About a year ago I got the amazing opportunity to become one of a few student members in the San Antonio chapter of an organization called International Special Events Society. Many refer to it as “ISES” for short, but have to be select about how and to who we say so it doesn’t get confused with the other “ISIS.” Yikes. This global organization was found nearly 30 years ago with the goal to educate the event industry as a whole while allowing industry professionals to network and interact with one another. ISES promotes a professional conduct that upholds legal and ethical standards while encouraging excellence. Each monthly meeting has a guest speaker that educates and provides insightful information based on their area of expertise. This past Wednesday, we were fortunate to have a gentlemen self-titled, “The Event Nerd,” to speak on the importance of technology in the event industry and to show us top websites for event professionals to utilize.
For starters, the venue room for the meeting was amazing! The Plaza Club, stationed on the 21st floor of the Frost Bank, provided incredible views of downtown San Antonio and a breathtaking Texas sunset. The Plaza Club has their very own caterers that served fabulous food with a menu that included a spinach strawberry salad, a linguine pasta served in a lemon butter sauce, and a coco mousse pyramid for dessert. YUM. Rentals were provided by Marquee Events Group and decor by Goen South.
Photo by Ara Photography
The Event Nerd himself was a gentleman and event producer named Damany Daniel. I could already tell his presentation was going to rock just by his appearance; he wore pink pants and a bow tie and carried himself with the utmost confidence. I dug it. Damany’s company, The Event Nerd, specializes in introducing new and innovative strategies for a variety of business professionals through technology. Below, I will briefly introduce a few of the websites he discussed that could be helpful for anyone that needs spruce up on their planning, strategizing and managing techniques.
(Photo by Me)
- HoneyBook – an online planning site that helps you design and manage your events while connecting you with your clients and colleagues. Here you are able to do away with the hassle of paperwork and keep all of it in an online file instead! The site even offers a way or clients to pay online and track the payments. Great for anyone involved in the planning process including hosts, photographers, wedding/corporate planners, caterers, etc.
- LocalTable– Great for managing and scheduling your employees. Give staff everything they need to know about the event including location, what time it starts and ends, shift times, dress code, among other things. Sends an email reminder to avoid any miscommunication.
- SocialTables – Essential event planning software that allows you to create accurate layouts of seating and table diagrams. Let’s face it, people like to see things in place, so by creating visuals the client is able better able to see your vision come to life. It’s customizable, efficient and can even help boost sales!
- ShoFlo – Designed for all technical producers and people involved with live events. It’s an online cue sheet that can keep you and your crew all on the same page during making of the production cue, the actual production and even the rehearsals.
- Survey Monkey – Damany described this best for an “End of Show Report.” He suggested that a survey should be filled out after every event to help be proactive and to evaluate performance.
To conclude this post, in addition to the sites listed above, there are endless options for you improve you planning/managing process through technology. We are living in an ever evolving digital world and whether you like it or not, it is highly important that you familiarize yourself with online sources.
-Emily Santana
embarkevents 