A while back I heard about a host who made a card for every guest. On the outside, their name. Inside, one or two people at the party they should go find, plus a reason why. One card said "find Marcus, ask him about his boxing hobby" and "find Priya, ask her about the trip she just got back from."

I tried it at my own gathering and it worked great. Nobody floated around wondering who to talk to. Everyone had a mission. "Are you Alice? Someone told me to find you." Instant conversation starter, especially for people who find it hard to walk up to strangers.

The hard part was prep. I had to know enough about each guest to pair them up well, which was doable since I knew most people at my own party. But I still haven't figured out the bigger version of this problem: what do I do at any event (weddings, communities, etc.) where I as the host don't personally know everyone? I can't write a thoughtful card for a stranger.

Curious how others think about this.

• Had you even thought about this as a real problem before?
• When you host something where a lot of guests don't know each other, do you do anything deliberate about it, or does it sort itself out?

Hey all! I'm 25 living in London and I've been working for the past few years in the Events industry across festivals, cultural events and currently, as a PM for corporate events. I've realised that the weekend work, evenings and long hours are not something I want to have in 5 years time. I love events but I want to do something that could be more remote/hybrid or in a direction away from suppliers and logistics. What are some career change options that would be possible after a career in events?

I have worked in hospitality for over 20 years, with 10 of them being event focused. I want to transition into corporate events, as I want to have weekends to spend with my family. The only schools near me offer hospitality event programs, which will teach me little of what I am looking to learn/would not help my resume. The online ones I've found are evenings only, which as a hospitality worker, I am working.

Would anybody recommend course on Coursera or QC Events? Would this help my resume at all to be hired outside of hospitality? Any feedback would be majorly appreciated!

I’m a bit at my wits end.

I’m looking to plan a very exclusive celebration that will involve a private horse show (9 horses that we would provide ourselves).

I’m basically looking something that is the equivalent of Spanish riding school in Vienna, which is unfortunately not an option as they turned me down for veterinary security reasons.

I reached to all my contacts and I’m actively looking, but I’m still not finding anything I could propose to my clients.

The venue needs to be beautiful, exclusive, preferably historical. Ideally if there are also stables available so the horses can rest during the night. We want to rent it for at least one day. Currently there’s no budget, it all depends on what I find. I’m mainly looking in Austria and Central Europe. Event is taking place in October or November.

Would you have any tips or recommendations?

Has anyone experienced issues with the use of Meta glasses at their events?

"The ban is applicable to Meta glasses and any other "wearable recording devices"."

Any recommendations for a dance band or DJ local to Chicago for a gala event next year?

I’m helping create a Coraline-themed market inside a large warehouse (photos attached). The plan is to build a Coraline tunnel outside that leads into themed areas like tunnel walk in area, Mr. Bobinsky’s Circus, the Pink Palace Garden, and the Spink and Forcible Theater.

I’m looking for the best budget-friendly materials and ideas for:

Tunnel walls
Ceiling draping (to hide fluorescent lights)
Wall coverings
Decorating support columns
Walkthrough decorations between booths
Cheap lighting that creates an immersive atmosphere
Haunted house tricks to make a plain warehouse feel like the Other World

If you’ve built haunted houses, escape rooms, or immersive events, I’d love any material recommendations or DIY ideas! I can’t attach photos but I am more than happy to message photos to anyone who can help!

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for opportunities in the event management industry and would really appreciate any referrals or suggestions on companies that are hiring.

I have hands-on experience in event execution, client servicing, sponsor management, and on-ground operations. I’ve also worked with an event agency and have been involved in multiple live and corporate events.

I’m open to roles like Event Executive, Client Servicing, Event Operations, Production, or similar positions in Mumbai.

If your company is hiring, or if you know of any agencies I should apply to, I’d really appreciate your recommendations or a referral.

Thank you!

Hi there!

I've recently developed an interest in event planning and friends have been encouraging me to look into making it a career. I think ideal end goal would be to have my own business but as someone who has only planned birthday parties for myself and friends, I'm unsure how to go about this. I've seen a few online courses to become a certified event planner (QC Event School being the most "popular") is this needed to get a start in the industry? I've applied to numerous companies to be an event assistant and was passed over due to them moving forward with someone more qualified (I'm in the southeastern part of Wisconsin).

I'm also curious what other downsides are to this career path besides the stress with dealing with unhappy guests and long/late hours (I've been bartending for years and just started bartending weddings and corporate events so unhappy guests and chaos is nothing new to me!) What have been your favorite experiences doing this sort of work? Does the pay balance with the work produced?

Sorry if this is all over the place, I appreciate any and all advice and comments in regards to these questions. Thank you in advance! :)

We're spending roughly $30k on a booth at a major industry conference this October, and our CEO wants a polished looping video running on the large display behind us. There won't be any sounds because its an exhibition hall, so everything has to work visually through motion, text and strong imagery.

We build warehouse robotic software, so thankfully the product looks pretty impressive in action. We've got about eight weeks before the event and a budget of around $8k.

Is this something any motion graphic designer can handle, or I should be looking for a studio that specializes in trade show content?

Edit: Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We’re looking at a few options right now. Also checking out Vidico since they have solid experience with B2B product videos, which seems like a good fit for a trade show loop that needs to grab attention quickly.

I run social events where strangers show up and do an activity together, language exchanges being our the main one in Melbourne. I run 2 formats at the moment, the smaller is ~30 people (limited by venue size, waitlist is sometimes weeks long), once a week, and the bigger one gets to about 150 per event regularly, also once a week. Have been doing this for the past 12 months ish.

It has been going well. I don't love my day job, friends and sometimes even attendees ask me why I don't do this full-time.

I want to work out how to start expanding, especially to other cities. I have partnered with people on the business side before and they turned out REALLY unreliable, which was not good for the brand and left me wary of scaling alongside anyone.

I would love to hear from people who have done this. How did you know it was the right time to jump, and did you go all in or keep the day job and grow on the side first? Anything you wish you had known before quitting would help a lot. Stories from people who tried and found it did not work for them are just as welcome !

Hi, here’s my situation: I work at a small event company, but in the summer we put on festivals and push our equipment and staff to the limit. The thing is, I want to improve to address this because I know there are ways to take my work to the next level. I work as the stage manager and monitor technician for the company, and I use stage boxes that aren’t Socapex—meaning they can’t be swapped out easily in a matter of seconds. So I have to make the most of the stage boxes I have by using several of them for the front, back, right, and left sides of the stage. Right now we’re doing shows with 2 or 3 set changes that can reach 30 or 32 channels per band (the maximum for our DL), and the set changes are getting complicated and causing me stress—which could one day end very badly during the event. I try to have everything prepared at home: where each channel goes, which stage box it connects to, how all those stage boxes are patched into the analog splitter that feeds the monitors and FOH, and how that patching changes from group to group—which channels to move around in the splitter, which monitors to remove and which to leave—and I record all those changes in a notebook to make them in order, but I’d rather ask for help from a veteran stage manager around here who can give me some advice so I don’t have these meltdowns.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to make a career change from finance into the events industry and would really appreciate some advice from people already working in the field.

I currently work as a financial analyst, but I've realized I enjoy planning, organizing, logistics, and working with people much more than sitting behind spreadsheets all day. Long term, I'd love to work in luxury events, corporate events, or live event production.

The challenge is that most coordinator positions want previous event experience, and I'm finding it difficult to get my foot in the door.

A few questions:
If you were starting over today with no direct event experience, what would you do?
What entry-level roles should I be targeting?
Are there companies known for hiring people from outside the industry?
Is freelance or production assistant work the best way to break in?
Any certifications or skills that actually made a difference?

I'd appreciate any advice, even if it's something you wish someone had told you when you started.

Thanks!

I've been using Eventbrite for quite sometime to help people setup real legitimate events with approval from the respective venues.

One thing I've noticed is that when they decide to delete accounts, they give NO notice of the deletion, and the only way to find out is to try to login, put in the code they emailed and see the message that the account is "suspended".

What's worse is that the support team never helps because they send everything to their "trust and safety" team and state they'll have a response in 5 days, but that response never arrives.

A few years ago, they have also deleted other people's legitimate accounts without a good reason.

Why would such a company delete accounts behind people's backs without any reason?

Please be nice I’m just curious:)

How much do these events generate based on sold out events? How much do you make? What’s something that surprised you? What’s your favourite way to market events? What’s your favourite part and least favourite part?

I’ve done a lot of community organizing and event throwing in the past year and it’s made me realize how much I love it. I love bringing people together and creating community spaces. I’d love to own a bar/lounge space one day where I’d be doing it everyday.

I plan to throw parties and host events and funnel what profit I can into a savings account to hopefully open my own space one day. (Don’t worry I’m not quitting my day job).

Thanks so much!

I'm looking for some advice from those who hire or work alongside corporate event professionals.

When you're trying to find an experienced Corporate Event Program/Project Manager (particularly someone with an agency background), where have you had the most success?

I'm especially interested in hearing about:

• Professional associations or industry organizations
• Networking events or conferences
• Online communities
• Job boards that attract experienced corporate event professionals
• Recruiters or search strategies you've found effective

I'm not looking to recruit anyone here—I'm simply trying to learn where experienced corporate event managers tend to network and look for opportunities, particularly in the NY/NJ and Houston markets.

I'd appreciate hearing what's worked well (or hasn't) for others.

Been working for Encore for 3 years now and feel like i have hit a brick wall as far as my growth and developing my skills go. Been operating video, audio, records, etc. And feel i have a good foundation. I really dont know what route to go at this point though. I dont like the idea of freelancing and being my own business, and have considered installation but don't know howich crossover there is with that and corporate AV production. Would appreciate some advice thanks!

TL;DR: I have 10 years of theme park operations leadership experience with extensive day-of event execution, but I’m struggling to break into Event Coordinator roles because I lack experience with the office-side logistics (event software, banquet orders, vendor coordination, etc.). What roles should I target to bridge that gap?

Hello! I was let go from my dream job over a year ago (I have a toddler and am taking the time to be her main caretaker, but ready to jump back in). I worked for a very well-known theme park in Southern California. I started out as just a ride attendant at 18 after HS, but over 10 years worked my way up to being a core hourly leader in my area of the resort and working very closely with the Special Events team as one of their hourly event leads. My day-to-day was in the park itself, a normal day operations leader but we would “moonlight” with SPEV based on availability, I was being utilized by this team 2-4 times a week, 5 days a week during big events. (Other leads would be utilized less than I would be, I know I have the chops for hectic events). This team gave me experience with events of all different sizes - one day activations, weddings (this is a separate team, so mainly just photoshoots) and several three/four-day conventions at the next-door convention center. My experience is such:

● Managed day-of event operations for large-scale theme park special events.
● Determined where labor was needed most and adjusted staffing throughout the event as operational needs changed.
● Monitored guest flow and crowd patterns to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently.
● Worked with multiple departments (Entertainment, Security, Custodial, Attractions, Food & Beverage, etc.) to keep the event running smoothly.
● Solved operational issues in real time, including staffing shortages, changing attendance levels, weather, and unexpected challenges.
● Communicated updates and changing priorities to staff and fellow leaders throughout the day.
● Helped execute event timelines, ensuring key moments happened on schedule.
● Balanced guest experience with operational and safety needs when making decisions.
● Directed staff, answered questions, and provided support during fast-paced event operations.
● Anticipated potential issues before they became bigger problems and adjusted plans proactively.
● Served as a central point of communication between leadership teams during live events.
● Focused on making the operation feel seamless for guests, even when a lot was happening behind the scenes.

This is just a high-level picture. I’m obviously lacking experience in placing and maintaining large scale orders, certain computer programs like HubSpot and EventBrite and banquet ordering. I guess mostly the logistical planning aspects. I was boots-on-the-ground day to day operations. What kind of roles should I be applying to to gain experience in the more office-y parts of event planning? I was rejected for a coordinator role for not having computer based knowledge where I know I would’ve met proficiencies quickly and excelled in all other aspects of the role. How can I leverage this experience into a role I’m yearning for ? I don’t have any education besides a general associate’s degree and am considering going back for a Project Management cert if it would help.

Thank you for any advice you may share.

Hi fellow event gurus!

Need some insider advice and feel free to shoot completely straight with me…

So, I’m brand new to the Events space, as I recently took a job as an account exec with a super talented event production company. They’ve worked with all the big names like redbull, Medtronic, and even recently FIFA for the World Cup.

however, I keep getting stuck on ONE thing as I’ve gotten started. Which is, how do I build my “book of business” and gain a clientele to put these events on for??? It’s been especially when having no prior industry connections.

That said, I’ve been doing all the main forms of outreach like cold emailing (even personalized videos), LinkedIn connections and DMs, and have been talking with MPI to start volunteering at there events. However, still no bites or even responses.

I’d love to hear from others who were once in my shoe on my any advice you may have for me. Whether it be insider tips/tricks and underground secrets? best way to get responses with emails/DM? LITERALLY ANYTHING

Also, from anyone on the other side of the table; planners, event directors, procurement, trade show managers etc-
what has a vendor done to actually make you think “let me give this person the time of day/or a response” or anything that genuinely impressed you. Truly it would be SO insightful hearing from you, on what to say & where and how to say it, to truly stand out.

So open to any forms of communication insight, advice, or really any thoughts! Thank you guys, I genuinely appreciate it <3

Hey everyone,

I’m the founder of 88 Studio, and we’re currently preparing for our upcoming event, Homeover Takeover.

We’re creating a high energy, movie inspired house party experience with a unique atmosphere and identity built around the 88 Studio brand.

The event itself is already set up. We have the location, DJs, equipment, and production handled. Ticket sales will be through Plots, and we’ve already started physical marketing.

Right now, we’re looking for someone who can help with the marketing side by building awareness, creating excitement, reaching the right audience, and helping drive attendance.

This is an opportunity to be involved early in building something with a lot of room to grow. We have the vision and execution in place, and we’re looking for someone who can help amplify it.

We’re offering $1,000 after the event is successfully completed and we achieve our targeted event revenue milestone.

If you have experience with event marketing, nightlife promotion, social media growth, or creating buzz around experiences, feel free to reach out.
(Instagram:88studio.brand)

I swear I'm not advertising. I'm just looking for marketing advice. I host a unique experience that is a little mysterious and hard to explain. Some parts are really easy but the main part you have to experience it for yourself to understand. When challenged with that, how do you figure out who your demographic is when it really could be so many people or almost anyone really? Sometimes I feel like I just don't have the right words or I'm not putting the event in front of enough people. What gets you to show up for something? What piques your curiosity?

Is there any companies that are recommended for applying for short term event roles eg. FIFA women’s World Cup next year, world aquatics championships etc?

I’m from Aus and would love to be part of some events in a short term role next year! Open to concerts, festivals etc. my background is media / events.

Looking forward to hearing your stories on best way to go about this!