Behind event planning careers are intense pressure, smiles, and tears of more than one person.
Teamwork is required in almost every industry, but its highest level is displayed in just a few, one of which is event planning. Behind the shining moments and constant applause are a great deal of “sleepless nights” of the organizers – including brand representatives, event planners, producing and operating partners.
How much do we know about event planning?
What do you think event planning is? A number of answers might run through your head: it is interesting because we frequently meet celebrities, it is “hot” because directors to operators are all fairly well-paid. You know, this glory is just a beautiful conclusion to a song that stirs up a flood of emotions, or in other words, the tip of the iceberg. To put it simply, event planning is a multi-stage production line including receiving orders, crafting ideas, producing designs, implementing projects, etc.
When planning an event, we must see beyond the agreed checklist. As professional and hard-headed event planners, we are supposed to handle neatly any expected and unexpected circumstances that may arise. For example, upon the completion of 4-sided LED screen installation, an important rivet breaks without warning, causing pillars fail to bear the weight of the screen and almost collapse onto the stage. This occurs just 8 hours before the pick-up time. In that situation, what would happen if the leaders of the event agency lack capabilities, expertise, flexibility and relationships; if the morale and skills of the team are fairly low? The outcome is easy to guess. A more common example, the MC suddenly runs into incidents right before the golden hour. In that situation, event planners must propose reasonably at least three solutions attached with a list of pros and cons.
We hope these examples somehow give you an overview of the event planning career – a kind of career that has sweat and glory.
It takes a “league” to make a successful event
It can be said, if you choose to become an event planner, you choose to become a “warrior” armed with all the qualities: healthy, alert, persistent, flexible, disciplined, and be able to deliver effective team coordination. Once you enter the field, you have no choice but to go forward with all your might. Each event is likened to a huge battle. To prepare for a battle, you need both overall and detailed strategies and preparation.
Just a few days before the events, the team always finds themselves in a hive of activity. Come and ask them, “How long have not you slept?”, you will realize one or two sleepless nights are actually nothing. You will meet people who have stayed awake for almost a week and diligently worked at the scene 24/7 to attend to every detail of the event. You will hear of people who, although rarely show their face, still make a meaningful contribution in their own way. By handling all the paperwork and negotiation, they maintain a steady pace of work. You might run into positions often overlooked, such as sound and lighting operators. At first glance, they are less likely to have an impact on the success of an event. But without their experience and astuteness, the rhythm is sure to clash, the songs for each moment might sound off-tone, and the lights fail to display the intention of each performance.
This is the reasoning behind the solidarity among all the players in the event industry. We treat each other like family. Together, we work, we eat, we sleep, and we live in every moment of the project. In other words, although the event career squeezes us hard, it also gives us a sense of fulfillment. At the end of the day, when the lights go off, only tears and smiles are left blended, with the happiness that we all deserve.
