Jennifer James Events

01/19/2024

Happy New Year!
As we start into 2024, I thought I would share my thoughts on this topic. Many times we take inquiries from potential clients who have never worked with a 3rd party event professional. Hopefully this provides a little insight into both costs and value.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/how-much-does-an-event-planner-cost/

10/30/2023

When planning a festive office party, a year-end gala, or a casual holiday mixer, getting your coworkers and clients to RSVP can be a major problem. In this post, we’ll look at some practical tactics for encouraging attendees to RSVPs for your next corporate holiday event sooner!

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/how-to-get-rsvps-to-your-next-corporate-holiday-event/

09/11/2023

As we get back into the swing of things this fall I wanted to share some tips on where to start when planning your own event.



https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/event-planning-101/

08/10/2023

Reflecting on 20 years of planning: then and now

This weeks post I reflect on the changes I have witnessed to the event industry over the past 20 years. I would love to hear from my colleagues some that you have noticed too.

📸 Phil Crozier

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/reflecting-on-20-years-of-event-planning-then-and-now/

07/13/2023

The top 8 things I have learned in 20 years of event planning.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/top-8-things-learned-20-years-event-planning/

It's hard to believe that this month marks 20 years since I officially joined the event industry! I've taken some time to reflect on my journey to this point. I'm grateful that I found an industry / career that I am so passionate about!

📸 Phil Crozier

04/24/2023

After a handful of recent requests for proposals, that were not formally presented, I have created a form on my website that helps identify what is needed for a event planning proposal. In addition to creating a blog post (link below) on why it's important for the requester to spend the time to ensure you are going to be reviewing proposals that are comparing apples to apples. I'm also hoping this will help identify those proposals that are actually worth investing our time and energy.

I would be interested to hear what my colleagues are doing in this area too.



https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/request-for-proposal-etiquette-for-event-planning/

03/23/2023

Fresh off a three day event and I’m grateful for my team 💕
They made the last few days seamless and my clients agree, we couldn’t do it without them.



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03/16/2023

Spring is just a few days away…. These florals are inspiring us until Mother Nature gets with the program 💛🧡❤️💚

03/09/2023

Holiday throw back. As we’ve been signing contracts for corporate holiday events already, we fondly remember this very elegant Black & Gold event we did last year with our design partners
Always helping us to exceed our clients expectations 🧡

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03/02/2023

March is here and in less than three weeks we load into the with our client the Canadian School of Hydrocarbon Measurement. What’s exciting is that the registration numbers are trending higher than they have since the recession - which is a sign that life is getting back to normal 💙

02/21/2023

Who else is thinking about warm stampede nights when it feels like winter will never end 🙋🏻‍♀️🤠


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01/19/2023

Well after a busy 2022 I am back to catching up on my blog posts!
It seems with the pandemic that some companies cut their live event budgets and were scrambling in this last holiday season to book events last minute. Which inspired this weeks post. Why events are worth the investment (hint:employee engagement). https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/why-are-events-in-2023-worth-the-investment-hint-employee-engagement/

05/04/2022

Event Sponsorship 101
This post has been on my mind for quite some time. Building successful sponsorship programs for my clients is something I specialize in. This week I share some insights into how I go about creating sponsorship packages, so that you can too!

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/event-sponsorship-101/

03/09/2022

Fun fact. In 2020 (pre-pandemic) we built the Ultimate Event Planning Guide, which can be found for download on www.jenniferjamesevents.com

The thought process behind building this guide was an outline for anyone considering planning a corporate social event or even social event on a large scale.

The first place we recommend starting is with discovery questions that determine your event purpose, objectives, and goals.
This weeks post we talk about these questions.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/corporate-event-planning-starts-with-a-question/

02/09/2022

With yesterdays announcement that events are going to hopefully be heading into a more open state here in Alberta it has brought up feelings from many about their comfort levels about a return to “normal”.
This weeks post we talk about the considerations as we move forward to help make our attendees feel more comfortable and safe.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/corporate-social-event-planning-in-covid-times-one-plan-no-longer-covers-all/

Well, here we are two years into the pandemic. We have cancelled, postponed, and “pivoted”. Virtual and hybrid events have come a long way but we have learned that people yearn to be together. For those of us that have been fortunate enough to continue working throughout the pandemic – it seem...

12/10/2021

Well our last blog for the year, I thought I would tackle one of those topics we’ve all dealt with. I personally am motivated by service not price but if you’re looking at working with new people / businesses these are my go to tips.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/lessons-learned-you-get-what-you-pay-for/

11/05/2021

I get a few calls every year from people who have realized they have a passion for events. This weeks blog we will talk about my A-B-C s for how to get into the business of planning events!

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/event-planning-newbie-weve-got-the-a-b-c-s-to-help-you-get-into-the-career-of-your-dreams/

10/08/2021

A little fall back Friday to that time we produced a concert on the deck at the that lit up the Calgary sky 🎇🎆
Our client is a visionary 🙏🏻
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08/31/2021

I try to keep pretty consistent with my monthly ramblings on my blog. Truthfully Alberta removed restrictions and I have produced 5 events in the last two months!!
All of that to say that finding time to write lately has been a bit of a challenge but also this months inspiration.

No one and I mean no one knows how to hustle the way do!
So this week I talk about why more than ever you need an amazing team of Event Professionals to help you navigate post pandemic event planning https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/post-pandemic-event-hustle-why-event-planners-are-a-must-have-now-more-than-ever/

08/12/2021

The 9th Annual Jamboree for Charity in a NEW format where everyone gets their own private box! ALL proceeds will be donated to support Canadians musicians mental health via Lifted, a Dallas Smith Charity and Unison Benevolent Fund.

https://www.showpass.com/jamboree-in-support-of-lifted-saturday/

08/05/2021

Post pandemic - I plan on hugging ALL THE TIME 💖
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07/01/2021

I've had a few news agencies reach out to me for my opinion on where things are at for corporate event planners now that Alberta is open for business. I decided that would be the topic of this weeks post https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/event-planning-post-pandemic-debunking-misconceptions/

05/19/2021

I realize that many of us are experiencing virtual event fatigue. The reality is though that as the pandemic has gone on we have gained great insights into what can take your virtual meeting, conference, webinar to the next level. This week's post we delve into simple things we can take on when creating a great virtual presentation.
Link to this week blog https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/virtual-presentations-guide/

05/08/2021

Sending a Happy Mother’s Day out to all the Amazing moms I know. Especially mine 💜.

04/28/2021

I recently completed this Pandemic Compliance Advisor course that was specifically built for event and meeting planners. Really well done. Highly recommend to colleagues who are looking for a three hour course that can be completed in one webinar.



https://healtheducationservices.net/training/pandemic-compliance-advisor/

04/15/2021

Awe! Thank you BizBash for including me on this list! I see some of my favorite and I’m honored.

https://www.bizbash.com/bizbash-lists/brands-event-pros/article/21366250/the-bizbash-250-introducing-2021s-mustknow-events-pros-in-canada

04/12/2021

I shared a post last month that I am now certified as a Digital Event Strategist (DES). In this weeks post I share why I found it so valuable and why you might too!
PCMA


https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/digital-event-strategist/

04/02/2021

Easter in Quarantine
Well here we are (in Calgary) and it appears that we are going to do one more major holiday with only our bubble. Don’t get me wrong - I love my bubble, I just miss our big Italian get togethers too.
I may have mentioned that I wrote a cookbook called Cooking with Auntie
This little blog is dedicated to cooking some of my Easter favorites including these delicious Easter cookies.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/easter-in-quarantine/

03/18/2021

Excited to share that I rececently completed my Digital Event Strategist Certification (DES) through PCMA
I will be the first the admit that I am not tech savvy - however this course was a worthwhile investment. I have already been able to take what we’ve been learning and apply to my present digital events. I’m excited to work with my clients as the world starts to re-open on their digital strategy for hybrid events.

Also I wanted to mention that I appreciate the community that PCMA has created for in this course. We are sharing and learning from one another and a better industry because of these collaborative relationships.

02/23/2021

In my last post, I spoke about creating Grace in 2021. This week I’d like to share some of my own coping mechanisms that have helped fill the void in hopes that perhaps you’ll find value in them too.

https://www.jenniferjamesevents.com/coping-with-our-new-normal/