When you plan your special event whether thats a milestone kids birthday or a special anniversary or even a wedding, you of course want people to remember it for all the right reasons. There are many variables though that influence how a person enjoys any event: atmosphere, music, other guests, location, the weather, the flow of the event and more. It all plays a part. And while saying “you can’t please everyone all of the time” is inherently true, you can make an impact in the right way and give people good memories to look back on.

Here are some things that can help make your event more memorable:

Setting Matters

Nothing makes a celebration fall flat than having it in the wrong place. Maybe it’s too fancy for your event or perhaps it’s not exclusive enough, or maybe it’s too big for for the number of people, or too small, etc. All of it matters. You need a venue that matches the style of event you’re having and a room that comfortably holds the number of people you’re expecting. You don’t want to over-or under-compensate for space so if you’re inviting 100 people, a space that holds 200 will be too much, and vice versa.

Then think of the style of the location: does it match the celebration? Can you set it up to give you the feel you want? Not all venues or locations work for all types of celebrations, and this is important to keep in mind.

Food and Drink Make the Event

Like the size of your location, food and drink need to be just right, as they’re almost always central to the guest experience. You should always choose your menu with your guests in mind so that they enjoy it, and choose the style of eating according to the type of event. For example a sit-down meal would work better for a more formal celebration whereas a buffet usually works best for more casual and relaxed parties.

You also need to remember to make sure you cater to allergies and sensitivities, if necessary, and ensure each person is able to get enough to eat. This doesn’t always work out exactly, but having too much food, especially for a buffet, is better than not enough. The same goes for drinks.

A good tip is to have a signature drink that marks the occasion, so guests can interact over it and have something to talk about.

Add Personal Touches

The more the event reflects you, who you are, and what you’re celebrating, the more memorable it will be for the right reasons. And that’s the distinction. You should always try and style your event to match your own personal aesthetic and the thing you’re celebrating, Having over the top, fancy decorations for a child’s first birthday isn’t going to work and similarly having cute and childish decorations for a 50th won’t work too well either!

Things like adding pictures and details that tie it back to you will always work. Think personal playlists, your favourite colours, details like disposable cameras on tables, favourite flowers as centrepieces and more. The added bonus of having disposable cameras is that once you’ve done the disposable camera developing after the event, you’ll have tons of memories to look back on. 

Keep it Natural

The event needs to be paced comfortably, and it needs to make sense. People need time to relax, talk, and enjoy the moment. If you have different things planned, rushing them or putting them all together can be too much. If you plan on making speeches, don’t let them drag on, so that you don’t lose people’s attention or ruin the mood. This is an important part of the event that deserves careful attention.