Right around the beginning of 2010 I embarked on a new career path—I decided to become an event planner. Since starting, I have managed events in Singapore, Paris, Dubai, and Cancun, organizing everything from intimate banquets to large-scale opening ceremonies. Each event was unique and I loved every moment of it.
Even though it was only five years ago, when I first started my new endeavor, good event-planning tools were hard to come by. There weren’t many software solutions or mobile apps designed for event planners, so I was forced to make do with Excel spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentations, and lots of Word documents.
But things have changed a lot in a very short time.
Today, event planners have some pretty cool tools at their disposal to simplify their complicated workflow. I’d like to share some of the best ones I’ve made part of my event planning toolkit.
Finding Creative Inspiration
One of the most useful apps for finding creative inspiration is Pinterest, the popular social network for collecting and sharing images. You can browse thousands of photos and images to find creative inspiration for your next event. This immense picture library is especially helpful for coming up with ideas for event décor, design, and themes.
Image may be NSFW.
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Available on: Web, iOS, and Android
Price: free
Pro tip: Create a Pinterest account and set up a separate “board” with each client. This way you can share ideas with one another without emailing back and forth.
Keeping Notes and Planning Materials Organized
When it comes to staying organized, there is no better friend than Evernote. This app allows you to keep all your “stuff” in one convenient place, be it images, text, any kind of note—even entire web pages. You can also categorize everything as needed by adding tags.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Available on: Web, Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone
Price: free, premium for $5/month, business for $10/month (per user)
Pro tip: Install the Evernote Web Clipper browser extension and quickly save the most interesting content you find online to your Evernote account.
Power user hack: Use IFTTT to automatically import images you save to your Pinterest board, ensuring you have everything in one place.
Communicating With Team Members
Having to manage a large team as well as various outside vendors at the same time can be tricky. But Slack makes communication more efficient by replacing long-winded emails with short, “chat room”-like texts. Slack also allows you to create separate groups and add tags to messages to find info more easily.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Available on: Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows (Windows Phone coming soon)
Price: free (for up to 10,000 messages), then plans start at $7/month (per user)
Pro tip: Create different groups for different segments of your team to keep your back-and-forth communication targeted and efficient.
The post 9 Must-Have Apps for Professional Wedding and Event Planners appeared first on AllBusiness.com
The post 9 Must-Have Apps for Professional Wedding and Event Planners appeared first on AllBusiness.com.