Today's guest blogger is Terri Bergman of TLB Events. Terri is a member of the Party Favorite's Party Portfolio. We selected TLB Events as a member of our Party Portfolio because of Terri's experience, knowledge and creativity. We love her "do whatever it takes" attitude. Clients say she not intimidating and very easy to work with. Following are Terri's thoughts on a common place card problem...

You would not believe how many party guests forget to pick up their place cards during a cocktail hour and then walk into a reception and have no idea where they are seated. This typically will happen when the event is held on multiple levels in a venue.

When guests move from cocktails to another location for dinner and dancing, I tend to notice that several people usually leave their place cards behind or never take them in the first place. A quick remedy to this situation is to quickly move the stray cards to the dinner location and either have the wait staff hand them out on silver trays or set up a small table as quickly as you can to display the cards that were left behind. In case of emergency (ie. a place card is lost or missing), always be prepared with a place card list so you can verbally tell a guest where they are seated. Unexpected situtations like this magnify the value of having a quick thinking event planner on-site!

My years of experience as an event planner has taught me that if an event is on multiple levels or being held in various areas of a venue, it is best to position your place cards at the location where your guests will end up after cocktails for the party. Your “place card table” can become a stunning entrance table as your guests arrive.

The moral of this story is to plan ahead and be prepared for problems before they arrive. If you choose to use a planner, hire an experienced planner who can anticipate challenges and resolve them before you or any of your guests realize an issue or problem exists.

xoxo  terri

Today's guest blogger is Terri Bergman of TLB Events.  Terri is a member of the Party Favorite's Party Portfolio.  We selected TLB Events as a member of our Party Portfolio because of Terri's experience, knowledge and creativity.  We love her "do whatever it takes" attitude.  Clients say she not intimidating and very easy to work with.  Following are Terri's thoughts on the value of a Party Planner...

The special events industry has definitely been affected by today's economic climate. People seem to be  scaling back and looking more economical approaches to hosting events. Often people believe that a party planner is the first thing they can "cut" when scaling back.  The internet has provided an affordable and sometimes more advantageous method of obtaining products such as favors, accessories and décor.  Despite this fact, there is still a significant value in obtaining the services of a party planner for your event…whether it be a wedding, Mitzvah or other celebration.

One of the primary roles of a seasoned planner is to negotiate pricing.   Years of experience has taught me what can and can't be negotiated with other vendors and this, along with my established relationships with certain vendors, definitely benefits my client's event budget.  Industry professionals such as myself also have the resources to obtain products and services available only "to the trade."  Another advantage of a planner is that drawing from experience, a good planner can budget an event effectively and figure out the most efficient and creative ways to scale back without sacrificing the original design for an event.

Everyone is affected by the economy….and yet we all can work together to create memorable yet tasteful parties! The event professional you select should be easy to work with and offer personalized service so that you can relax, be a guest, enjoy your party and savor the lifetime memory!