Whether for the holidays, celebrating a great company accomplishment or just for fun, planning a corporate function can be a lot of work, but also exciting and fun! Follow these steps on our corporate event planning checklist to make sure your event has all that it needs, and be sure to your our excellent service to advise you with all the tools you will need to throw the best event your company has seen!

Step 1: Decide on a budget
Talk to your company’s finance department or accounting team and see how much money you have to work with on your event. Things that need to be considered in your budget are: invitations, decorations, food and drinks, entertainment, and more. Even if your budget is not as big as you would like it to be, there are so many ways you can use Do-It-Yourself crafts and decorations to save money! Pinterest, YouTube, and other websites have thousands of tutorials on how to make your party your own.

Step 2: Pick your venue
Choose a location either close to your office or easily accessible by public transportation. This is so your co-workers know that they can get to the area and don’t have to go to extreme measures to get there. Our website has detailed pictures of venues, separated by area of New York City. Our service can help make communicating with the owners of your chosen venue easy and quick, because we have great relationships with all of the venues we work with! We promise that all of the locations are gorgeous, and can give you advice on choosing the right one for your type of party.

Step 3: Pick a theme
If your party is holiday related, using that holiday as a theme is a great way to integrate a fun atmosphere to your event! If your event is to showcase a new product or celebrate an achievement, you could make the party to represent your company in the best light by using your logo, slogan, or company colors as the decorations around your venue. Talk with your employers or the head of your department to make sure the reason for your event is clear.

Step 4: Determine a menu
Seated meal or Buffet style? Casual cuisine or gourmet dining? These are decisions that are important because it will set the stage for how intimate your party is, although either is a great way of throwing your party. Talk to people in your office and ask what they would prefer, because, after all, this party is for them!

Step 5: Make creative and clever invitations
An invitation to your event that has an elegant, homemade touch will show your guests that you put a lot of thought into your event. The good thing about throwing a corporate event is that most of the people you will be inviting are in your office, so you can save yourself money on postage and add a nice touch by hand-delivering the invitations. Be sure to include the theme, time, location, and dress code so all of your guests know everything about your event.

Step 6: Double check that everything is ready
Make sure you check in with your party planner, venue, caterer, and decorator at least a week before the party, and a day or two before the event to make sure everything is in order and prepared for the event to arrive. If you are the sole liaison from your company to plan this party, how it goes will reflect on you, so be aware of all of your arrangements and make sure everything is ready. A good way to do this is to make a checklist and cross off one thing at a time as it is completed or confirmed.

Step 7: Designate an Errand person
At your event, you can never know exactly what will occur. The ice will run out, you can run out of drinks, or who knows what will happen. It is best to ask people in your department, or even yourself, to take shifts or be on an “on call” system to be prepared if anything were to go wrong. Because this is a corporate event, it is important to keep your company’s reputation in mind and only tell a small group of people if something goes wrong, and to not alarm the higher-ups of your company and disrupt the flow of your party.

Step 8: Have fun!
Relax, all the hard work and planning is over! Show your company that you are happy they are having a great time, but also that you are having a great time too! Enjoy yourself and know that your guests are enjoying themselves as well.

Planning a corporate event in NYC is both exciting and fun. Follow these steps and your event is sure to be unforgettable. To ease your craze and party-planning worries, use our service! We will help you with anything and everything to make this the best function your corporation has ever seen.

If you’d like Birthdays and Bottles to help make your next corporate event in NYC a huge success, feel free to get in touch with us today.