The Event Planning Checklist Used By Top Event Planners

Step 1: 4 Months Before the Event

Event planning starts long before the event itself. Here's what you need in your step 1 checklist that will create the event's foundation. As you make progress, ensure you checkmark each step:

You should have these steps done at least four months before the event if not earlier. Otherwise, issues will pile up until it gets too complex to handle.

Step 2: 3-4 Months Before the Event

Now it's time to focus on the internal aspect of the event where you contact stakeholders, manage team members, and possibly start hiring volunteers.

Here are the steps you should cover:

As the event draws nearer, you should zero in on every single event aspect. Remember that depending on the event size, you'll need a responsible team and probably software to help you keep everything in a single place. Although spreadsheets are helpful, usually they aren't enough and you should opt-in for specialized event management software and even an event app.

Step 3: 1-2 Months Before the Event

By now, you should have most of the general things ready to go and all that's left is to patch up any unpredictable issues. The trick is to act before issues happen. This usually means planning free time in advance for issues you know will arise, even though you don't know when.

Here are the things to focus on one to two months prior to the event: