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What is event flow and why does it matter?
As event experts and celebration specialists, the The Stella Collective team are extremely passionate about your guest experience. From the cocktails they enjoy, to the fire lighting on the patio, to the late night food stations, and everything in between, providing your guests with the best, most memorable experience possible is always our top priority.
That’s why event flow is so important to us. If you’ve ever toured one of our venues or worked with us to cater one of your events, you’ve probably heard us throw this term around and might have wondered what it means. Basically, event flow can be defined as the transition from moment to moment in the day. It’s how your guests move from your ceremony into cocktail hour, from cocktail hour to dinner, and from dinner to your reception.
We know that sounds a little bit stiff, but it’s all the magic that happens behind the scenes! Having a well-planned event flow keeps your guests distracted from the logistics and focused on your event’s aesthetics and experience. When you think about it that way, it’s easy to understand why it’s so important. Without an optimized event flow, it’s not going to be a smooth and seamless day. Instead, it’s going to be choppy and less enjoyable – in other words, not acceptable!
So how do you achieve perfect event flow?
1. Understand your timing
Nothing ruins event flow like a poorly planned timeline. That’s why each of our events has a designated coordinator that works with you to build out a timeline for your event. From the minute you arrive on site to the time you and your guests leave, we make sure that every minute is accounted for so that we know exactly what’s happening and when.
It’s kind of like Dominos – each facet of your day needs to be considered in terms of how it affects the next. If the timeline does not make sense and isn’t clear or concise, it quickly falls apart leading to a chaotic unenjoyable atmosphere.
2. Keep communication high
Once timing for your event is decided, communication becomes a critical component. If anything changes – either on your end or your coordinator’s – it needs to be discussed by those responsible for making things happen.
The good news is that your coordinator should be able to problem solve or help troubleshoot on the fly. They are the experts, after all! Our rule of thumb is always to err on the side of caution and over-communicate. This way, your coordinator will always have enough time to help make positive changes and keep everything else running as planned.
3. Know your goals
As communication continues and the timeline unfolds, the last puzzle piece is understanding the ultimate goals for your event. Is it to deliver the best possible dining experience? Maybe it’s to get photos with each of your guests, or to get your Uncle Larry out onto the dance floor?
Whatever your goals are, keeping them at the front of your mind will help you make decisions throughout the event that help you move closer to that goal instead of farther away. More importantly, make sure the people in charge of coordinating your day know them, too! Having everyone on the same page will always result in a perfect event.
Trust the event flow experts
Now that you understand a bit more about event flow, we hope it’s a little bit easier to understand what we mean when we say that we’re passionate about it. The way that we see it, there is absolutely no reason for us (your coordinators) to not strive for perfection!
That’s why we’re not just your average wedding experience. Your guests won’t leave saying “what a great wedding” – they’ll leave thinking “WOW, what a great EVENT!” Every single member of our team is committed to keeping things on track, communicating, and helping you reach your goals.
For all of these reasons (and more, honestly), we’re confident that we are your best investment whenever you’re planning a celebration. After all, you and your guests deserve a night to remember.