What To Put On An Event Invite
In blog 4 of 5 on how to plan an awesome event, we’re going to go through all the things you need to tell your guests when throwing an event, so both your and your crowd can turn up and not have to worry about a thing. Because who wants to sit on the phone to Muriel from accounts when you could be killing that eyeliner flick. You deserve it.
1. List the day of the week
Firstly - obviously you would put the date and time on your invite, but it’s actually super important to put the day of the week. Why be so pedantic? Well! The amount of times that I've been invited to events and the day and the date don't match up on the invite is beyond RIDICULOUS. If you’ve put the day of the event on your invite but missed that the date doesn’t match up, someone's going to pick up on it pretty fast, and you’ll be able to fix it flat tack – phew!
2. Venue address
Second tip - it’s very important to put the address of the venue on your invite, not just the name. I organized an event a few years ago for my birthday at a bar on Auckland’s North Shore. Little did I know, there was actually another bar with the same name about a 20 minute drive away. I had people at both venues on the night – disaster! So please, learn from me - make sure you actually put the address, not just the name of the venue, as out all those millions of venues out there these days, it’s actually quite likely that two might have the same name!
3. Amount of food
It’s not so important to state on an invite if drinks are provided at an event, but it is important to put if food is provided, and also how much. This doesn't have to be overly specific – as simple as ‘a light meal will be provided’, or ‘substantial nibbles will be provided’, or in the case of a seated dinner, ‘dinner provided’. Doing this is a courtesy to your guests because then they will know either not to eat a lot before they come, or make sure they have a bite to eat as the food provided will just be casual snacks. This will also make sure your food doesn’t go to waste, or save you the embarrassment of having to order more!
4. RSVP date and dietary cut off date
It is important for an invite to have an RSVP, and also a cut off date for dietary requirements (put a reminder on your calendar to chase this up). From a venue perspective, it can be difficult to alter a menu to specific dietary requirements if there isn't much notice, and last minute changes can incur extra costs to you the organiser. It is also important to state whether your guests are permitted to bring a ‘plus one’ – especially for weddings!
5. ID required
In New Zealand, the legal drinking age is 18 years, and if your venue is serving alcohol there could be some restrictions around this. An acceptable ID is a New Zealand driver's license, a passport or an 18+ card, all in hard copy and within expiration date, and guests will get asked to present this if they look under 25. Some venues may not even allow the guest on the premises at all if they can’t produce this ID!
6. Dress code
Speaking of venues, let’s move onto dress code! Some event venues will have a specific standard of dress for entry, so it’s important to find out what this standard entails. Stating the dress code is also an act of courtesy to your guests - for example, if you had a really, really formal event and a guest turned up in a t-shirt and jeans, how embarrassing would that be for them? Same goes the other way around – if it was a really casual event and a guest turned up in a ballgown and heels, or a three piece suit…. it’s really not the best feeling. Stating the dress code doesn’t have to be overly specific – a simple “formal attire” or “smart casual dress” will do.
7. Timings
Last but not least, if there are specific timings for your event, it is really important to let guests know in advance. In New Zealand, guests generally take about half an hour to arrive to an event, and usually want some time to grab a drink and mix/mingle before they’re ready for any formalities. If you have set times for food, speeches or entertainment, let people know to be there. You don't want to be serving a whole lot of food and no one's there to eat it!
Our final blog on “Awesome Event Planning” is going to be on theming and entertainment! We want to help you pick the right theming and entertainment that will not only suit your venue, event and crowd, but make your celebrations one to remember. Stay tuned!