What I Learned From Hosting My First Event

Spoiler alert: event planning is not my calling.

I say that, not because hosting my first event was a disaster, but because it was a lot of work for an unknown outcome. I mean, if people don’t show, it’s a total miss. Also, there are so many little details you don’t think about.

It wasn’t so much the planning that was intense as much as it was the execution. I mean, I didn’t hire an event planner and we weren’t working with a huge budget so because of that, we did everything on our own (we as in me, my intern, and my Momager). We had a spreadsheet that covered every little detail, and let me tell you, there were a lot of little details, like champagne flutes. Who knew solo cups wouldn’t cut it for an event? Not me!

The meet up itself could not have gone any better, it was perfect, but it was definitely challenging. You know what they say, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you and I definitely feel more well-rounded because of it.

And thinking about it now I actually kind of loved every minute of it. The stress from planning an event is a stress I’ve never felt before. It’s almost like a rush because things were so time sensitive, it just made you get sh*t done, there was literally no time to waste.

But before you get all trigger happy on planning an event, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies and there are definitely things you need to keep in mind…

You need a purpose

So I have to say this whole little meet up thing was not entirely my idea. A few months ago I was watching another blogger’s Instastory and she posted that she was doing a “closet clean out” sale thing and I have a slight shopping problem so I figured I could do a closet clean out sale thing, too!

At first, things started on a small scale. The original goal of the meet up was to clean out my closet because, truth be told, my mom doesn’t want my stuff laying around her house anymore and I just don’t have room for it in my own apartment. I was literally just going to put clothes on a rack and call it a day.

But then I started thinking and I really wanted my first meet up to be spectacular. I wanted it to be beneficial to everyone involved.

So then I positioned it as a sip and shop event: a little shopping, a little networking, a little eating, and a little selfie taking. After all, hosting an event is asking for someone’s time and time is very, very valuable, especially today, so I wanted to make it worth their while.

The older I get the more I realize the importance of face time. Some of my most meaningful connections have been made when I’ve been in front of people. So eventually my meet up’s purpose turned into getting that face time and having everyone make meaningful connections that would help grow their blogs and business.

My advice to you if you plan on hosting an event, have a clearly defined purpose. It will be much easier for you and more likely make people want to attend.

You need a wow factor

Like I said, event planning is not my forte but I did my best. Of course we’re our own worst critics so I’m probably being too hard on myself but I’m OCD, what can I say?

Would I have liked to have a live rose wall like the one Kanye got Kim? Yes, but I didn’t have the man power or funds to make that happen so we had balloons, a killer decal, and a clothing display instead.

I wanted the space to have a showroom vibe. I didn’t want to overwhelm people with a ton of disorganized clothes on racks and shoes all over the place so I made it a point to display things with order and color coordination.

Now at events it’s important to make the entire space an Instagrammable moment. You can’t just book an event space and walk in 15-minutes prior to the start time and expect everything to be good to go.

Depending on the intricacy of the event, you need at least 1 1/2 hours of set-up time and even before that you need an idea of how the space is going to look, maybe a few sketches or a mental note of how you want things laid out.

I really went OCD on the place and turned all the drink labels outward, fluffed the pillows on the couches, spaced the clothes out evenly on the racks, positioned shoes on end tables for that extra-ness. I mean, I went ham and that was my “wow factor” that worked for me.

Every event will call for a different wow factor so you just have to feel it out and see what works best for what you’re trying to achieve.

Plan for people to come early

I should have planned for this from going to events myself, but it didn’t even cross my mind. I honestly thought people would be late because, they’re fashion people and fashion people are always late.

But thinking about it now, they’re not just fashion people, they’re my fashion people and I’m always early to events so it’s no surprise my followers were too. It was actually flattering to have people come early and I’m glad they got to see the behind the scenes of me crawling on the ground, moving furniture, and putting the finishing touches on the space.

In hindsight I probably would have set up a little earlier so I could chill for a bit before people showed up. We didn’t even have time to eat lunch because it was like hustle and then mingle. I love the hustle so I was totally fine with it but I did get super hungry later at which point I started downing doughnuts.

So, note to self: setup earlier rather than later.

You will only get half the RSVPs

We had a ton of RSVP’s. Honestly, I was nervous that the space couldn’t hold everyone so I actually didn’t promote the event for a few weeks after I initially announced it.

Then once I started sending reminder emails, people dropped like flies. Half were unresponsive, half couldn’t make it, and a few people who assured us they were going to come didn’t. And believe it or not it worked out perfectly. If we had any more people than we did it would have been overwhelming.

To give some people the benefit of the doubt, maybe my emails ended up in spam? Who knows, but just so you know, always plan for less people to show to your event. It’s just the name of the game.

Food and drinks are non-negotiable

Food and drinks (especially alcoholic beverages) get people loosened up. What do you do on first dates? Typically you eat and drink so think of your event as a first date.

Not everyone knows each other and you want people to talk about something so worst comes to worst you can talk about how great or terrible the food and drinks are. Obviously you want people to be talking about how great it is but sometimes that’s not always the case. (I went to an event once and the risotto balls were so dry I ended up choking while talking to people, it wasn’t pretty.)

Anyway, you want people to literally and figuratively break bread with one another so that’s why I opted to have delicious rosé and doughnuts.

I do want to add time of day played a part in deciding what people would be eating and drinking. Had the event been at like 10am I would have opted for mimosas and bagels, but since the event was in the afternoon rosé and doughnuts were a nice after lunch treat.

I bounced back and forth between whether or not I wanted food at the event because more additions meant more work and I really wanted this to be a seamless, easy, low key meet up, which it turned out to be, but I thought adding food to the mix would have been too much but it was actually perfect. Plus the doughnuts were a conversational piece because of how unique they were.

There were tres leches doughnuts, tres leches! Did you see them on Instastories?! I’m drooling just thinking about them now… HUGE shout out to Doughnut Plant (I’ll talk more about them later).

You don’t have to go all out but as long as you have something for your guests to sip and munch on, you’ll be fine.

Now, let’s talk about our amazing sponsors…

The Yard @theyard

The space, the people, the accommodations… I can’t say enough good things. Like I said before, I’ve never fully planned and/or hosted an event before so I had no idea what to expect but The Yard team made it EASY. I mean, really, really easy. We had several exchanges of spreadsheets and confirmation emails and needless to say, I was super impressed by their organization and just their level of being “on it”.

Aside from event planning/hosting, if you’re a blogger, freelancer, entrepreneur, small biz owner, or working remotely I highly recommend looking into The Yard spaces for just a nice escape. The majority of “work from home” people I talk to can’t actually work from home so they end up going to coffee shops, libraries, etc. but I personally think coffee shops are too isolating and you have to whisper in libraries which is why The Yard is the perfect solution.

At The Yard you’re surrounded by creatives and you can make connections and you never know where those connections could lead. BTW The Yard in the Lower East Side has a coffee shop right downstairs so if you do want those isolating coffee shop vibes you just walk downstairs to Adventure Cafe and there ya go.

Each location really embodies whichever part of the city they’re located in. So for example, I wanted a cool, hipster, somewhat low-key, and grungy location so the Lower East Side was perfect for that. But if you want something more polished, the Herald Square location has got your name on it.

Did I mention they have locations in Brooklyn, Philly, DC, and Boston?! They’re just the coolest.

Little Blue Box Designs @littleblueboxdesigns

From attending so many other events I knew a decal was necessary and I couldn’t have been happier with the customer service and quality that Little Blue Box Designs provided. Seriously. Tacie (shop owner) made all my branding dreams come true! It was the perfect personal touch that the space needed.

For those of you who don’t know, a decal is a little sticky thing (v formal terminology) you can place on a wall for events, home decor, parties, or whatever your heart desires.

I have to say I was so nervous putting this decal on a wall that wasn’t mine (and they just painted) but it went on so smooth, no issues, and came off super easily so if you’re hesitant about slapping a decal on freshly painted walls, or any walls in general, I can assure you, if you get it from Little Blue Box Designs, you will be just fine!

Winc @winc

To be completely honest, I’m an aesthetic snob. If it looks good, I’m game.

When I was shopping around for rosé brands I wanted something that was beautiful and modern, yet on brand with Not Another Blonde. Enter Summer Water.

To be completely honest I had never tried Summer Water before, but like I said I’m an aesthetic snob so if the branding is good, I’ll try just about anything.

I really didn’t know what to expect because there have been times when I’ve tried something where the branding has been on point but the quality was just crap but this was not the case with Summer Water. Summer Water was everything I had hoped: beautiful and delicious. It was the talk of the meet up, no joke.

So, Summer Water is Winc’s baby, so to speak. Winc is a personalized wine club (how cool?!) born and bred in California. Basically you sign up for a ridiculously cheap membership and you can have wine delivered to your door on a monthly basis!

This is amazing if you’re a wine-o-seur or rosé  like me. Plus with summer coming up and rooftop hangs and backyard BBQs, like what could be better? You’d never have to go to the store again. It’s genius.

Doughnut Plant @doughnutplant

Despite being a fashion blogger, I consider myself a foodie, but particularly a sweets foodie. I have been to just about every bakery, tried every cookie, analyzed every cupcake, and cut every pie in the city. And out of all my “taste testing”, nothing comes close to the variety, freshness, and savory flavor that the doughnuts from Doughnut Plant have. I mean… there are no words.

My favorites are the pistachio, tres leches, carrot cake, and peanut butter and blackberry jam but I’ve tried almost every doughnut of theirs and they’re all delicious so you can’t go wrong. And they’re not just dinky little doughnuts. You could easily have half now, half later and be completely satisfied which is another reason why I love them because some places in the city will charge you an arm and a leg for a bite size mini muffin but Doughnut Plant is just the opposite.

Joy and Chaos @joyandchaosshop

Talk about a wow factor. The custom tote bags from Joy and Chaos did two things that I loved: they were on brand and they’re better for the environment. I’ve had some of my followers DM me telling me they’re using their bag to go shopping, to carry their books… which makes me SO happy, especially since I try to never use plastic or paper bags.

Not to mention the quality of the bags were incredible. They weren’t that cheap material like some bags are, they’re so sturdy. I may or may not have stolen a few extra for myself…

Evolvh @evolvh

I met Boris, the founder, ironically at another event and we just instantly hit it off – his energy is amazing! He has years of experience working at his family’s salon and he’s all about natural beauty products.

He noticed there were so many harsh chemicals in salon products that he wanted to create a more natural approach to hair care and Evolvh‘s products are nothing short of amazing. I love the leave-in conditioner (because my hair is a knotty mess) and the curl activating hair products because… beach waves.

Did I mention their branding is off the charts? It’s like a unicorn and a fairy had a baby and named it Evolvh. I’m in love!

Sinepo Phone Sockets

I can’t tell you how long I’ve been on the hunt for quality pop sockets. The original pop sockets were way too expensive, plus I didn’t like that it had “pop socket” written all over it in their brand colors. However Sinepo got the job done super efficiently and charges a quarter of the price.

I got the sockets in black, white, and my peachy pink color because I like options. And they were perfect!

The ordering process was a 10 too. I was sent mock ups of how the sockets would look before they went into production and they even made samples for me to check before they created the whole order. Plus I got them in less than a week and they came from China! That’s like, unheard of.

Email sales@sinepo.com for custom orders and ask for Devin, he’s the best!

Ridde Oil @riddle_oil

If you’ve been following me for a while you know my sick obsession with oils and candles so I had to get Riddle Oil involved in this meet up. First of all, they’re cruelty-free (amazing), and second of all their products are 100% ‘gram worthy. They’ll give you all the trendy minimalistic vibes.

Aside from its surface beauty, Riddle Oil’s philosophy is all about allowing yourself to find your dharma. As a very spiritual person, these principles spoke to me.

Juice Beauty @juicebeauty

Lately I’ve been all about the wrinkle prevention beauty products and Juice Beauty‘s Stem Cellular anti-wrinkle replenishing mask is just that. Juice Beauty embodies being a natural beauty as all of their products are made with organic ingredients and free of parabens, sulfates, GMOs, and a whole bunch of other toxic ingredients I can’t pronounce.

I have to say I was skeptical about natural beauty before but now I really have a hard time using anything else.

Blue Clover Essentials @bluecloveressentials

Blue Clover Essentials is an Etsy shop with all natural (do you see the theme here) bath, body, and home products. Coconut and soy wax candles without harmful chemicals. What could be better? It’s like spring in a jar. Not only that but she customizes each label! It’s the cutest little thing and honestly a great Mother’s Day gift.

Once the candle burns down I think I’m going to use the jar for q-tips or something. It’s too functional not to reuse.

I always try to reuse my candle jars and I even go as far as to save the leftover wax and make new candles. Should I do a blog post on this? I’m candle obsessed.

Are you in event planning or have you ever hosted an event? Tell me about your experiences in the comments! 

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