Every well-organized event should include a run sheet that outlines what should be happening during each minute of the event.

Whether a speech should run from 9:01-9:23, or food should be put out from 7:35-7:46, every second should be accounted for in order to remain organized. In addition to the run sheets for an event, our social media guru Cindy keeps track of EOE’s very own run sheet during our event that took place this past weekend for Nestle Waters North America. This behind the scenes time line describes what happened at certain times during the event through the eyes of the event planning team.

• 11:15 a.m. Emily and Danielle told Cindy and Mallory to drop out of school to help with all events this year (this is not the first time this has happened).
• 11:16 a.m. The rain has stopped and the sun is out!
• 11:47 a.m. Rain is back…..
• 2:15 p.m. The sun appears to be out for good, hopefully it stays this way!
• 2:40 p.m. The cocktail seating is being rearranged for the 4th+ time… have a feeling it’s not going to be the last.
• 3:06 p.m. Looking at the radar the sun won’t be out much longer…
• 5:00 p.m. Cindy declares event planning to be strawesome.. Stressful and awesome.
• 6:40 p.m. Cindy and Mallory somehow survive shuttling guests from hotels to the venue (in their opinion one of the most stressful parts of the event).
• 7:25 p.m. Servers are doing a great job rushing out 185 salads before guests enter the main tent!
• 7:30 p.m. The client’s golden retrievers escaped briefly from their designated room but still remain in the house… Mallory being the dog whisperer she is quickly cleaned up the situation.
• 7:58 p.m. Emily begins calling the troop of guests into the main tent.
• 8:19 p.m. One of the dogs escaped from the house and ran into the main tent during a speech! Luckily the crowd enjoyed it and our client made a joke about it… Phew!
• 9:16 p.m. We are a little behind due to emotional speeches for our client… As long as guests and clients are happy, we are too!
• 9:32 p.m. We are all about ready to get out of these shoes and have full back massages. (Definitely considering booking celebratory team massages after our next event!)
• 10:07 p.m. Danielle is crying at the speeches done by our client’s children. Who knew a 15 and 14 year old could be so confident as public speakers in a room of 185 high level employees?
• 10:56 p.m. There are monster sized moths in the tent, luckily they are staying high on the ceiling.
• 10:32 p.m. Danielle and Cindy just realized Stew Leonard, Jr. was here! Minor celebrity shock… He entered the cook tent to shake the chef’s hand and congratulate the staff on how well the food tasted. When the owner of the world’s largest dairy store compliments your food, you know you’re doing it right!
• 10:45 p.m. We can hear how hard it’s raining outside as the drops strike the roof of the tent, good thing we put sides on the tent as a precaution for the rain or most guests would find themselves and their table soaked at this point.
• 11:00 p.m. Wish it wasn’t pouring rain as the guests are leaving to their cars or to the hotel shuttles, but the valet staff is doing a great job by putting the guests needs first with umbrella coverage. Love being prepared in situations like this!
• 12:30 a.m. Emily and Danielle were apparently kissed on the lips by an important stakeholder in the process of planning this event. I assume this means she was pleased to say the least.

Having your own event planning run sheet can be very helpful on the review of how successful your event was, bring back laughs, and evaluate what changes can be made for the next event. Our event was very successful and our clients were extremely pleased with how everything turned out, but we will definitely ensure no golden retrievers will be running into our next event!