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Congratulations, you’re engaged! You’re probably flying high with visions of wedded bliss in your head, but here’s a statistic that’s sure to bring you back to earth. According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is $35,329. And that doesn’t even count the honeymoon expense!

After reading that you may be ready to elope! Compared to footing the bill for a lavish wedding, taking a simple trip to the courthouse is obviously more economical. But dreamers, don’t despair. You can still have a traditional wedding ceremony and reception without going overboard. You just need a budget!

Figuring out your wedding budget can be confusing if you’ve never planned a large event. It’s difficult to nail down a dollar amount if you’re unsure how much bang you can get for your buck. Sometimes the wedding a couple wants doesn’t align with what they can afford, and that’s when the trouble begins.

Your wedding is one of the best days of your life, so you may feel pressure to plan an elaborate celebration. But there’s no need to go into debt. You can have a wonderful, memorable wedding no matter what your budget is! If you don’t want to sink boatloads of money into one (although very special) day, I have some practical tips to plan a cost-effective celebration you’ll still love!

How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget

Determine the kind of wedding you want.

When you picture your wedding, what do you see? A swanky reception at a downtown loft? A backyard barbecue with all your friends and family? A classic hotel ballroom reception?

If you need a little more inspiration, think about all the weddings you’ve been to, seen on TV, or scrolled through on Pinterest. What did you like or not like about them?

Don’t get hung up on the little details just yet. Instead, think about the overall feel you want your wedding to have. When it comes to planning a wedding on a budget, knowing your priorities matters.

Have the wedding budget talk.

Everyone paying for the event (bride, groom and parents) needs to sit down and look at the total wedding budget. This might be your first experience budgeting with your future spouse as a team. What a priceless experience! Learning to talk openly and honestly about how much you can spend and how much you’re willing to spend on your wedding is going to lay the groundwork for wonderful budget date nights once you’re married!

As uncomfortable as this budget talk might be, just remember it’s a heck of a lot easier than still paying for your wedding day on your fifth anniversary!

When I say budget here, I’m not just talking about how much money you can spend total. I’m talking about how much you should spend in each specific area.

I suggest breaking the total wedding budget into categories and figuring out what percentage to devote to each:

Reception: 55%
Ceremony: 12%
Photography: 10%
Wedding Planner: 10%
Dress and Tux: 8%
Miscellaneous/Cushion: 5%

These aren’t set numbers; that’s just the ratio Winston and I used. You should set your ratios based on what’s important to you. Maybe you’re willing to splurge on photos, but flowers don’t really matter to you. If you care more about one area than another, change up the percentages.

Decide what is non-negotiable.

Based on your percentages, take a moment with your fiancé to decide on your top three must-haves for your big day. They can be practical or totally frivolous: an outdoor reception, a plated surf and turf dinner, loads of flowers, a live jazz band whatever is most important to you.

You can come up with your wish lists separately or together, but make sure you sit down and determine what you both really want. Let that vision dictate your budget.

The Wedding Budget Breakdown

First things first: Give your budget a little breathing room. Unexpected expenses will arise, so know that your budget will evolve throughout the planning process. Take those surprises into consideration by putting in a little bit of cushion. That way you have the flexibility to handle any surprise expense.

A wedding is a huge event to plan, so it’s helpful to know what you can get for a certain dollar amount. What does $5,000 get you? $10,000? $15,000?

Here are some budget breakdown examples for weddings ranging from $100 to $30,000 and some suggestions for how to make them happen.

The Basic Courthouse Elopement

If your budget is $100, you could spend your money like this:

Marriage certificate: $25 to $100 (depending on your state)
In Nashville, the fee for a marriage license clocks in at $99.50. And $60 of that can be waived if the couple completes a premarital counseling course within the last year hello savings!

The City Hall Wedding

If your budget is $500, you could spend your money like this:

Venue: $25 to $100 (depending on your state) for a short ceremony at City Hall, officiant included
Food and beverages: $250 for lunch for a group of 10 close friends
Attire: $150 for a dress; $0 for a suit you already own
Flowers and decorations: $50 for a dozen roses
Photography: $0 for a talented friend

The Backyard Venue

If your budget is $3,500, you could spend your money like this:

Venue: $0 for your future in-laws’ backyard
Food and beverages: $750 for drinks and a buffet prepared by friends and family
Attire: $200 for a dress; $200 for a suit rental
Flowers: $0 for wildflowers you picked for a bridal bouquet, bridesmaids’ bouquets, and boutonnieres
Decorations: $1,500 for a tent, dance floor, table and chair rentals, lighting, and DIY centerpieces
Wedding Planning: $0 for an aunt willing to chip in and coordinate the day-of details
Photography: $500 for a talented friend or amateur via Craigslist
Entertainment: $75 for a speaker rental; $0 for a great playlist
Dessert: $50 to $200 for a cutting cake, cupcakes, or pies from a bakery
Invitations: $50, DIY

The Rustic Wedding

If your budget is $7,000, you could spend your money like this:

Venue: $2,000 for tables, chairs, linens and bridal suite
Food and beverages: $1,500 for appetizers and beverages
Attire: $500 for a dress; $200 for a tuxedo rental
Flowers and decorations: $400 for DIY bouquets, centerpieces and lighting
Wedding Planner: $0 for a friend who offers their talents as a wedding present
Photography: $2,000
Entertainment: $75 for a speaker rental; $0 for a great playlist
Dessert: $0, DIY-dessert table with dishes provided by friends and family
Invitations: $130, DIY

The Museum or Art Gallery Gathering

If your budget is $12,000, you could spend your money like this:

Venue and full-service catering: $8,000 for tables, chairs, linens, food, beverages and staff
Attire: $200 for a dress; $0 for a suit you already own
Flowers and decorations: $800 for lighting rentals and DIY bouquets and centerpieces
Wedding Planner: $600 for the hour minimum
Photography: $1,000
Entertainment: $750 for a DJ
Dessert: $400 for a cake
Invitations: $100, DIY

The Small Destination Wedding

If your budget is $15,000, you could spend your money like this:

Venue: $8,000 for a seven-bedroom villa for the week
Flights: $1,000
Food and beverages: $2,000 for a buffet meal and beverages
Rentals: $700 for tables, chairs, linens and lighting
Attire: $300 for a dress; $150 for a suit on sale
Flowers and decorations: $400 for bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces
Wedding Planner or Venue Coordinator: $0, included with venue
Photography: $2,000
Entertainment: $100 for speaker rentals; $0 for a great playlist
Dessert: Cutting cake and cupcakes for $300
Invitations: $50, DIY

The Elegant Loft Wedding

If your budget is $21,000, you could spend your money like this:

Venue and full-service catering: $12,000 for tables, chairs, linens, food, beverages and staff for 50 guests
Attire: $800 for a dress; $200 for a tuxedo rental
Flowers and decorations: $1,500
Wedding Planner: $3,000 for help with the details leading up to and the day of the wedding
Photography: $2,000
Entertainment: $1,000 for a DJ
Dessert: $275 for a cake
Invitations: $200 from Etsy

Church Ceremony With Ballroom Reception Blowout

If your budget is $30,000, you could spend your money like this:

Church rental: $400
Venue and full-service catering: $15,000 for tables, chairs, linens, food, beverages and staff
Attire: $1,000 for a dress; $200 for a tuxedo rental
Flowers and decorations: $2,000 for bouquets, centerpieces, other arrangements and lighting
Wedding Planner: $4,000 for a full-service planner
Photography: $2,000 for a top-rated professional photographer and an assistant
Entertainment: $4,000 for a live band
Dessert: $500 for a cake
Invitations: $200

Money-Saving Wedding Tips

Now that you have a better understanding of what your budget can get you, how can you reduce the cost of your wedding even more? Here are seven ways to keep wedding costs down and help you stay on budget!

Limit your guest list.

Less is sometimes more! You might feel tempted to come up with a guest list as long as the royal wedding’s, but think of it this way: Every guest is an expense. It sounds harsh, but it’s true, you guys! With each addition to your guest list, you’re only driving up the overall cost of your wedding.

To save money on your wedding, you may want to host a smaller, more intimate affair. If the number of people at your wedding isn’t important to you and your fiancé, try cutting your guest list by 20%, then another 20% on top of that. Or invite more guests to the wedding ceremony and host a smaller reception with your family and closest friends.

Host the ceremony or reception at home or outside.

The venue eats up the largest chunk nearly half of the wedding budget. Why not cut back by using your home, a parent’s home, or a public park as the backdrop? An outdoor ceremony and reception in a place with personal meaning eliminates the need for an elaborate, over-the-top venue.

If you do decide on an outdoor event, make sure you have a good backup plan. Rain or even extreme heat can put a damper on your day, so just make sure you have plan B handy.

Ask friends and family to exchange skills for presents.

If you have friends and family members with creative or organizational skill sets, ask them to use their talent at the wedding in lieu of a gift. Would you rather receive a stand mixer or live music, free of charge?

Tap into your network. Is your aunt an amateur florist? Does your friend have an eye for photography? Is your neighbor a restaurant owner who could lend you their space? Even if they can’t provide services for free, you could still score a major discount.

Don’t overlook your own skills either. Use your talents to barter for wedding services. Exchange your graphic design skills for a free wedding cake, or trade your accounting abilities for free dress alterations. Get creative!

Do it yourself whenever possible.

You and your fiancé can save big money by doing things yourselves, but a word to the wise: Only DIY when you know the outcome will be worth the effort. And give yourself plenty of time to complete any DIY projects. Believe me, you don’t want to be up until 3 a.m. the day of your wedding frosting cupcakes or putting together table centerpieces.

Pretty wedding invitations are nice, but do you really want to spend $800 on something that’s ultimately going to wind up in the trash? Save money by making your own wedding invitations. All you need is a good home printer and an invitation kit from a stationary shop or an office supply store.

Don’t forget the DIY online route! Sites like Moo.com offer fairly inexpensive wedding invitations you can create and order online. You can even use a free design website like Canva.com to cut back on the cost even more. It may not be as fancy as gold leaf or an invitation printed on a keepsake tea towel, but it will be way less expensive.

Instead of hiring a caterer, take care of the food preparation yourselves! Join forces with your families to draft a menu and buy food and supplies at a wholesale store. Make bouquets and table centerpieces using supplies purchased from a dollar store or a wholesale florist. You can even clip flowers from your own backyard.

Try using seasonal décor, too! Winston and I got married in December, and we used a lot of seasonal items like berries and holly in place of flowers. Décor was one thing I really had to cut back on while trying to stay on budget with my own wedding.

Use a dummy wedding cake.

Wedding cakes are expensive, you guys! Save money by decorating a dummy wedding cake. A pastry chef or someone you know who has icing skills worthy of a spot on a reality TV baking competition can decorate a stack of Styrofoam just as elaborately as a real wedding cake. Serve guests slices from a sheet cake you bought at the grocery store. They’ll never know the difference!

If you’re set on the cake cutting tradition, just have a smaller cake made for you and your new spouse. You could even use it as the dummy cake’s topper so it looks like the real deal!

Time your wedding wisely.

The average price per person for a plated meal averages around $71. Avoid the expense of a sit-down meal by scheduling your wedding in the afternoon and planning a reception that’s more like an extended cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvres.

Consider day of the week, too. You could pay up to half the price for your venue if you hold your wedding on a Friday or Sunday. Plus, you’ll have more options for vendors like bakeries, photographers and DJs which tend to get booked up pretty quickly on Saturdays.

And keep in mind the time of year. September and October are the most popular months to get married. So you’re likely to pay more in the fall when wedding resources are limited.

Scout out vendors.

Take time to shop around for different wedding vendors. If you’re looking for a pastry chef, don’t immediately pick the first person you see. Schedule time to meet with more than one vendor to make sure you’re getting quality service for the best price.

There’s nothing like a good recommendation from someone you trust! Don’t forget to ask your friends and family for vendors they’d suggest. Once you’ve found one who seems like a keeper, scour the internet for online reviews just to be sure you’ve picked a winner.

A Beautiful Wedding on a Budget Is Possible!

Remember: Your wedding is about the two of you and your marriage. And that will last much longer than one day of celebration. Through all of the wedding planning hoopla, remember not to lose sight of what truly matters. Spending a ton of money on your wedding day won’t prove your love for one another, but it can leave you with an empty bank account. It’s completely possible to throw a budget-friendly wedding that’s beautiful, stylish and affordable!

You can have the gorgeous, debt-free wedding of your dreams, but only if you have a plan! Create your wedding budget today.

By: RACHEL CRUZE

https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/planning-your-wedding-on-a-budget

Conference Planning: 12-14 Months before -Timeline, committee & website

It usually takes organisers 12-14 months to plan a conference, so start now.

1. Build your timeline. Factor in enough time to complete each stage of conference planning, and then add some wiggle room around deadlines. You’ll thank yourself for this later.

2. Decide if you’re hiring a pro. If you’re planning to do it all without the help of an event pro, you’ll need to add normal event-planning tasks like sourcing your venue and buying gifts for plenary speakers to your conference checklist. But if you’re expecting 50+ attendees, I recommend you hire the services of a professional conference organiser (PCO).

3. Get your committee onboard. Thinking about doing everything yourself? Stop right there. Every successful conference needs an active organising committee. So form your committee now and agree who’s responsible for the following conference planning tasks:

Creating a conference website and promoting it
Selecting venue and making local arrangements
Sourcing conference software
Announcing the conference and collecting submissions
Registering your conference with the body governing continuing professional development
Communicating with authors, reviewers and delegates
Selecting and coordinating reviewers
Inviting and managing keynote (aka plenary) speakers
Registering delegates and collecting payments
Building the conference programme
Publishing the conference proceedings
Financial accounting

4. Build your website. Whether it’s a simple website or a bespoke design, you need a digital destination to send people to. Use this checklist so you don’t forget any important info.

Homepage. Conference name, date and location. Logo and image. Opening summary. Sponsors. Important deadlines and social media links.
Welcome. A welcome from your chair inviting submissions.
Committee. An introduction to your committee, including bios and photos.
Conference topics. Themes, topics, special sessions, panel submissions etc.
Keynote speakers. Their bios, pictures and links to their social profiles.
Presenter guidelines. Oral presentation timings, AV equipment available, instructions, and specifications for posters.
Travel and accommodation. Info on public transport and accommodation. Programme. Release a draft programme when your keynotes are confirmed and flesh it out as you go.
Registration. Fees, payment methods and Ts & Cs, plus a link to your registration system.
Visa information. Any info international delegates will need, plus your visa invitation letter request process.
Sponsors. A showcase of your sponsors and sponsorship packages. Accessibility info. Any info for delegates with accessibility requirements, plus contact info for when they have a need that’s not addressed.
Funding opportunities. If you provide funding to help certain groups of researchers attend, set out the criteria here.
Deadlines and dates. This should include details on everything from when submissions close to when early-bird prices end.
Call for papers. Reproduce your call for papers in full.
Guide for authors. Guidelines on how to submit and a link to your abstract management system or submission form.
Contact. You may want to list different contact info for queries related to submission, sponsorship, registration, accessibility, etc. And include a link to sign up to your conference mailing list.
Previous conferences. Previous iterations of your conference

Conference Planning: 10-12 Months before budget & software

5. Build your budget. Even though the goal of planning a research conference usually isn’t to make a profit, managing your finances is still vital. Create your draft budget now. Then adapt it as you secure funding and sponsorship.

Fixed costs vs variable costs
Tax
Budgeting for contingency

6. Investigate funding pots. The tourism budgets of many countries include funds for conferences with international delegates. When you’re considering a location, check how the local tourist board can help. And check if associations or organisations within your field offer funding.

7. Pursue sponsorship. The money you bring in from registrations won’t be enough to cover your conference planning costs. So pursue sponsorship packages to help cover the difference.

8. Sort your conference planning software. The right software can eliminate a lot of late nights, uninspiring work, and admin stress. Which means you can focus on your #1 priority: planning a great conference. Lots of generic event software boasts some conference features, but these can be flimsy at best. When you’re comparing packages, check that the software can handle your needs. Good software should have the following features.

Abstract management. Authors submit online, the system ensures submissions meet mandatory checks (like word limits) and sorts them by topic and presentation type. Then it helps you allocate submissions to the best reviewers, saving you hours of work.
Delegate registration. A good registration system will help you create a merchant account for a short period of time and get paid fast. (A really good system will also help you avoid the hefty markups that come as standard with lots of online payment providers.)
Programme building. With hundreds of authors, topics and timing conflicts, building your programme can feel like assembling a puzzle. A good builder will help you create parallel sessions, check for conflicts, and share it on mobile so you don’t have to print a thing.
Tech support. Overlooking tech support is the sort of mistake rookie organisers make once. (And only once.) Sometimes, things go wrong. When they do, it’s good to know there’ll be a person – not a chatbot – on hand to untangle you.
Mobile conference app. An app makes navigating a large area and a complex technical programme easy. It will also allow delegates to send private messages and public posts. And if a session moves, you can send a notification to every delegate’s phone.
GDPR compliance. You’ll be handling the personal info of authors and delegates. If any of these folks are EU citizens, by law your software needs to be GDPR compliant.
Book of proceedings. Software can eliminate the cost of designing, formatting and printing your book of proceedings. Instead, collect camera-ready (corrected) submissions as part of your submission process, build the book via your software, and publish it online. Bingo.

TIP: Investigate free software options. Don’t forget to consider free software like Slack for project messaging, Skype for group video calls, Asana for project management, Trello for task management and MailChimp for mass emailing.

Conference Planning: 9 Months before submissions process

Before you can think about sending your call for papers, you need to develop your submissions process and set up your abstract management system. Get these ironed out and it’ll be a big task ticked off your conference planning checklist.

9. Define your formats. These could be abstracts, extended abstracts or papers. For example, will you have a max. word count or formatting conventions? What extra info do you need from authors? This could include things like: file uploads, anti-plagiarism statements and copyright transfers. Make sure to include these in your guide for authors.

10. Decide how you’re collecting submissions. We recommend you use a peer review system, but if you’re only expecting a few, a simple form might do the job. Managing submissions manually can seem like a good idea from a distance. Then before you know it, you’re up till 1am pinging irate emails to authors who’ve ignored your formatting guidelines. Do yourself a favour and source software that includes sturdy abstract management capabilities. It should tick these boxes.

Has a customisable submission process. The system needs to be able to flex to match the process you’ve designed or it won’t be much help.
Allow authors to make their own corrections. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to step in every time they need to make a change.
Let’s you track reviewers’ progress. So you can send reminders to ones who haven’t started (and leave the ones who have in peace).
Has an online conference platform integration. If it’s a standalone system, you’ll need to copy info to and from your registration and programme software.

11. Work out how many reviewers you need. Inviting enough reviewers for your conference is pretty important. Overloaded reviewers are not happy reviewers. And unhappy reviewers tend to withdraw their offer to review or go AWOL entirely. When they do, you’ll be left scrambling to replace them or off-loading their submissions onto other reviewers. Use this reviewer calculator to work out how many you need.

12. Decide how you’ll match submissions to reviewers. Most of the conferences we work with agree a list of submission topics. Reviewers then select the topics they’re best equipped to review for. Will you allow nepotism? Nepotism happens when an author and a reviewer share an affiliation (e.g. work at the same organisation).

13. Define your review process. Single or double-blind review? Single-blind means the reviewer knows who the author is, double-blind means they don’t. (In both cases, the author doesn’t know who the reviewer is.) How will reviewers score submissions? Reviewers on Ex Ordo conferences generally score on criteria like: technical merit, readability, relevance, originality and format.

Conference Planning: 8-9 Months before send your call for papers

Time to announce your conference to the world. There’s just one problem: all 200,000 other research conferences are trying to do the same thing…

14. Send your call for papers. To make sure yours hits its mark, make it catchy, informative and scannable. Your call for papers should immediately make it clear what the conference is about and who is organising it. The key details of the conference should be the first thing recipients see. If you have a rough idea about your conference schedule, or if you have plans for invited speakers, it would be well worth mentioning these as any kind of special events (even social events), or guest lectures, which could help attract potential authors and delegates.

If your conference is partnered with an academic journal, or sponsored by an affiliate, these are all things that you may want to include in the call for papers.

15. List it on conference directories. Directories like PaperCrowd are a great way to get your conference in front of more people. And they’re free.

16 Ask other conferences to help promote yours. If a conference with similar topics to yours exists (and you’re not competing for delegates) ask if they’ll share your fliers in their delegate packs and if you can give a short address at their event.

17. Write a media release for relevant publications in your field. To do this, you’ll need to make your announcement newsworthy, keep it concise and include a quote from the chair. You may also want to post this on any relevant listserves are moderated mailing lists that some academics and researchers use.

18. Start posting on social media. It can be daunting to tackle social media when you already have a million conference planning tasks on your checklist. But it’s a great way to reach interested researchers. Decide which social media accounts you’re going to set up? Devise a social media content plan, decide who’ll manage your accounts, and start posting.

19. Ask you conference sponsors to help promote it. They want people there as much as you do. Ask them to encourage business partners to attend, send your announcement to their contacts list, and promote on social media.

TIP: Don’t get fined. The EU’s new data protection law, the GDPR, applies to anyone who controls the personal data of EU citizens. If you send your call to researchers who haven’t consented to receive it, your conference could be fined. So ask for consent from everyone on your mailing list. And include an unsubscribe link in every email. It’s not just good practice, it’s the law.

Conference Planning: 7 Months before set up your registration system

The registration portion of planning a conference is often a magnet for things going astray. So do some prep, test (and then re-test) your registration software, and open registration now at least a month before you send acceptance letters.

Give people payment options and a few clever nudges so you’re not twiddling your thumbs, waiting for payments to start trickling in.

20. Build a limited-access pricing model. Rather than selling all-in registrations, sell separate tickets for events. For example, offer delegates a basic fee that admits them to every session, and add optional charges for events like workshops, social outings and meals. This gives delegates more freedom to design around their needs.

21. Give delegates incentives to register early. Use early-bird and late prices to encourage registrations within a certain time period. This way, you won’t be scrambling to raise money close to conference day and you’ll be ready to cover the cost if your caterer raises their prices on last-minute orders.

22. Ask authors to RSVP. When you send letters of acceptance, ask the authors of accepted submissions to RSVP before they register. This can give you a good idea of numbers before official registrations start rolling in. Then if you have a list of second-round submissions you can decide whether to accept or reject them, based on your RSVP numbers.

23. Give them payment options. A good chunk of your fees will ultimately come from funding, bursaries and grants, not from delegates’ own pockets. But if you force people to pay by card they’ll need to wait to claim it back. This can put a stress on their finances. So give them the option to pay by invoice as well as card.

24. Publicise grants and bursaries. Many early-career researchers can’t afford to attend conferences without a travel grant. If your conference offers any, create crystal clear criteria (e.g. by “early-career researcher” do you mean PhD students? Or everyone who isn’t permanent?) and make them easy to find on your website. And include links to any other grants you know about. Making info like this accessible can save would-be delegates hours of funding research. And consider offering subsidised childcare and allowing early-career researchers to volunteer in lieu of paying fees.

Conference Planning: 2 Months before release final programme

Now’s a good time to build and release your final programme. But keep in mind that you’ll likely be making changes to it right up to the wire.

25. Build your final programme.

26. Invest in a mobile app. The conference tradition of printed programmes with scribbled updates is falling out of fashion. Whether you plan for it or not, delegates will use their phones to navigate your event. Give them a helping hand by investing in a mobile conference app or an online programme that’s navigable from a smartphone.

Conference Planning: 8-2 Weeks before final tasks

27. Recruit session chairs. Session chairs make sure sessions run on time and encourage questions after presentations.

28. Collect presentations and camera-ready submissions. Camera-ready means corrected drafts that are ready for publication. If you’re collecting presentations before the conference, do this now. Or if you’re collecting them onsite, organise a drop-off desk. You should be able to do this via your online management software.

29. Compile and print your conference book of proceedings. This is the official record of your conference. You may want to publish your book at the conference or wait till after.

30. Configure your conference app. If you’re using a mobile conference app, set it up so delegates can use it to network and create a personalised itinerary before the event.

31. Send info to delegates. Send delegates info regarding your programme and how to download your conference app.

32. Order contents of delegate packs, like:

Pads and pens
Conference swag bags.
Badges and lanyards
Certificates of attendance
Printed conference programme (if not online)

33. Order onsite signage.

34. Print posters. Arrange for poster presentations to be printed.

Conference Planning: 1 Week to go

35. Organise registration desk.

Confirm registration desk and information point setup.
Make sure these will be staffed by friendly and helpful people.
Organise facilities for accepting payment at registration desk if needed.
Ensure you have receipt books and online card payment facilities.
Arrange to bring printers and laptops so you can reproduce badges if needed.

36. Deliver book and posters. If you’ve got a hard copy book of proceedings and poster presentations, organise storage for them and have them delivered to the venue.

Conference Planning: 3 Days to go

37. Deliver materials. Send any additional conference materials like onsite signage, delegate packs etc to the venue.

38. Check equipment. Check conference computers, projectors and any other equipment such as poster boards for poster presentations.

39. Transfer presentation material. Download presentation files and transfer to conference laptops. Ensure that all presentations are working.

40. Check AV arrangements.

41. Send welcome email. Send delegates parking info and permits, info on airport transfers, the venue wifi code and welcome reception details.

Conference Planning: 1 Day to go

42. Print delegate list. Hand over delegate list to registration staff.

43. Mount posters. Mount all the posters on poster display boards.

44. Mount signs. Mount conference signs and directions inside and outside the venue.

45. Update programme. Update online programme with any late withdrawals. Then resuffle it as you need to. And finally, so your programme doesn’t end up with more holes than Swiss cheese, check which presenters have registered in the run up to the big day. Chase up the ones who haven’t, and then reshuffle your sessions as needs be. And on the day itself, ask someone at the registration desk to monitor no- shows, then do one final reshuffle.

Conference Planning: The morning of the conference

46. Set up registration. Arrange the registration desk: name badges, delegate packs, cash box and card payment facility, delegate lists, etc. Make sure it’s visible and has power.

47. Hold pre-conference meeting. Brief your volunteers and session chairs on emergency procedure announcements and instructions on running sessions.

48. Hold AV rehearsal. Check AV equipment is working. Ask session chairs to familiarise themselves with equipment and ensure their sessions’ presentations are ready to go.

Conference Planning: During the conference

49. Welcome delegates. Welcome delegates, hand out name badges and delegate packs.

50. Complete registration. Complete outstanding payments and close your registration system.

51. Steward the venue. Have volunteers on hand to point delegates in the right direction.

52. Don’t forget to breathe. If you’re stressed and you show it, everyone else will be too. So give yourself a few moments to take some deep, slow breaths. And no matter what happens: don’t run. Walk briskly with purpose. You’re a swan gracefully gliding across the surface. (No one needs to know your legs are paddling like crazy below.)

53. Hold a steering group meeting. Hold a meeting to review the conference. Did it meet its objectives? Were there any issues or anything you could have done better? You may want to also discuss next year’s conference and choose a chair.

Conference Planning: At the end of the conference

54. Distribute evaluations. Distribute and collect conference feedback forms, or circulate them via your mobile app.

55. Collect badges. Ask delegates to hand in their badges so you can recycle them.

56. Collect materials. Collect posters and arrange for items to be couriered or disposed of.

Post-Conference Report: After the conference

No matter how well your conference went, there are always lessons learnt. Now’s your chance to document them. Use the checklist below to help you compile your post-conference report.

57. Send thank yous. Send a thank you email to delegates, staff and volunteers, VIPs and keynote speakers.

58. Collect and review payments. Collect any outstanding payments. Review all invoices for accuracy and arrange payment.

59. Review evaluations. Review the delegate survey and any other evaluations.

60. Compile tech reports. Review the end-of-conference report from your conference management software.

61. Create your post-conference report. Compile your post-conference report from your budget and financial information, evaluation results, tech reports and meeting notes. Include suggestions and recommendations for the incoming chair. Prepare a full report for submission to funding sources and for internal use.

62. Take a holiday. We’ve seen chairs try to jump straight back into teaching after organising a conference; it ain’t pretty. Budget some time and give yourself a much-needed break once all the madness is over.

Now go forth and excel at conference planning.

By: Dee McCurry

https://www.exordo.com/blog/your-foolproof-conference-planning-checklist/

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