What to have in mind when planning your special event in 2022?
You are planning a wedding or another special event in 2022? While congratulations are in order, we are familiar with all the stress that goes along with the organization of everything. You have to take care of million things and be very patient with the demands of your guests. In this article, we are going to give you some rock-solid tips on event planning that are universal for any type of special event.
Remember that Covid-19 is still around
Covid-19 is something you must consider for every part of your planning. It doesn’t matter if it is related to wedding transportation in Chicago or hiring a choir to sing at your special event. You don’t need to be a genius to notice that in the colder months the number of cases is rising, while in the spring and summer it goes down. It is better to plan your special event when the weather is warm. This not only means less chance of strict measures regarding Covid-19 but also the possibility to host your wedding party or special event outdoors.
Hotel and transportation for your guests
Even if you are not paying the bill for the transport and accommodation, you have to provide your guests with some options. Consult with them what do they prefer:
- Maybe a hotel close to the venue?
- A place to stay that will allow them to go sightseeing?
- Or perhaps a hotel close to the airport?
You need to clear these things out and know what places to recommend. Also, hiring or giving information about charter transportation from the airport is something that will make their stay better. Double-check if some of your guests are arriving with babies or pets. In this case, there will be extra requirements for the hotel they will stay in.
Book a venue in time
Once the date for the special event is set and you know the number of guests be sure to book the venue you want. If you don’t act quickly the best ones won’t be available to you. There are a lot of weddings and special events in Chicago every year. And everybody wants to book the best places. Don’t get left behind just because you didn’t plan ahead. Here are some essentials to consider:
- Is the specific venue within your budget?
- Is there an option to go inside if it rains?
- Is there going to be enough room for dancing?
Most people forget to check the answers to the question above and then regret their decision about booking a certain venue. Don’t be one of them.
Have some fun games
Sometimes it is hard to get the party started. There is one secret for putting everybody in the mood - get the girls dancing! Then each of them will invite her husband or boyfriend to the dance floor. And once there are 5-10 couples dancing, others will follow. If this scenario doesn’t play out don’t get disappointed. Just include some fun games that will get people moving. Here are some classic ideas:
- Dance-off battle;
- Dollar dash (works for weddings only);
- Generation dance.
There are a lot of amazing ideas. Just remember to read the room. If people are in the middle of the main course and you announce a dance-off battle you will likely be left alone to play it.
Introduce the guests to each other before the special event
It doesn’t matter if it is a wedding or another type of special event that you have in mind. The party will be better if people know each other. While in most cases all guests can't be friends you can at least try to introduce them before the event. Have some cocktail with an open bar and chat with everybody for 1-2 hours before the evening starts. It would be perfect if you can invite some of your guests to family dinners or birthday parties and let them get to know each other there. In that way, you won’t have a special event with 100 people that are strangers.
Organizing special events is stressful. However, once you see everybody having fun, you forget about the tension and just start to enjoy yourself. Remember that after all this is your special day. Make it count. You are the important one!
Important things to consider when organizing a wedding in Chicago
So, you are planning a wedding in Chicago? That is just amazing! The city is one of the best places in America where couples can get married. All right, we live here and we are going to cheer for it, but we can give you some great advice on wedding planning. Just follow our lead and you will be fine with the organization and will have less stress and more enjoyment in the whole process.
Be prepared for any type of weather
Chicago is the perfect place for outdoor weddings. However, we advise you to check the weather forecast and rent out a venue where you can be outside, but there is an option to move inside as well. Do that just in case if it is too windy or it starts to rain. This will limit your options for the venue but it will give you a great backup plan if the weather is bad. And if the wedding starts in the afternoon and continues in the evening, you can start outside and have dinner indoors.
Transportation for your guests
One of the most important things you should consider. You should hire a reliable company that offers wedding transportation in Chicago. This is a good choice because you don’t have to worry about how the guests will arrive if they are going to be on time if they will find the wedding venue, etc. This will take a lot of your organizing plate and leave more time for you to be focused on more essential things related to the ceremony and the party afterward. And you can also consider special wedding transportation for the bride and the groom.
Make a checklist with everything
You will be surprised that most organizers don’t have a master plan. We advise you to make one huge checklist with everything related to the wedding - invitations, meals, venue, guests, flowers, music. Put everything you can think of in there. Then add deadlines to each activity and follow them strictly. Having everything in one place will help you be more organized and centered when you have to check something or react quickly to any changes. It will also be easier to calculate the total budget and see if you are okay with the financial side of organizing the whole thing.
Ask if someone wants to surprise the bride and the groom
One of the worst things we have seen happen at weeding is when the organizer has everything planned to the split of a second and someone decides to announce a surprise for the bride and the groom. Then all the clever organization and planning goes to hell. This is why we advise you to ask in advance if someone from the guests plans something special. It can be a speech, a dance, a funny game, a present, or some funky family tradition. It doesn’t matter. Just make sure you know about it and put it in your plans.
Plan the photoshoot
This is a common mistake. When making plans for weddings, people often don’t leave enough time for the special photoshoot of the bride and the groom. Talk with them and with the photographer about how much time they will need if they want to take shots in some specific places and make it work with the other activities you have in your schedule. This is something special so it should come as a priority. When you make the huge list we mentioned earlier, write this down on the top of it.
Organizing a wedding in Chicago is amazing. Sure, it can be stressful but it is worth it! You are going to enjoy a great time. And who knows - you might be the next in line to go down the aisle and say “Yes!”.
Essential tips for organizing a bachelor party in Chicago in 2021
Your best friend is getting married, and you are going to organize a bachelor party for him? Congratulations! You are located, and Chicago and as you know here we make things special. In this article, we are going to cover some essential tips that will come in handy when you start preparing that special evening. The steps may seem quite classic. Nevertheless, there are some additional things that you have to consider, when getting ready for an event, as special as, a bachelor party.
Don’t do it the night before the wedding
Sure, you are not going to pull something like in the “Hangover” movies but for a number of reasons, it is better not to organize the bachelor party the night before the wedding. Good timing can be the weekend before, or even earlier. Remember that we still live in Covid-19 times and if the groom gets infected that can blow off the whole wedding if there is not enough time for recovery.
Consult with the other people attending what is the best time to organize it. However, don’t give too many options - a date two or three weeks before the wedding day is good enough. They are relatively close to the date, but not too far way in time either.
Hire special events transportation in Chicago
A special event requires special events transportation. And in Chicago, there are suitable services in that area. First of all, you need to know how many people you are going to be. A limo is a classic choice if you are going to a party around town. Just make sure to book special events transportation in Chicago early enough. Once you have the date get in touch with the company and make the arrangements. You can even ask them to suggest some ideas based on their experience.
Comply with the wishes of the groom
When you plan, remember that this party is for the groom. Not for you, not for the guests - for your best friend that will soon be married. This will be a night to remember in his life. A lot of people make the mistake to go with something that sounds cool but wouldn’t be liked by the person they are organizing the party for. Clear out the essentials with them in advance related to:
- How wild do they want the party to be?
- Are you going to do things that require hiring bachelor party transport in Chicago?
- Is there someone that they don’t want to invite but will be at the wedding?
These types of details are important and you can discuss them in such a way that won’t ruin the surprise.
Make sure you have a backup plan
It doesn’t matter how perfect your plan is - sometimes things can go wrong. Make some sort of backup plan just in case. It doesn’t need to be something complex. If things go wrong, just have an agreement with the others on what to do. You might go to a bar and just party there, or do something that the groom loves - like bowling and beers. It doesn’t have to be wild to be fun and good.
Part of the backup plan is also having some spare cash as a reserve in case something happens - you can lose your wallet or money and you want to be sure that you can get home (or at least to an ATM). Roll up 100 dollars in your socks for emergency matters.
Start preparing early enough
The biggest mistake you can make with the bachelor party is to start organizing it at the last minute. This is the most essential advice - agree on the date early and use all the time you have for planning and preparation. In that way, you won’t be under so much pressure and stress. Even if something changes you will have time to react and adapt to it. Besides, you will have more time for brainstorming to come up with ideas for the best bachelor party in the history of Chicago.
Should You Hire a Wedding Planner or Plan Everything From Transportation To Design Yourself
Planning a wedding is without a doubt one of the most exciting tasks you could have! You get to choose each detail of the long-awaited big day and make it as grandiose or as private as you’ve always wanted. Read more
Essential Chicago Wedding Transportation Tips and Tricks
It’s no secret that every little girl dreams of being a bride one day. Standing in front of the altar in a lush white gown with butterflies in your belly, while everyone’s gazes are pinned on you, excitedly anticipating the long-awaited “YES”. The wedding day is one of those days in your life, which you will never forget. That is the reason why couples put so much energy and emotion into going through every detail of their special day - from choosing the perfect venue to sampling 10 different kinds of cakes and spending hours in research on the most appropriate flower decorations for the season. Planning a wedding can take months and while it’s a pleasant activity, you may still feel overwhelmed at times, simply because this day means so much to you that you don’t want to make any compromises. It’s not uncommon for the bride-to-be to even go to extremes when ensuring that everything is perfect for the big day. Transportation is one of the essential points that you need to take into account when preparing for your wedding.
What to consider when hiring a wedding transportation company
It’s crucial to book your personal wedding transport as early as possible, preferably at least 6 months before the big day. Even more so if your ceremony is going to be held in April, May, or June, because then it will fall during the prom season and your vehicle options may be limited. Additionally, if you want to indulge in a fun bridal party a couple of days before your wedding, it may be a good idea to opt-in for transportation services for that occasion as well, and in that case, early booking is advisable as well. As Martha Steward shares, the average bridal party consists of between 5 and 10 members. Therefore, if you’ve also invited that many bridesmaids you should probably rent a minivan or a minibus which has enough room for everyone.
Before you contact the transportation company, however, you should carefully map out your wedding day and create a detailed schedule of all events you need to attend, all activities you should be a part of, as well as of all places you need to go to. For example, you will need to arrange transportation to and from the church, so you have to be aware of the exact time of your ceremony. Although transportation companies have exceptional chauffeurs who know how to dodge traffic jams by following the best routes around the city, getting from one place to another still takes some time. Therefore, you should keep these extra minutes in mind when creating the schedule. To avoid uncalled-for stress and anxiety, leave some extra time in between locations and activities so that you get to each place on time.
Once you’ve done this, it is time to get an official agreement with the transportation company. As bridalguide.com shares, in order to have extra peace of mind, you will need to talk to the company, discuss all details and get a written agreement, that includes the following terms of service:
- Total cost
- Required Deposit
- Refund and Gratuity Policies
- Arrival and Departure Locations
- Pick-up/Drop-off Times
- The Models of The Vehicles
- Overtime Rate Per Hour
Don’t forget to arrange transportation for your guests
What’s a wedding without friends and family who joyfully sprinkle rice and confetti over your head? After all, getting married is not only about officially declaring your love toward each other, but it’s also a social statement, and a joyful occasion for your closest people as well. As reported by The Knot, the average couple hosts 131 guests, and 72% of the engaged couples say their top priority is to ensure that their guests are taken care of and have a good time. In order to make your guests feel special, you shouldn’t forget to organize their transportation as well. Depending on how many people you’ve invited, you could either hire a full-size coach (often big enough for 50 people) or a smaller van. Additionally, you could always talk to the transportation company and ask them to make a couple of trips from the hotel (or another designated pick-up spot) to the church or the venue. In that way, even if you’ve hired a smaller vehicle, you will still be able to get everyone to your wedding safely. Plus, both you and your guests will be riding comfortably, without having to worry about traffic jams, navigating the city (especially if some of your relatives are not living in Chicago), or finding a parking spot. Instead, you will have the time to actually focus on experiencing your wedding day to the fullest.
