You get very accustomed to having things your own way when you’re an event manager. You have to lavish everything with a huge dash of imagination to ensure your parties, gatherings and networking events stand out. Alongside which, you have to exhibit that precision and attention to detail, ensuring everything has that just-so flavour, acclimatising you to a certain standard of results. So I definitely found it difficult to hand over the reins to my friend, ‘Little Claire’, who I have known for a good fifteen years, to choose and plan everything for the day…
I was wondering if the party was going to meet my expectations. There was about 30 people on the list, including my mum from Manchester and my sister who is visiting from Pakistan. It needed to be a big day with zero boredom and a complete rush of fun and games knowing me, so a tall order to say the least..!
I was hoping that we’d be set to have a great day with nothing ordinary. If we had ended up doing something that we could do anywhere, I have to admit that I might been a little disappointed. I was worried Little Claire may get nervous and bogged down with the details about money and tickets, and as a result lose the focus on the big picture of making it memorable for everyone.
Although I’d been thinking considerably about this event, I had to take a deep breath and let go. It was hard, but I managed to detach myself considerably from the whole idea of the day, apart from putting my foot down on the venue, Hamptons Home & Garden in Bawdeswell, Norfolk..!
The big day…
All the girls had mucked in and put a real focus on the actual activities that we got involved in on the day and everyone had an amazing time, especially me and it was a nice job done even if it was different to how I would have done it. There was a delicious afternoon tea, then lots of crazy baby shower games, like tasting baby food, guessing baby items and sniffing chocolate in baby’s nappies. If only real nappies smelt that good!
So what have I learned about the whole affair? Well, even though I thought I might not be a control freak, this whole adventure has proved that I am probably simply one of those people who has to have things their own way! Is this a bad thing? After lots of contemplation, I’ve decided it’s probably not. Having to work in an industry where attention to detail is vital, a critical eye for getting things right is not only preferable, but somewhat essential.
