You are a guest at a very elegant church wedding. The beautiful bride is walking down the aisle while the guests and entourage all look calm and pristine, with no trace of stress or animosity. Then you see the wedding planner’s team, looking all eagle-eyed and ready to pounce at whatever inconvenience might roll in.
This scenario is just a typical “all in a days work” routine for event planners. There are lots who try and enter the business of event organizing but only a few survive and thrive. So what does it take to be a successful event planner?
First of all, you must have more than great interpersonal skills. You will be dealing with different kinds of people from different walks of life and you must be able to adapt to each unique personality.
There will be times when an introvert will need an extravagant event and there will also be times when an extrovert will request for an intimate evening with a few guests. That is the world of event planning; full of spontaneity and surprises.
The second skill that is badly needed from event organizers is flexibility. There will be clients who are so fickle-minded to the point that even if they chose pink for the motif, they will change it to teal at the last minute. Those kind of situations require a whole lot of patience and flexibility from event organizers. Adaptability to last minute changes is essential. You can keep the changes to a minimum by laying everything out in your contract at the start, but you also still have to be open to those that are workable.
Lastly, an aspiring event planner must have good leadership skills. A knowledge that event planning cannot be done by a one-man team is already enough to ensure that teamwork and cooperation will stay afloat during events. Team cohesiveness and practical leadership skills will go a long way and will definitely strengthen the event planning team.
