Planning Tips, Your Event Career
6 Tried-And-True Attire Rules from Event Planning Courses
Being an event and wedding planner means you’ll be dealing with a lot of clients and guests – and their attire! Dress codes are a huge part of any event, so you need to be on top of proper expectations and guidelines.
Don’t get caught off guard! Follow these tried-and-true rules for event attire that you’ll learn in your event planning courses.
1. Don’t forget the invites
The number one rule when creating invitations: DO NOT forget to include the dress code. Even if it’s fairly obvious, you never know what people will assume – and you definitely don’t need to deal with an upset guest who is entirely overdressed for a birthday party.
A short and simple description is all you need. There’s no need to make your dress code more than a few words! For example, you can cover a gala dress code with “black tie” and a corporate event with “business professional”.
2. Have a vendor dress code
This is of the utmost importance for any type of event! If your vendors and waiters look as though they don’t work for the same employer, you have a problem. Provide your vendors with a dress code for the event to keep the style seamless. Include the expectations in your contracts – this sets the dress code in stone so there aren’t any surprises on the day of!
3. Suit the setting
Always match your attire (and your client’s!) to the setting of the event. Planning a wedding? Make sure your bride and groom are dressed formally, and the attire suits their venue and décor. Your bride can wear a unique dress style, but it should still match the formality of her wedding! And don’t forget this wedding rule of thumb: no one should look better than the bride.
Do you have a corporate event to plan? Be sure to indicate whether it’s casual or business formal – employees will appreciate the heads up! Plus, you need to reflect the company’s values and professionalism, which means the dress code should match their corporate setting.
You also need to make sure that you look the part of the event planner and you are dressed to the occasion. Keeping a wardrobe of business attire and formal business wear will give you a wide selection for various events, and allow you to present a professional face.
4. Dress your marketers
For any event that you’re promoting, you need to make sure that whoever promotes it to the public looks professional. Otherwise, you’ll be putting your whole event (and possibly your brand) at risk of a bad reputation.
If you’re hiring marketers or volunteers, give them a contract and dress code to abide by while they promote your event. Canvassing neighborhoods can leave some members of the community annoyed, so it’s important to follow specific rules!
Both the behavior and attire of your event marketers reflects on your business as a whole. How can people expect a successful event if your staff is unorganized?
5. Order in advance
Every event planner should know that attire needs to be ordered well in advance if it’s being designed to fit your clients! Whether it’s a tux, bridal gown, or bridesmaid dresses, you need to be prepared to order attire at least six months prior to the wedding. Remember, you’ll need extra time to sort out alterations and make everyone involved look fantastic!
Even for special occasion events, you should advise your clients to order their attire with plenty of time to spare. No one wants to arrive at their event in an ill-fitting dress, right?
6. Stick to the budget
When it comes to weddings, proms, and milestone events, your clients will want to look their best – and this can put the whole budget in jeopardy. Mainly for brides, their dream dress can be way out of their price range, but they will sacrifice a lot in order to get it! Keeping your bride grounded regarding her wedding gown is challenging, but you’re there to be the voice of reason.
There are always more affordable options for special occasion gowns. Consider renting or buying used attire (in good condition, of course) to save your clients from spending their life savings. Let your clients know that going for that designer dress will be a costly decision, and there are ways to find a similar style with the name brand pricing!
