Maybe one of the questions we always think about when designing your event is: where do we start? There is more to Event Layouts than just only setting up tables and chairs. Designing your event and preparing your floor plan arrangement are the key blueprints to organizing your event.
Successfully planning your floor arrangements harmonizes seating, eating, educational and entertainment spacing plus the aisles and traffic routes flowing in between. It reduces choke points and the long line encourages mingling and allows the attendees to stay immersed, not wandering around trying to find stations, or the registration desk or their seats.
1. Rough Draft Your Floor Plan
Although you have visited the venue in person, creating a floor plan may be difficult if you do not have all of your props to visualize your plan. All Seated is a website that provides seating plan software tools needed to efficiently manage the table and floor plan details for all types of events. You can input your event details such as host, caterer and VENUE. The Venue option allows you to search up your venue, and it will provide you with an exact blueprint and measurement of the venue from a bird's eye view.
website: https://www.allseated.com/
2. Define Your Goal and Your Budget
The overall budget would have been determined, but there are parts of the budget that should be utilized in order to achieve the teams' goals.
You may/should have; What thoughts, feelings, and descriptions do you hope your guests share with others? What impressions do you want your guests to take away from your event?
When planning your event, you should always have goals, and it is most likely the metrics. Maybe a fundraiser to raise money or a grand opening hoping to gain more attraction to the business.
Using your layout for setting the right mood and event atmosphere will help amplify your experiential goals. The perfect and well-executed layout will create the ambiance, encouraging target behaviours and actions from participants.
3. Create an atmosphere
Once you have your main goal and budget, you want to impress your guests when they first walk in. How do we want our attendees to feel? How do we want to stand out? How do you want attendees to be engaged?
Here is a picture with a list of how you should have your space feel:
You want to give your attendees the warm, simple and fresh vibe from your event.
4. Confirm Number of Attendees
As an event planner, headcount is very important when designing. It is the breaking point when planning every aspect of the event. Many layout logistics depend on the headcount.
You will be able to plan:
Table and Chairs: round, banquet and cocktail tables as well as standard folding and more chair types, plus each of their sizes.
Exhibition design: Considering how many vendors you plan on bringing in and incorporating it into the design. Square footage per vendor.
Furniture layouts: Consider the floor plan layout for formal exhibitions.
Catering and refreshments: Depending on how many guests are attending, whether it is a cocktail hour with passed hors d'oeuvres, buffet style or bars, you need to ratio how many people to how many foods and beverages you need.
Event favours: Order your party favours and ensure they arrive on time. You should order a bit extra just in case.
5. Create a Schedule
To stay organized and help the flow of the event production, you should create a timeline/schedule. Just so you know all your vendors, catering, decor, etc., setups, there will be no conflict in schedule.
6. Test Sight-lines
Any visuals are essential to the experiences in the event. Clear visual pathways are important at corporate events such as conferences, expos and industry seminars.
Elevated Stages that have a wider and bigger audience
Staggered seating positions instead of having chairs back-to-back and guests will have a clear sight of the stage.
TV screens, whiteboards and other presentation materials need to be elevated.
7. Consider AODA
When booking a venue, you should consider if the venue complies with the AODA Accessibility standards. It creates an easy flow for all persons entering the venue.
Refer to: https://www.aoda.ca/
8. Catering
When preparing the event's menu, don't forget about the diet restrictions. Neglecting to consider any allergies, sensitivities, diets and preferences will likely leave many participants hungry and unhappy.
Other layout considerations:
Scheduled times when catering will be served or available
Menu style, such as hors d'oeuvres, served meal or buffet
Comfortable lines and wait times
Standing or sitting meal
Integration of refreshment tables, buffets or bars with the wider layout
9. Consider Special Activities
To keep your guests entertained and engaging, you should include activities in your schedule such as:
Dancing
Staged entertainment
Live Demos
Games
Scavenger Hunts
Team-Building activities
If you consider adding an activity, additional venue spacing and layout designs will be required.
10. Customer Aesthetics
The visuals of your event are very important for your event as it is the first impression of your guests. As Event Planners, it is important for us to design an event and make it flow throughout without any flaws of decor and it fits with your theme. Colour schemes influence a room's mood and establish a particular ambiance. You just need to know what colours go well throughout the whole venue.
Here are some helpful colour palettes that can help you:
Here are some decor options to consider:
Table and chair types
Table and chair linens
Exhibition booth table throws
Banners and graphics
Custom event signage
Table centrepieces
Wall or ceiling fabric draping
Flowers and other plant arrangements
Additional lighting
Tableware sets and pieces
Stage backdrops