Day in the Life: Party Planner

‘We’ve been around for a while, since 2008!’ says Kim. ‘I started out doing events next to my full-time job and it gradually evolved into my main occupation. In recent years, we’ve done around twenty to forty events per year, and my normal day looks wildly different from day when we have one of those events.’

Morning

‘I skip breakfast on the day of an event! That’s been a constant since I started FÊTE, as I often feel like the celebrant myself — in the sense that I’m usually filled with excitement and anticipation. Even though I know that the important steps have been done in the weeks ad months prior, there are still a million things racing through my mind.

I’m lucky to have a great team that helps me to coordinate with the different vendors, entertainers, musicians, et cetera. There are always things that can go wrong (and do), but after thirteen years I don’t get too fazed anymore. There’s always a solution.

On non-event days I usually bring my kids to school, but I typically have twenty or more different WhatsApp groups open with clients, vendors and my team — so I’m usually frantically typing messages while doing other stuff!

Lunch

‘I often have a quick lunch if I’m running errands, like sourcing flowers from Prince Edward or fabrics from Sham Shui Po, or I’m working from home to order supplies.’

Afternoon

‘On event days, this is when the party is in full swing and we event planners can actually relax and watch the band we hired perform. If the client is nice (and a little tipsy) they might actually pull us onto the dance floor!

On non-event days this is usually some downtime with my family — we get ready to have dinner and maybe watch a movie. However, work never stops, and usually the clients come back from work and focus on the event, so some texts come in that I have to respond to.’

Evening

‘On non-event days, this is when I work on concepts for new enquiries and do research on things like event themes. Or I work out costings and send out invoices. When the kids are asleep, Mummy can work!

After an event, we coordinate with the venue staff, catering, et cetera, to make sure the venue is dismantled. The best part after a long day is when the client is grateful and appreciates all our hard work in pulling off a successful event for them. This is what drives us to carry on after thirteen years and more than a hundred and fifty events!’