Party planning business

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Party planning business

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Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 07 11:54 pm Post subject: Party planning business

There is a group of us that are thinking about banding together and pooling our talants to start a party business.
My question to you is what sort of services COULD you want from a party service like this, the more unusual the better.
The reason i am asking is i can then go through the list and seewhat services we could already provide and what we could look into training for.
At the moment i am confident we can provide at least:
catering
equipment hire (for catering up to 75)
BAR
ballons
children entertainment
errrrrm sure there is more but it is late and i am shattered, anyway let me have your ideas and i will see if we have them covered.

Helen_A

Joined: 26 Jan 2005
Posts: 1548
Location: MK, Bucks.

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 12:37 am Post subject:
PA/Lights hire Kareoke Casinos Mobile Creche services (for wedding parties)

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 7:58 am Post subject:
got the creach, the casino normally needs a licence and we have a DJ who does Karioke (SP) anything else??

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 8:36 am Post subject:
Provision of different 'themes' for parties through the general decor and food supplied - such as a barn dance, posh black tie event, various fancy dress themes? People often can't think of a theme for themselves, but are happy to choose one from a list of ideas.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 10:02 am Post subject:
Bouncy castle

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 10:03 am Post subject:
What about marquee, dance floor, lights, live music, glass hire, drinks fountains, DJs who don't just play the usual stuff - my friend used to run a party planning business and just basically marketed herself saying that she would try to achieve the unachievable so left the ideas stuff to the clients

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45665
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 10:24 am Post subject:
Ice cream machine, juicer

lettucewoman

Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 7834
Location: Tiptoe in the Forest!!

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 10:33 am Post subject:
chocolate fondue fountain!! Also check out the web - look at what other party planners are offering. It's often good to ring up th competition as a punter and check out prices etc!

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 10:33 am Post subject:

Whipped cream, nipple clamps and sheep!
Sorry, I'll get me rubber coat...

Seriously though, it's damned hard work, as the clients are always seriously stressed and expect perfection. I've witnessed some hideous scenes involving party planners getting almost lynched because some infinitessimally small detail wasn't exactly as the client wanted it.
You also have to be on hand throughout the event, which means having to witness some hideously drunk, arrogant and offensive Grade-A t0ssers and eejits; the sort of people that most of us would want to run a mile from!
If you got the stomach for it, though, it can be lucrative.
Rather than getting all the stuff yourself, research the market and see who does what - a co-operative venture might be better for all.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 10:36 am Post subject:

Gervase wrote:

Rather than getting all the stuff yourself, research the market and see who does what - a co-operative venture might be better for all.

That is largely what my friend did - she built up reliable contacts in other businesses, marquee hire, live music etc... and used them

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 11:15 am Post subject:
Invites, favours, photography (those who take pics of couples and groups at a ball, for example). I seriously thought about doing the party planning thing after planning our own wedding, I think a lot of people do!

bagpuss

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 10507
Location: cambridge

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 11:44 am Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

got the creach, the casino normally needs a licence and we have a DJ who does Karioke (SP)
anything else??

Does a fake casino where you give people fake money but offer real prizes require a license

gingerwelly

Joined: 08 Dec 2005
Posts: 419
Location: Wales ...in cardiff at the mo but from mid wales

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 2:03 pm Post subject:

would you be doing wedding parties ?
I ask because my friend spent months looking for a party planner for her wedding that would provide a "green party" ,
in the end she found a lady in scotland (we are in Wales).... and even then the couple had to organise quite alot of the things on their own .... things like a wind generator, organic local food, drinks , and decorations ...even finding a cake that was organic was hard.
Also explaining to family and friends that gifts were to be given to a charity

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 2:19 pm Post subject:

We get called on to do the lights/sound/technical stuff for things like this; it does tend to be an affiliation of people/companies who take responsibility for different roles:

Catering and bar
Waiter and waitress hire
Table/chair hire and dressing/glasses/cutlery
dance floor and/or staging
Some sort of 'turn' - stilt walkers, live statues, a band, a comic etc
Venue sourcing
Marquee sourcing
Generators
Lighting
Sound

Being organised is the most valuable skill you can have - the other stuff you can buy in. As Gervase says, it's can be very stressy - I don't think I'd want to actually be production managing a wedding for example. And even in the corporate end of the business where we tend to stay, you still get the odd 'Do you know who I am?' type of chap throwing their weight around.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 07 2:31 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

Bouncy castle

Mates brother supplies them

Invites, favours
yep got them covered

You also have to be on hand throughout the event, which means having to witness some hideously drunk, arrogant and offensive Grade-A t0ssers and eejits; the sort of people that most of us would want to run a mile from
worked in pubs for 10 years, seen it done it

Provision of different 'themes' for parties through the general decor and food supplied - such as a barn dance, posh black tie event, various fancy dress themes? People often can't think of a theme for themselves
great idea, pre planned parties with a little tweaking for the individual

Whipped cream, nipple clamps and sheep!
Sorry, I'll get me rubber coat...
sorted

sorry about all the cut and paste, i dont know how to post multiple quotes.
right we are up to about 6 people in the co op at the moment, anything else?

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