As an event planner, weather can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. And, a lot of the time, it’s your worst enemy.
I was reminded of this in June when, thanks to some severe thunderstorms, we had to reschedule an outdoor concert at Waverly with Mo Money Band. The concert was highly anticipated as a part of the summer event series.
The band was in the process of unloading their equipment when all of the sudden an apocalyptic-type storm seemed to come out of nowhere. We always plan for some rain by ensuring the stage is covered, but this was not a light rain. With the wind, it was blowing sideways onto the stage and completely soaking all the band’s equipment.
Even though the event was a couple hours later and, at the start time of the event, the weather had cleared up, the band needed those few hours to properly set up and do sound checks. Since they weren’t able to, we knew we needed to reschedule. At that point, we wouldn’t have been able to get them set up for the event to start on time.
We were upset, of course, but we knew it was the best thing to do. After sending the band home, contacting all vendors and posting cancellations messages, myself, the band and the Waverly team sat down together to immediately choose a new date for the concert. This was an important move because while we were canceling, we were able to quickly provide attendees with the rescheduled date.
Next came contacting all the vendors with the new date - and we got lucky. Every vendor for the original date of June 22 was able to attend on July 20, so we didn’t have to worry about replacing anyone.
Though we were disappointed about not having the concert on the original date, everything turned out for the best. The concert in July ended up being one of the best-attended events we’ve ever held at the shopping center.
There were easily 650 people in attendance throughout the night - it was even tough to find a spot to sit despite the fact that so many people were up and dancing!
This event was a good reminder that, even though it sometimes rains on your parade, everything happens for a reason. Who knows if we would have had such a huge turnout for the first date. And even though it was hot, the weather was beautiful.
In the end, whether you’re an event planner or just an individual having an outdoor get together, you have to remember to be flexible. Pop-up thunderstorms in the summer happen all the time, and if you aren’t able to provide an indoor option as a back-up for your event, you have to come to terms with the fact that you may need to cancel or reschedule.
Even though this was the first Waverly event we’ve ever needed to reschedule due to weather, I was mentally prepared that it may be necessary. You can’t control the weather, but you can control your reaction to it. At some point, you’ll have to determine what’s going to be the best for your guests and overall event.
Participating Merchants:
Tiff's Treats Cookie Delivery
Truliant Federal Credit Union
Viva Chicken
Chick-fil-A
Source1Phones Computer and Phone Repair
Vendors:
Photographer: Ashley Roberts
Rentals: Party Reflections
Band: Mo Money — East Coast Entertainment
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