We were contacted recently by a young woman by the name of Andreanna! She is trying to create an Adult Prom for all the adults who didn’t get to experience prom for themselves, no matter what the circumstances were. She sent us these questions in hopes of helping her endeavor.
1)What was the largest event you have ever planned?
The largest event we have ever planned, and plan twice a year, is for Nationwide Marketing Group; PrimeTime! This event holds over 3000 attendees each time.
2) In short, how would you go about planning a prom for an adult audience?
What would be your first thing to plan for?
Find out the interest of your demographic. When would most of their proms have been? 60’s 70’s 80’s? Try to re do the theme of that timeframe. Also make sure the event is catered in some capacity. Punch, chips, finger sandwiches, all can be great choices for an adult prom.
First things first – Plan your budget and where your budget is going to go towards. (Venue, foods, entertainment, decor)
3) What are some of your favorite ways to enhance an event on a budget?
Asking for help is a good first step. Look into companies that will help you with your budget. If you are very limited get your friends and family to help with food and decor.
4) How do you ensure that the event planned will be a success?
There is no way you can ensure an event will be successful. You can help prevent that it will be a disaster though by: making sure you have your budget planned out, the help you need in order, and making sure you use trustworthy companies to help you build your event.
Think about what might go wrong at your event and then be prepared to fix that problem.
5) Tell me about prior work experience and education.
All of us at Sterling events have had years of experience with event planning. Sterling Events Group, headquartered outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina with additional offices throughout the Carolinas, has provided travel, event planning and design services for clients nationwide since 1985.
6) Tell me about yourself; your story on how you became an event planner and where it has led you in life.
We all come from diffrent backgrounds. Some of us started with sterling when it was first a travel agency and have transitioned with the company into event planners, while others have been working events for many years with other companies until landing at Sterling.
7) If I was one of your clients, what kinds of questions would you ask me?
What is your Budget?
Does your event have / need a theme?
How many people are attending your event?
Will you need food and drink?
Will you need entertainment?
Does your event need transportation?
Is your event private or public?
Will you need Audio and Visual services?
8) How would you go about fixing emergencies during the planning of an event?
Depends on the emergency. If it is a budgeting emergency, you will need to discuss with your client that you are going over budget with the things they might of requested and will need verification to go over. You don’t want to spend more money then the client has budgeted.
If you are talking about emergencies like decor, lighting, and or AV you will have to make sure you have back ups of each. Have a few extra lights around for replacements and something to help replace the decor if something goes wrong. Have extra power sources for you AV incase of technology malfunctions.
Its always going to be hard to know when an emergency might happen, just be aware and prepared that anything can and most likely will happen.
If you would like to help Andreanna with her Adult Prom event, go to her GoFundMe page and donate today!
