When planning a celebration, an event-planning checklist is one the most important tools you can use to make sure your event is a successful one. Though it might seem like a small detail, a structured checklist will help you stay organized and keep you on task as you plan, and best of all, it will ensure that you don’t forget any important details.
When you go about creating your checklist, there are some things that you absolutely CAN’T leave out! Specifically, in our opinion, the following three items are the most important things when planning your event!
Venue
When planning an event, your first and foremost concern is the “Where?” meaning, if you don’t have a venue chosen, your first priority is to create a checklist that highlights all the most important things you’re looking for in a venue. Things like size, location, capacity lighting, and, of course, price are all incredibly important considerations to take into account. In fact, once you go over your expectations and the requirements of your event, you will likely have a smaller pool of possible venues than what you started with.
If, on the other hand, you have already chosen your venue, you can create checklists to ensure everything venue related will be taken care of before the event. And, this is a small thing, but could create a huge headache if there’s any misunderstanding; it’s crucially important to make extra sure that you and the venue manager have the venue booked for the correct and same times. It’s also important that you do research in your own municipality to ensure you have the proper event permits (if you need to) in place well before your event.
Logistics
Logistics are very important when it comes to the flow and overall success of your event. One logistics mistake, and you could bring your event from truly exceptional to simply average. So, creating a logistics checklist is a great way to make sure the coordination and execution of all your chosen event elements. This part of party planning isn’t glamorous, but it’s important, because it directly affects your guests’ experience of your celebration. Some of the important considerations that should be included included on your checklist are:
Traffic flow and parking & coat check
Timeline and guest arrival and departures
Creating clear signage
Clarifying vendor expectations and set-up times
Event Diagramming and Seating Planning
Event scheduling and timeline
Guest list and invitations
Creating the perfect guest list for your event and sending ‘keep the date’ cards & invitations takes both time and patience, but doing the work up-front will save you from many headaches down the line. Truly, in our experience speaking to clients, one of the hardest parts of this aspect of planning is dealing with the paranoia that you might forget to invite someone important. And, you definitely don’t want to do that!
A guestlist checklist, and giving yourself lots of time to complete this task, will help to ensure this doesn’t happen. On your checklist, you can include a list of all your guests and all your invitations. That way, if you forget to create or send an invitation, you can easily correct your mistake because your checklist will let you know you’ve made one.
I also suggest letting other guests of honor go over the wedding guestlist to ensure that you haven’t missed any important connections or people, before you get to the task of preparing your wedding invites!
Where the photo booth fits in your plan
A photo booth fits in with all of your planning categories. On the venue side, a photo booth needs some floor space and an electrical plug, which is simple to flag when you rent the space. On the logistical end, the attendant sets up and takes down the photo booth, so you only deal with one supplier on event day. And for your guests' experience, it's the rare feature that doubles as both fun entertainment and a memento they can take home — a printed strip from a booth like the Classic, or a clip from the Orbit 360.
When to book it
The booth is one to reserve as soon as possible, because popular dates (summer weddings and December parties) book up well in advance. After you've reserved the venue, sending us the date and an estimated guest count is enough for us to confirm availability and recommend how to best use the space. Our pricing guide helps set budget expectations.
Common questions about photo booths and event planning
Where does a photo booth fit in event planning?
It touches all three pillars — venue (a bit of space and power), logistics (one attendant-run vendor), and guest experience (entertainment plus a take-home favor).
How much space and power does a booth need?
About 8 by 8 feet for most booths (closer to 10 by 10 for a 360), plus a standard outlet within reach.
When should I book the photo booth?
Early — popular dates book first. Send the venue, date, and a rough guest count to confirm availability.
Does the booth come with staffing?
Yes — an on-site attendant handles setup, service, and teardown, so it's one less vendor to manage.
Ready to secure a Photo Booth Picture Co Photo Booth for your next big event, wedding, reunion or other special occasion? Call us today at (206) 317-4556 or contact us for booking and availability.
Or browse our photo booth rentals to see what's available.
