We service a lot of different types of events here at Kerkstra, but one thing that we’ve noticed is that a lot of the most successful events share a few of the same qualities. Whether it’s an annual community marathon, music festival, employee appreciation event, or even a seasonal clam bake the best events follow the same script. If you want your upcoming event to be a smash success, you need to nail down these 5 must-haves for any event:
- A Location with “The Wow Factor”
- Scenic lakeshore areas
- Breweries and vineyards
- Botanical gardens and art parks
- Colleges and Universities
- Parks and nature preserves
- Farms and rural settings
- A Great Guest List
- The Right Entertainment
- Ways to Capture the Memories
- Staying Power
A location can make or break an event (and sometimes a location is the very cause for the event). When selecting the right location for your event, consider the amenities offered and ensure that they fit the overall objective for your event. Now, there may be times when the location is basically chosen for you. For instance, if you’re planning a sporting event, you may not have too many options to host your game or race; but if you’re planning a seasonal or corporate event you’ll have a lot more locations to choose from. Ensure that the location you book has enough space for all of your guests, favorable hosting policies if you plan on bringing in entertainment, plenty of luxury restrooms to accommodate everyone, and enough of a draw to entice people to attend.
In West Michigan, some of the most popular event locations include:
Hopefully those provide you with some inspiration for your event!
The guest list is essential when it comes to shaping an event and, therefore, is crucial to it being successful. Inviting the right people ensures that your event will be filled with the right audience for whatever you’re hosting. Send invites to anyone who needs to be in attendance as well as anyone who may contribute to the success of the event. For instance, for non-profit organizations this means inviting the founders, current contributors, and other interested supporters who may contribute in the future. For community events and other functions where guests are not invited individually, the more the merrier! Invite people to come out and get location news and radio stations to hype your event for maximum exposure.
The right entertainment for your event can vary from a live band to a clown or caricaturist to a giant outdoor movie screen. Ensure that whoever (or whatever) you bring to your event to entertain your guests is appropriate for your demographic. Nothing ruins an event faster than having entertainment that doesn’t appeal to your audience. Encourage people to stick around by properly spacing out the timing of different entertainment offerings and give people a variety of options to choose from to ensure there will be something fun for everyone.
Having a professional photographer capture your event or offering a photo booth is a great way to allow guests to remember the fun they had at your event. You can also encourage guests to share pictures and memories on social media with a dedicated page or hashtag so that people can appreciate others’ memories as well. However you decide to it, helping guests to capture memories of the event gives them a palpable way to hold onto the fun that they had, which is key to hosting a great event.
For annual or recurring functions, you’ll want your event to have staying power. This means getting guests excited about the next occurrence of your event. Tease them with what your planning for next year (or better yet, allow them to contribute ideas for next year’s event). For paid events, offer discounts or gifts if they purchase tickets for next year in advance. Encourage guests to rate your event on specific topics and then use the feedback you got from this year’s event to make next year even better!
Kerkstra Luxury Portable Restroom Service Inc. provides portable restroom service across Michigan and luxury restroom trailers for all of the states surrounding the Great Lakes. Take a look at our mobile restroom trailers and request a quote today!