On a local social landscape packed with an unending stream of meetings, conferences and celebratory events of one sort or another there is an increasing amount of room for entrepreneurial opportunities in the service sector.
Event planning has become a growth industry that responds to lifestyles that favour getting the demanding preparatory work done by others and simply immersing oneself in the essence of the event. It is the same with weddings and other celebratory events. The desire to make a statement drives the stakeholders to great lengths to ensure that each detail is attended to carefully, even professionally.
Enter the Event Planner, the specialist charged with pulling the details together into what is expected to be a seamless exercise, a public event that simultaneously removes the stresses of planning from those who are directly involved and places the responsibility on the shoulders of those who are paid to ensure that the plan is executed to the last detail.
It is a skill, Monique Hall-Boyan says, that demands a capacity to understand as clearly as possible what the client is seeking to achieve as well as a fair measure of competence in as many as possible of the particular services involved in the planning and execution of public events.
In her particular case her training at the Carnegie School of Home Economics and the Adult Education Association allowed her to acquire skills in cake-decorating, floral arrangement, food and nutrition and balloon decoration.
Hall-Boyan says that the successful pursuit of event planning requires a passion for the job and a preparedness to embrace challenging situations. “To enjoy this job you have to approach it the way you would a hobby; no amount of training will necessarily make you customer friendly if you don’t like working with people,” she says.
Monique’s Creations is located at 1896 Section A ‘Block X’, Diamond, East Bank Demerara. It is the current junction of a journey that began with simply throwing in her lot to support friends and relatives planning birthday and wedding celebrations. Over time she discovered that the pursuit required the ability to plan carefully, to be mindful of detail and to be ever conscious of the need to please the customer. It was then that she decided that a preoccupation could become a profession.
Her first official job was the planning of an aunt’s wedding. That coincided with the formal opening of Monique’s Creations. She still recalls the kudos she received at the end of the event. While she acknowledges that there is satisfaction in finding a business niche she concedes that it is often the determination to put your skills on public display that motivates you.
Hall-Boyan believes that ambitious Event Planners thrive on challenges. She believes that when you get called in at short notice it is the ideal marketing opportunity since it provides you with the ideal stage on which to impress the customer.
There have been such instances. She has been called upon to organize events in a single day including the demanding task of preparing centre pieces for a wedding. She has always been able to rise to such challenges much to the satisfaction of her customers.
This newspaper’s broader enquiry revealed that Event Planners have become an integral part of public events in Guyana. There are those planners who specialise in celebratory or entertainment-oriented events like weddings, anniversaries and formal receptions whilst there are those who focus on official events including meetings and conferences. Planners are recruited primarily for their capacity to effectively interpret the wishes of their clients, to add flair and presentation to their work and to take account of unforeseen contingencies. Event Planners, this newspaper was told are unlikely to be successful if they are unable to endure what can often be the idiosyncrasies of clients who are often difficult to please and prone to changing their minds about things that have already been agreed. While specific charges depend on the nature of the event and the volume of work that goes into execution, persons considered expert wedding planners can command fees in excess of $200,000; even though more modest rates can be found.
Hall-Boyan believes that decorative skills are one of her major strengths. In addition to venue decoration she specializes in creating keepsakes for brides and grooms. She points out that restricted budgets often means that corners must be cut. Some brides are opting for rental of decorations including runners, centre pieces and lanterns. These, however, must still be creatively assembled to form a pleasing environment so that skill is still required to get the job done.
Hall-Boyan says she can design and decorate a dining hall to accommodate around 50 guests for approximately $100,000. Her firm is currently planning an August wedding here for a client residing in Canada.
When major assignments arise her husband and siblings throw in their lot to support her.
And while she has observed that sufficient quantities of food and drink often tend to be high on the list of clients’ priorities she says that, ironically, most of the eventual hassle and disagreement frequently arises out of dissatisfaction with decorations. It is an observation which she constantly bears in mind in her own wedding-planning pursuits.
