Running an event, start to finish

Last updated: 2026-09-10

This is the overview. If it is your first time running an event, read it through for the shape of the timeline; if you are stuck on one step, jump to it.

Everything is written for banquet-hall events in Taiwan: year-end parties, spring banquets, weddings and corporate family days.

1. D-90 to D-60

   Set the brief

   Date, headcount range, budget ceiling and purpose. Skip this and everything downstream gets redone.

   • Purpose decides where the money goes: rewarding staff means prizes; hosting clients means catering and room quality.
   • Headcount can stay a range, but you need the upper and lower bound.
   • The budget ceiling must include service charge and contingency, not just food.

   Read more

   • How to Estimate Event Budgets? Proportions and Actual Price Ranges for Each Category 8 min read
2. D-60 to D-45

   Find, visit and book the venue

   Compare three at once. Table capacity, load-in time, AV specs, minimum spend and service charge — miss any of these and it is usually too late to fix after signing.

   • Aim for 70–85% of the room's stated capacity for the best sense of density.
   • Load-in time decides what you can build. One hour rules out large builds and rehearsal — and it **must be in the contract**.
   • Test projection on site, with the house lights at show level.
   • The negotiating room is not in the per-table price; it is in service charge, load-in time, add-ons and giveaways.

   Read more

   • How to Choose a Banquet Venue: 12 Questions to Ask Before Booking 9 min read
   • Venue Inspection Checklist: 20 Essential On-Site Tests 7 min read
   • Negotiating with Banquet Venues: Where's the Wiggle Room? 7 min read
   • Common Pitfalls in Banquet Hall Contracts: Deposits, Rescheduling, Minimum Spend, Overtime 8 min read
   • Choosing a Venue by Number of Attendees: Key Considerations for 50, 100, 200, and 500 People 8 min read
3. D-50 to D-30

   Lock the budget lines and prizes

   Catering usually takes 55–70% of the total and prizes 10–15%. Settle catering first; everything else fits around it.

   • Aim for roughly a 20% win rate so the room feels like it has a chance.
   • Few grand prizes, many small ones. Anything over NT$20,000 has withholding implications — ask your accountant first.
   • Keep 5–8% contingency. Overtime and last-minute tables always happen.

   Read more

   • How to Estimate Event Budgets? Proportions and Actual Price Ranges for Each Category 8 min read
   • How to Procure Year-End Party Prizes: Items, Allocation, Taxation, and Delivery 7 min read
4. D-45 to D-30

   Confirm attendance and seating

   Sign-ups are not attendance. Corporate events actually see 85–95% of those who registered.

   • The sign-up form must capture vegetarian, allergies, plus-ones and children's ages.
   • The seating plan must mark vegetarian, allergies, high chairs and reduced mobility. Miss these four and the night goes wrong.
   • Set the deadline a week before the date you actually need.

   Read more

   • Attendance Statistics and Table Arrangements: From Registration to Table Plan 8 min read
5. D-30 to D-14

   Build the run sheet and assign the crew

   Write it minute by minute, space out draws, performances and speeches, and confirm host, sound and photography.

   • Split the prize draw into three rounds through the evening rather than saving it all for the end.
   • Nothing that demands attention in the first 30 minutes after dinner starts.
   • Budget ten minutes for a five-minute speech.
   • Finalise the run sheet by D-14 and send it to host, sound and photographer.

   Read more

   • How to Schedule a Year-End Party? A Complete Timetable Template for a 150-Person Event 11 min read
   • Wedding Banquet Day Schedule: Time Allocation from Reception to Farewell 9 min read
   • What Differentiates a Spring Banquet from a Year-End Party? Six Key Differences from Guest Composition to Event Flow 7 min read
   • Corporate Family Day Planning Guide: Activity Design, Flow and Rain Contingency 8 min read
   • How to Design a Year-End Party Raffle to Keep It Engaging? Prize Structure and Timing 7 min read
6. D-14 to D-7

   Confirm equipment and supplies

   AV is what most often fails on the night, and all of it can be caught in advance.

   • Test video at the **actual venue, on the actual laptop, with the actual file**. Miss any of the three and it does not count as tested.
   • If anything relies on guests scanning a QR, check guest Wi-Fi bandwidth and bring hotspots as backup.
   • Prizes all in, counted and labelled by D-10.

   Read more

   • How to Prepare Event AV? Testing and Backup for Projection, Sound, and Internet 8 min read
   • How to Organise Outdoor Events? Rain Contingency, Sun Protection, Power, and Flow 8 min read
7. D-7 to show day

   Rehearse and deliver

   Follow the run sheet and keep 15 minutes of slack for speeches that overrun.

   • Check-in lines = headcount ÷ (minutes × 3), calculated for the peak — half your guests arrive in the last ten minutes.
   • The photographer arrives 30 minutes before doors, to shoot the empty room and the build.
   • The host needs answers for three things: an absent winner, an overrunning speech, and a segment that is not ready.

   Read more

   • Event Registration and Flow Design: Avoiding Guest Bottlenecks at the Entrance 6 min read
   • How to Write a Year-End Party Host Script: Practical Phrases for Opening, Transitions, and Lucky Draws 9 min read
   • How to Arrange Event Photography? What to Shoot, When to Arrive, and Whether to Include Videography 7 min read
8. After

   Close it out

   Record registrations against actual attendance and you will not be guessing next time.

   • Log actual attendance rate, vegetarian share, the check-in peak, and whether you ran over.
   • Track photo and video delivery dates and licence scope.