Confessions of an Event Planner: Case Studies From the Real World of Events--How to Handle the Unexpected and How to Be a Master of Discretion (20 page)

At least, I
think
those were the balls she was talking about having specially prepared and served up on a platter for them. I just kept walking and left everything in Dee Dee’s hands. There could have been very serious consequences to their actions today, from being thrown into a Mexican jail to major financial legal liability to them, their company and the DMC if anyone had been injured on the commandeered shuttle.

My staff had been alerted to what had taken place but is well practiced in the art of discretion and schooled in the ABCs of event planning. Their actions and conversations left the guests none the wiser about Simon Oh and his crew’s attempted shenanigans. In the client’s and their guests’ minds, Simon and company’s late return to the resort was simply chalked up to mechanical problems encountered on their return shuttle bus and Simon was Ohhhhh, so grateful.

Diamonds and Denim is the theme for tonight’s exclusive evening event being held at a multimillion-dollar Spanish Colonial estate that’s nestled in the hills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. We love to use the estate when we are in Tucson. We’ve held so many events there that it’s beginning to feel as though we’re entertaining in our own home. Wishful thinking! The estate features grand mission-style architecture, lush landscaping, beautiful fountains, cobblestone walkways and waterfalls. The barns are filled with championship horses and also house extraordinary antique art and carriage collections. And there’s a wonderful free-form rock swimming pool with cascading water.

Cowboy cocktails and appetizers will be served on the beautiful outdoor reception area, which is enhanced by willows and mesquite trees and is the perfect location to watch the sun set, listen to background music and stroll the grounds. Card sharks dressed in western garb, trick ropers and a friendly game of horseshoes will provide entertainment for the guests as they mix and mingle with their peers.

The estate’s interior has saguaro-ribbed ceilings, hand-carved woodwork and a massive rock fireplace. A glass wall in the copper bar area opens to reveal an outdoor waterfall, making this the perfect setting for dinner and dancing. We’re setting up the buffet outside to ensure good room flow, and that the guests get a hint of the beautiful grounds. The band we’ve hired is one of our favorites and we know that the guests will love their act. We’ve also hired professional dancers to teach those wanting to learn Tucson’s popular line dances. The estate also has a beautiful fire pit and a hot tub as well, and s’mores, toasted marshmallows and a cowboy strumming his guitar under the stars will provide the finishing touches to the night.

Yum. Dinner tonight will consist of:

Vegetarian Chile with Sour Cream and Red Onions

Tossed Garden Green Salad with Ranch Dressing or

Cilantro Vinaigrette

Black Bean Salad with Roasted Corn and Sweet Peppers

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Penne Pasta Salad with Grilled Peppers and Herb Vinaigrette

Mesquite-Broiled T-bone Steak—One Pounder

Smoked Guaymas Jumbo Shrimp

Baby Back Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

Grilled Chicken with Sweet Barbecue Sauce

Ranch Style Baked Beans

Corn on the Cob

Baked Potatoes with Butter, Sour Cream, Scallions, and Bacon Bits

Cornbread with Honey Butter

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Warm Peach Cobbler in an Iron Skillet

Apple Pie

Sliced Watermelon

Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, Tea, Herbal Tea

Tucked out of sight, an area’s been set up for staff to enjoy dinner as well, but not all at one time. The catering staff will prepare plates in the cooking tents and bring them over to our area as opposed to having our crew lining up with the guests. Joining the guests is just not done. Sometimes a client will invite the staff to eat with them but that’s not something that we prefer to do. Having our own private, out-of-the-way area lets us catch up on what has to be done, gives us a break and lets us talk freely among one another without worry of being overheard. Beverages are kept strictly to soda, lemonade, sweet tea, hot tea, coffee, and bottled juices and water when we are working and even off duty, because you just don’t know when you may be asked to round up a missing shuttle bus and a band of wayward men.

JANUARY 22

This year’s gala farewell evening event and awards presentation should be another standout one for them and their industry. At sunset guests will be heading out to enjoy a hot-air balloon ride.

Chase cars will follow the balloons and take them to a champagne reception set in the middle of the desert. Waiters in tuxedos will be waiting with silver trays filled with the finest champagne while classical music is gently played, filling the desert air with haunting melodies to make hearts spill over with emotion. A large, clear tent has been set up. The decor and special effect lighting is breath-taking. A white-glove gourmet dinner will follow with a dessert presentation that is as pretty as it is delicious to eat. A cloud of spun pink cotton candy wrapped around ice cream with petals of sugared violets sprinkled around will be this evening’s sweet ending.

Everything has been thought of, from heaters to take the chill off the night air and luxury porta potties, to astronomers with high-power telescopes to point out the stars that have been named after each guest—in celebration of the company’s all-stars—from the Star Registry. A symphony under the stars will follow the awards presentation and with the client’s blessing, not a desire to burn my client’s money, a beautiful firework and laser display will be set to music as a grand finale.

It was an unbelievable night—an incredible success and the perfect send-off to the retiring couple who had helped the parent company enjoy tremendous growth in their early years. Guests were driven back to the resort in stretch limousines and can’t wait to get back to the office to share their wonderful experiences with others.

But for us the night wasn’t over. In the middle of the night we received a call that there had been a death on our program. The wife of the retiring gentleman had changed for bed happily talking about the wonderful evening she spent with her husband, daughter and son-in-law, closed her eyes, and peacefully died in her sleep. Everyone sprang into action and Daniela was contacted back home. We need her to meet the woman’s husband, daughter and son-in-law at the airport upon their return and do all she can to make this as easy a journey for them as possible. We have moved them to a different flight so that there will be time for us to make the necessary preparations on our end. It’s the family’s wishes that no one except the company president and as few people as possible from their group know what happened. Accepting everyone’s condolences at this time would be more than they can bear and their wishes have been respected. They want to make the announcement in their own way and at the right time for them.

JANUARY 23

Myki and Jae were assigned to make sure that the family was looked after from that moment on and would fly with them and their wife/mother’s body as well.

Being a master of discretion in event planning involves not only being vigilant and circumspect about the good and the bad that can take place on an event, but sometimes also the sad. Our hearts were breaking for the family. Our responsibility was both to them and to keep the integrity of the program as per the family and the client’s wishes. Our demeanor could not change one iota until we waved goodbye at the airport to the departing client and their guests. It was essential that we kept up a good front with the rest of their participants—who were laughing, happy, revved up and ready to return home and work—as well as a professional one, which required us to focus on what we needed to do to have their program end on a high note for the other guests.

We couldn’t allow our minds to center on what was taking place behind the scenes or relive memories of happier times, like when the couple had returned to the hospitality desk one year hand in hand, so excited to have climbed the Acropolis together. They recounted the story of how the man in front of them had inspired them—he was blind and climbing with a seeing companion and wanted to feel the joy of making it all the way to the top. They figured age was not going to stop them; if he could do it, they could—and did.

I knew that seeing them the previous evening, happily finding their stars in the night sky with the help of the astronomer—we had taken care to make sure they were grouped together—would be another lasting memory of the love they shared that I would carry with me. I hoped remembering hearing her say to her husband that now they would be together for all of eternity, which is all she had ever wanted in life once they met, would help console him and his daughter and son-in-law when they gazed at the night sky and stars at home. There was nothing the others on our team could do right now for them. Dee Dee, Myki, Jae and Daniela had the family under their protective care and everything under control and we could all rest easier knowing that. They had their job to do just as we had ours.

The only one from the group that the family did take into their confidence was, surprisingly to us, Simon Oh. He had amused the husband and wife with his antics this time (from their teasing remarks we gathered that they knew something about his shuttle escapade, but from him, not us) and in the past. It was a running joke that they were on the lookout for a good girl for him to settle him down. He stepped up amazingly to comfort them in a more personal display of affection than we could. Just goes to show you that you can never judge—or should judge—a person from one (or several) on-site incidents where bad behavior and impaired thinking can be set off by over indulging. You never know when they might live up to and even surpass your expectations.
Ohhhhh, Simon,
I think you won even Dee Dee’s heart with the tenderness and caring you showed to this family, and for fully being there for them when they reached out to you, electing on your own to change your plans and fly home with them.

FROM CITY LIGHTS TO DESERT NIGHTS: Q&A

Event Planning Buddy System

Q:
How does the buddy system work, when is it applicable and how does it affect staff scheduling and cost?

A:
The buddy system is usually only in effect during events when an open bar is available to guests, when their inhibitions and professional and personal boundaries might get dropped. You usually know who is targeting who by that time. There are company executives and participants that believe that coming on to an event planning staff member is part of the package, and while they can be persistent but manageable during the day, they can get more out of hand once alcohol is added to the mix. Event planners need to be aware of what is taking place in a room and it’s not limited just to the attendees’ well-being.

Generally, an event is staffed so that there will be sufficient help on hand to manage any situation, which means staff to stay in the room, staff to get assistance if needed, etc., so it isn’t about assigning additional staff to work together but rather to work as a team from their stations around the room and to practice safety measures, such as walking back to their rooms together (it’s usually requested that staff rooms be on the same floor and in the same area as opposed to being spread out over the resort).

Assignment

Going back through the chapter, find one incident where the buddy system was needed and not practiced. (Answer: When the local DMC staff lost control of the minicoach and came to Dee Dee in tears. There should have been a staff member on board each minicoach to travel with the group to make sure they were under control, especially after the drinking that had gone on at lunch. That particular staffing had been the responsibility of the DMC, but they had cut back on staff numbers without informing Dee Dee. She would not make that mistake again, adding that to her list of lessons learned.)