Recession proof social event tips

Recession proof social event ideas!!

Follow these helpful budget tips and your social mixer can still be a reality, even during these tough economic times.

• Choosing the right month for your event date could save you thousands of dollars. For instance, a formal evening event in April often costs one-third as much per-person as the identical event scheduled for September or October. Just go for mid-April for a better chance at gorgeous weather and less rain.
• Sign onto mailing lists at all of your local event rental hall or hotel to get advance, notice of upcoming rental specials. These rental special and incentives could get you up to 70% off current rental fees. Sure, you’ll get some junk mail, but that one e-mail invitation to the right sale could be a golden ticket to big savings.
• Talk with your other event planners to see if there are any small event rental facilities in the area that you can all choose together, buy together, and use for your own events.
• Ask for gift cards or samples to your local craft stores, or small businesses as raffle gifts and gift bag gifts to get big savings on all the supplies you’ll need to make favors or décor, guest welcome gift baskets and even centerpiece bowls. With enough gift cards, these things might turn out to be free.
• Choose inexpensive entrée items such as chicken and pasta for your  meals, and then ask your chef or caterer to create delicious, gourmet sauces to make those meals extra-special. With a fabulous lobster-garnished sauce, that pasta dish is a crowd-pleaser.
• Ask your site if they have any ‘dead stock’ in their wine collections, cases of perfectly good wine that they have moved down to their wine cellar to make room for newer, trendier vintages on their showcase menu. If you taste and love these last-month’s wines, you could negotiate a big bargain on them as all or part of your bar wine collection.
• Shop for your invitations at the top discount invitation websites such as invitations4sale.com, where top-brand invitation lines are available for 40% off, and a percent of your purchase is donated to charity.
• Since money is tight for everyone these days, your friends-with-skills could be thrilled when you ask them to do the graphic design for your programs in exchange for free marketing, and make your own favors, It’s a win-win! STRETCH YOUR $$$

Thank you for reading and sharing !
Dianna Hicks
Certified Event Planner
Luxe Events Atlanta
www.luxeeventsatlanta.com