The best times in life are when we can bring our family and friends together to celebrate a very important event. Whether it’s a milestone birthday, a graduation or promotion, an engagement party, baby shower or even a wedding, nothing marks the occasion more than an evening of fun, drinks and dancing.

But how do you go about planning a celebration with real style – an event which will make memories for you and your guest, plus give those Instagramable moments? It doesn’t have to be stressful, if you take the time to plan properly, by the time the event comes around you just relax and enjoy…

Set A Budget

Even low-key events require a small spend, so instead of racking up costs buying things piecemeal, approach your event like a pro, by setting a budget first. This will determine the size of celebration and how many you can invite – it’s always better to have fewer guests that you can afford to entertain in style than a massive crowd fighting over a few sausage rolls!

Being realistic, most of us don’t have a Kardashian-style events budget, so you’ll need to think about ways to save money to put towards your celebration. Decide which areas you’ll splurge on and where you’ll save if you need to keep costs down. Are those venue decorations more important than a live DJ? Should you spend on a cake but save on the entertainment but just making a party playlist? Making these decisions in advance will help you be clear about the type of celebration you can afford.
 

Choose A Trusted Venue And Suppliers

Once you understand your event budget, you can go about the next step – finding a venue. This can make or break your party by providing the atmosphere, so decide how formal you want the place to be and look for somewhere with great transport links to make it easier on your guests.

A website like tagvenue.com can help you to create a shortlist. Then ensure that you find trusted suppliers – often venues will have preferred suppliers of their own, or some may leave you to do the legwork. Think about flowers or prop hire, food, if you’re having a bar, and also use a site like AliveNetwork.com to find you entertainment. Check your plans with the venue manager first, in case there is anything you need to be aware of.

Send Out Your Invites

Once the venue is secured and you have a date, make sure you get those invitations out. Give at least three months notice for a big occasion, although you can get away with less for less formal celebrations. E-vites are the chicest, eco-friendly option and also allow you to digitally keep a track of responses and numbers to help with the rest of your planning.
 

Schedule Your Day

The day of a big event can often be quite busy – you may have to prep the venue on the day itself if they have other events booked in the night before, plus you need plenty of time to beautify yourself, select your best party wear and arrive at the venue with plenty of time for last-minute checks ahead of your first guest arriving. If you’re not focused, the time can easily slip away, so plan out a little schedule and alerts on your phone to keep everything running smoothly. Then take a deep breath, get yourself a glass of fizz, and enjoy!