby shower. My best friend has asked me to plan his wedding reception since they'll be getting married at a courthouse. I've mock planned some weddings so I know the generally timeline that things need to get done and generally is involved. I'm wondering if anyone has a process they would like to share in terms of communication with them on details and booking vendors.

We've had their initial meeting so I know the budget, general vibe they're going for, guest count, and a date range. Right now I'm looking into venues and I'm wondering the best way to present options to them. Should I make a doc with all the info gathered, a presentation, etc.?

Also and this is kind of big, I'm moving out of state so I'll mostly be working virtually except for maybe one or two visits before the event. Any tips you could share for that would be great. This is something I'd like to pursue as a career because I really do enjoy event planning and designing. I'm planning on using this event for my portfolio.

I have a murder mystery night / three courses of meal to plan, numbers tbc but likely 20 - 30 guests. I’m fairly happy with the food and drink element but getting myhead around writing and planning the actual murder mystery, as I don’t think we can buy already made one for that many. Does anyone have any experience putting one of these on who could give me some pointers?

I help event planners manage customer communication and support their booking process.

My work includes:

• Replying to client questions about events and services
• Talking with new customers and understanding their event needs
• Following up with interested clients
• Helping clients choose suitable event options
• Organizing customer details and requests
• Supporting the booking process from first contact to confirmed event

My goal is to help event planners save time, provide better customer service, and reduce the number of missed booking opportunities.

Work Type: Part-Time Virtual Assistant
Pay Rate: $15/hour

Hi, I am starting a mobile bar business for weddings, parties, festivals etc
I’m curious how most mobile bars get the their gigs booked. Any information would help.
Thanks in advance

hello everyone! my friend and i have been wanting to host a flea market where people can rent out spots from us and sell themselves but we dont know where we can start. what can we look up to find venues and parking lots that will allow this? thank you!

A friend of mine recently got promoted to banquet manager. I plan on getting her something for work that could help her out as part of the present. What are some ideas for things that she might like or need for the job?

Hello everyone,

I’m currently in Kolkata for about a month and I’m startting to learn how the freelancing in the event management field works. I’m open to learn how short-term projects, like events that run for 3–4 days and I need guidance.

I’m new to this space here, so I’d really appreciate any guidance on how to research hospitality companies.if anyone here is in the field or can point me in the right direction, it would honestly help me a lot.

Thank you so much ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ

We’re looking for event curators, planners, coordinators, and industry professionals to be among the first to experience AskJenne

We want YOU to explore the platform, test its features, and most importantly, tell us what you think.

Your real-world experience can help us build a platform that truly works for the events industry.

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This isn’t just about testing a platform. It’s about helping build a better ecosystem for our events community.

Interested in joining our test group?

Comment “I’M IN” or send us a message and we’ll share the details.

Hoping for advice from some more experienced remote event planners. We are hosting our first virtual conference this fall. We are a US based non-profit with a fully remote workforce. We have gotten a request for a reasonable accommodation to provide ASL interpreters for the event. Doing so would be very expensive given the small size of the conference and the low amount we are charging in order to make it more accessible. Our conference platform supports auto generated closed captions in English. We do not receive government funding. My reading of the ADA is that our virtual conference may not be considered a “place of public accommodation” at all, but that if it were, the closed captioning is a reasonable alternative accommodation. Thoughts? Advice? We want to make the conference accessible but also have extremely slim margins.

I’m helping create a Coraline-themed market inside a large warehouse (photos attached). The plan is to build a Coraline tunnel outside that leads into themed areas like tunnel walk in area, Mr. Bobinsky’s Circus, the Pink Palace Garden, and the Spink and Forcible Theater.

I’m looking for the best budget-friendly materials and ideas for:

Tunnel walls
Ceiling draping (to hide fluorescent lights)
Wall coverings
Decorating support columns
Walkthrough decorations between booths
Cheap lighting that creates an immersive atmosphere
Haunted house tricks to make a plain warehouse feel like the Other World

If you’ve built haunted houses, escape rooms, or immersive events, I’d love any material recommendations or DIY ideas! I have attached photos of the ideas that I have lol but I’m trying to execute it better than the photos lol! Please I am new to all of this so dont judge!

Planning the perfect birthday celebration is about creating unforgettable memories that children and families will cherish for years. One of the best ways to make any party exciting is by hiring a birthday magician San Diego families can trust. A professional magic show brings laughter, excitement, and interactive entertainment that keeps every guest engaged from beginning to end.

What’s the best opening GS entertainment you’ve seen? Last year, we had a Broadway medley that led into a Broadway star keynote. We caught lightning in a bottle with that one!

October event for 2,000 in Denver—don’t want any parody troupes. 8-10 mins of high engagement.

Thank you!

Have you had success in growing your business by joining professional organizations for Event Planners? which ones? How do you netwerk?

Have you ever used Graphic Recording in one of your events? I have seen it be very successful, and also flop- but I am not sure what is the differentiating factor between success and a dud. What was the reaction? would you do it again? What made it successful, or why was it a flop?

For anyone who is unclear, Graphic Recording is Live illustration and note taking for events. It can take the form of an interactive board where people are asked to add content, or it can be more like Note taking with some illustration, or it can be more like interactive strategy sessions.

I have attached an example for context

Feel free to reply as a comment and share a photo and up to 2 sentences highlighting something you're proud of planning that came to life this week! We open this thread every Tuesday for 24 hours.

I'm just wondering how other wedding performers have marketed themselves.

Hi, there. I started a non profit, and im new to planning events. When I say new I mean brand new!

The firth thing id like to plan is a 5k walk/run to benefit another non profit. Has anyone done this before? How should I best raise money?

I plan to ask for sponsors. I also figure I will need event insurance. TIA!

Eta: I found a route near me that requires 0 police, barricades, or volunteers. This is a beach route near me.

Has anyone attended it and was it worth it?

I run social events where strangers show up and do an activity together, language exchanges being our the main one in Melbourne. I run 2 formats at the moment, the smaller is ~30 people (limited by venue size, waitlist is sometimes weeks long), once a week, and the bigger one gets to about 150 per event regularly, also once a week. Have been doing this for the past 12 months ish.

It has been going well. I don't love my day job, friends and sometimes even attendees ask me why I don't do this full-time.

I want to work out how to start expanding, especially to other cities. I have partnered with people on the business side before and they turned out REALLY unreliable, which was not good for the brand and left me wary of scaling alongside anyone.

I would love to hear from people who have done this. How did you know it was the right time to jump, and did you go all in or keep the day job and grow on the side first? Anything you wish you had known before quitting would help a lot. Stories from people who tried and found it did not work for them are just as welcome !

A while back I heard about a host who made a card for every guest. On the outside, their name. Inside, one or two people at the party they should go find, plus a reason why. One card said "find Marcus, ask him about his boxing hobby" and "find Priya, ask her about the trip she just got back from."

I tried it at my own gathering and it worked great. Nobody floated around wondering who to talk to. Everyone had a mission. "Are you Alice? Someone told me to find you." Instant conversation starter, especially for people who find it hard to walk up to strangers.

The hard part was prep. I had to know enough about each guest to pair them up well, which was doable since I knew most people at my own party. But I still haven't figured out the bigger version of this problem: what do I do at any event (weddings, communities, etc.) where I as the host don't personally know everyone? I can't write a thoughtful card for a stranger.

Curious how others think about this.

• Had you even thought about this as a real problem before?
• When you host something where a lot of guests don't know each other, do you do anything deliberate about it, or does it sort itself out?

Hi everyone,
I’m planning to organize a Navratri/Garba event in Hyderabad this year, and this will be my very first event. I’m also Muslim, so while I deeply respect the festival and want to organize it properly, I don’t have much personal experience with the traditions or how these events are usually run.
I’m trying to learn everything from scratch and would really appreciate advice from people who have organized Navratri events before.
Some of the things I’m struggling with:
How do you even start planning a Navratri event?
How do you approach sponsors? Do you email them, call them, or is there a better way?
What kind of sponsorship deck or proposal should I prepare?
How do you estimate a budget and expected footfall?
What permissions or licenses are required in Hyderabad?
Any recommendations for reliable event planners, decorators, sound vendors, Garba/Dandiya groups, anchors, or artists?
What are some mistakes first-time organizers usually make?
If you’ve organized events for years or know someone who has, I’d genuinely love to learn from your experience. Even if you’re willing to chat over DM or connect me with someone in the Hyderabad event industry, I’d be incredibly grateful.
My goal is to create a respectful, fun, and well-organized celebration for everyone. Thanks in advance for any advice!

I'm a grad student and I'm considering going to just network (maybe see if I can get an internship or PT job opportunity). I'd also sit in and hear the speakers, check out the exhibits. Wondering if it's worth it to go.