Expert party planning

How to create an extraordinary party that leaves you exhilarated and your guests begging for more...

Having decided that you want to create a great party for your guests your next decision is the level you enhance it to.

Here, the decision rests solely with you and will depend on a number of important factors that will determine to what level you can take things. Let’s discuss them here:

1. Budget

Firstly, the one that no one likes talking about and that is budget!

It never ceases to amaze us why people are so reluctant to offer a budget to work within. Perhaps the main reason is embarrassment?

Everyone, no matter what level they operate at, has a rough idea of how much they can spend. What people may not know is how much they should allocate to certain elements of their party.

Over the last 15 years of designing and organising great parties, we’ve lost count of the number of times a potential client has told us that budget isn’t an issue.

There are very few people for whom budget is NOT an issue. Fortunately for us, we have been lucky enough to work with a few of them but they remain very rare. So let‘s make one thing clear:

We can give far more value for your money and more suggestions on a smaller or realistic budget than if you say budget is not an issue.

2. Be realistic with your budget

Always, always be realistic – we can’t stress this highly enough. If your budget is too small for what you want to achieve, we will tell you immediately and this way you won’t waste any time on a wild goose chase.

Don’t be tempted either to add a few pounds on to your party budget for fear of not being taken seriously.

That is where we can help you. By listening to you and discovering what elements of your party are more important to you than others, we can tailor a bespoke proposal and advise you how best to meet your requirements.

We will provide options for each element of your party design at various price points. This way, you can spend more on the elements that are important and less on the elements that are not as crucial whilst not compromising on the overall look.

This is so much easier to achieve if we have budget parameters to work to. Be honest with yourself and think about what you would consider spending as a whole sum – NOT individual elements.

You wouldn’t walk into a Ferrari dealership if your budget would only stretch to a Ford Focus would you? Well you might, but you would probably be politely asked to leave once the salesperson had asked you some standard, pre-qualifying questions.

Another analogy is your party dress. You may know what you want to spend on the dress itself, but how much will you spend on accessories such as your bag and shoes?

Don’t waste your own time! The whole point of working with a party planner such as 88 Events is to save you time and, hopefully money by giving you the best possible value for your money. This is far easier to achieve if you are upfront about your budget from the beginning.

3. What do you want to achieve?

The third factor you must consider is what exactly do you want to achieve by employing a party designer or planner?

You should sit down and work out your goals for the party. If you are simply planning on having some friends round to your house with perhaps an outside caterer doing the food, then you could probably do this yourself without enduring too much stress.

On the other hand, if you want to create something unique that may involve pulling together lots of different suppliers, your time in the lead up to the party and on the night itself will be taken up with ensuring that these suppliers are co-ordinated flawlessly. In this instance, we would suggest that you need the assistance of a party planner.

Sit down and decide what your goals are for the party and the decision will be an easy one, however, if you’re still unsure whether you can pull it off (or even want to) yourself, phone us on 0141 445 2288 and we’d be delighted to advise you.

4. Can you (or do you want to) do things yourself?

Invariably, the problem for the person throwing the party is that often they’re so concerned with making sure that everything runs like clockwork that they forget to do the most important thing – relax and enjoy themselves.

If you do things yourself will you be able to actually enjoy yourself? Consider that your opportunities for mingling and enjoying yourself will be seriously reduced if you’re spending lots of time running around telling the caterer when to serve or phoning the DJ to find out when he actually plans on turning up.

If you feel you’re capable of creating your own unique vision yourself then we would point you in the direction of 88 Events’ Hire Collection.

Here, you can find all the chair covers, tablecloths, table centres and tabletop ideas you need to bring your vision to life and create the ultimate party designed solely by you!

However, if you wish somebody to help you achieve your vision by designing and organising the most extraordinary party then 88 Events could well be the company for you.

Is 88 Events the right company to  plan your party?

So to summarise, 88 Events could be the right company to help design and organise your party if:

• You want to create a party that your guests will marvel at and talk about for years to come
• You have a vision of how your party should look but don’t have the time and/or are unsure of how to go about achieving it
• You have some idea of what you could potentially spend to to create your dream party
• You’re not afraid to share this information in order to get the best possible value for your money and maximum amount of ideas that will help you achieve your vision
• You would like to work with a company famed for its expertise in designing and organising the most talked about parties

If you answer yes to all of the above then we recommend getting in touch. You can do this by calling 0141 445 2288. Alternatively, email info@88eventscompany.com or fill in a contact form on by clicking here.

Now click the links below to delve deeper into how 88 Events can help you create an amazing party:

• Using 88 Events as your party planner
• Your free party design consultation
• The secret of a great party