Here's what a decade of galas, keynotes, and performances has taught us: last-minute changes cost you twice — once in outcomes (fundraising, signups, impressions) and once in the experience your guests actually have. The events that raise the most and feel the best are locked a week out.
Work through this before our intake meeting and your event — and your quote — will both be better for it.
Every production decision trades between speed, money, and quality. You can optimize two; the third bends. We'll never bend quality — so when you need it super fast, it won't be cheap, and when the budget is tight, the timeline breathes. Come to intake knowing which corner matters most to you and the whole conversation gets easier.
Need it tomorrow? Possible — paired with budget, never at quality's expense.
Tight budget? We'll protect it — with a timeline that lets us keep the bar high.
The corner we don't negotiate. Your event only happens once.
Tap items to check them off — progress saves on this device.
Target: everything below locked seven days before doors
The spine of the event. If it lives only in someone's head, it doesn't exist.
The night runs on handoffs. Everyone should know everyone.
We can't capture a moment we don't know is coming.
Events have jobs. Name yours and the whole night aims at it.
One week out, the plan stops moving — that's what makes room for the night to be great.
The single best thing you can do for your event is have someone own the plan. We'd genuinely love that to be a professional event planner — planners who run tight ships make everything on this page smoother, and smoother is cheaper (see: the triangle). But if a full planner isn't in the cards, we've built for that too.
The best investment on this page. We work alongside planners constantly and happily — bring yours and we'll plug straight into their run of show.
Our team handles the pre-work by email — chasing vendor contacts, assembling the run of show, collecting headshots and VIP lists — then we coordinate day-of. You stay the host; we keep the clock.
Plenty of organizations own the plan in-house — that's exactly what this checklist is for. Work it top to bottom and you'll be ahead of most events, planned or not.
Curious about pre-work + day-of? Ask at intake — it's all email until event day, so it's easier than you'd think.
While you're planning: the easiest guest-experience win on the list is a photo booth. Our sister brand Treat Your Selfie runs attendant-less booths that belong to your party, not our staff — and one email books coverage and booth together.
Add a BoothBring this to your intake meeting — or send it ahead — and we'll spend the time on what makes your event exceptional instead of what's missing. Boxes still open? That's fine too; that's literally what the meeting is for.