There are plenty of resources out there that will help you plan your event. We’ve even got some of our own! You can read tips for setting a budget and sticking with it, discover app recommendations to stay organized, and even learn how to manage day-of mishaps. And although all of that information is truly helpful, it won’t keep you inspired. But won’t worry—we have just the thing to spark that inspiration! Keep reading to discover nine quotes to inspire every event professional.
Whether you’re choosing color palettes, designing marketing materials, or creating a schedule—inspiration is an important part of event planning. Inspiration helps you create a vision for your perfect event, and it fuels you to make that vision a reality. Of course, event planning takes a lot of work, too, so it’s hard to stay inspired sometimes. When the inspiration seems to disappear, we like to turn to the experts—or even the ones who inspire us, no matter their industry.
We’ve collected these nine quotes to inspire every event professional at every stage of the planning process. From budgeting to collaboration, you can stay excited about your event.
Budgeting Inspiration
“Budgeting isn’t about limiting yourself—it’s about making the things that excite you possible.”
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Setting a budget is one of the first steps in event planning. Once you have your budget, you can search for venues within your price range and book caterers, entertainment, and speakers. You’ll also know your spending limits on decorations and other important elements, like food and transportation. But as our first inspirational quote says: Budgets aren’t meant to limit you. Instead of telling you what you can’t buy, budgets allow you to buy the things that your event needs to succeed.
Planning Inspiration
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Once you’ve established your budget, it’s time to determine the goal(s) for your event. For example, are you looking to bring in revenue or launch a new product? Maybe you want to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. Perhaps you’re announcing an engagement or new business venture. Like budgeting, choosing a goal will help you make critical decisions down the road. But, of course, planning doesn’t stop after goal-setting. Instead, it merely begins.
“Plans are nothing;
planning is everything.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Planning is the act of preparing for your event, but it isn’t a guarantee that things will go according to your plan. And that’s OK! Your job as an event planner is to, well, plan your event. You can’t control everything that happens on the day-of. But if you’ve spent the time to plan, you’ll be better prepared to side step or tackle live challenges.
“If the plan doesn’t work,
change the plan, but never the goal.”
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Sometimes your first event doesn’t go well. Or maybe even your first plan for your first event doesn’t work out. That just means you need to pivot your plan so it can better meet your goal. (Are you sensing the theme here? Flexibility is an important part of event planning!) If you’re struggling to find the right plan for your goal, consider the opposite of what you’ve done before. Maybe you’ve always hosted large, public events—would an intimate gathering be better? Or a live-streamed event instead? Find what fits your goal, but don’t change the goal.
Day-of Inspiration
“We do not remember days;
we remember moments.”
Cesare Pavese
Think about an event that you really enjoyed. When you told your friends about that event, you probably didn’t relay the entire schedule or everything you did there. Instead, you chose a moment or two that made the event important. Maybe it was a great conversation with a colleague or watching your parents dance at their vow renewal.
The same happens to your guests, too. When you’re planning an event, you don’t need to create an entire day’s worth of memories. Instead, you only need to create a single moment for your guests. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn‘t plan a schedule—it just means that the schedule isn’t what the guests will remember. They’ll remember a moment one of the events on that schedule.
“And just like that, like a simple
neighborhood event, a miracle is
taking place.”
Mary Oliver
We added this quote (taken from Mary Oliver’s “This Morning) to remind you that simple can be magical. Yes, extravagant events have their place and may be exactly what what you need. But sometimes simple is a better way to reach your customer base. If your budget is small or you’re located in a more rural area, there is still plenty of fun ways to give your guests a moment to remember. Smaller budgets can create a more personal event where guests can network and socialize, and rural planners can highlight local businesses or bring the big city to you with a themed event.
“It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.”
Dalai Lama XIV
If something does go wrong at your event, it’s tempting to consider the whole event a failure. But that isn’t the case! There’s always something that you did right, always something positive to celebrate. It’s OK to feel disheartened, but don’t let that stop you from seeing what else is going right.
And remember that guests don’t notice mistakes like you do. They’re not even looking for mistakes! Just like you don’t notice when the pianist hits one wrong key, your guests won’t know that a sign is missing or the napkins are the wrong color. And if your mishap is larger in scale—like, for example a late speaker—how you handle that mishap can be positive.
Conclusion
Inspiration is crucial to event planning, but setting budgets and calling vendors isn’t always inspiring! So we pulled together these quotes to inspire every event professional. Whether you’re planning a large corporate gathering or a small birthday party, staying inspired will make the planning more fun and make the event more enjoyable for guests.
Which quote do you like the best? What other quotes inspire you?
