500

500 guests, roughly 60% male, more than 10% eligible cuties. And the one guy who comes up to me to chat. is. gay. Haha, go sister.

The event went pretty well, despite the fact that it had a lot to improve on, by my standards. I got to be on a Kapuso TV show, courtesy of a corporate feature. Ulk. What was my sound bite again?

Getting up at 4 am with party-ready hair, nice classic black top and just slightly faded jeans with my fave heels, all mixed and matched, I get to the hotel at 6 am, fed the necessary people and got them to working. Felt so much like The Wedding Planner (as if! Ha-ha. As an aside, I just met up with some new contacts and might be getting more wedding gigs now. Coolness J). I loved the flowers they brought out- I just thought then, what a wonderful way to start the day, to have flowers brought out into your living room, bedroom or wherever. As the morning wore on, I was still pretty much in my element, making sure all pads and pencils were aligned, newspapers and booths were up and the stage was set up just right. Ah, OC-heaven- from the chair skirts, to signage, to the tiny wastebaskets at the coffee table. Then it was show time. Playing host to guests and clients, it was nice to say hello, make contact and make new friends. There were still those though, who, despite their non-VIP status, had the gall to be haughty. Ah well. Experience has taught me that those who feel the need to prove they are important are those not-so-nice ones who are actually…not. Anyhoo.

Things I learned while running successful events and remaining sane: This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are far more serious and certainly more successful “eventologists.” The term, coined by an (in)famous society boy to describe himself, has now become the byword and label for those actually making a more than decent living planning, creating and executing celebrations. Ha. Getting brochure-ish now. Anyway, going back to doing (one of) the things I love, I learned that:

1- Sometimes I get stuck in the planning and conceptualizing stage- that heady exploration and brainstorming of “what-ifs.” Good thing about setting the date and working towards it is actually great since I am pushed to tick off my checklist one by one, day after day. An OC freak will always get why striking things off your list or ticking off that box equals to little shots of adrenaline high.

2- Planning is great- but prepare to panic, with the requisite poise. It’s all about Murphy’s Law. Everything could go wrong all at once, or it won’t. Sometimes there are just uncontrollable variables- a guest walking out because his secretary wrote a different nickname for him, a rude old man screaming from the back of the ballroom, a nonpaying guest insisting on getting inside, microphones busted despite of tech rehearsals- these were the least of my problems.

3- That one has to be a mix of charm and critical assertiveness. Charm to oil that PR-wheel while getting what you want, or assert oneself when all else fails. Personally, I don’t like getting upset. I want everyone happy and stress-free but I learned that I need to think critically and know who exactly I want to keep happy- my clients or everyone who goes my way? Sometimes, there’s just no time to be sweet. I used to get scared to get mad- I needed to have everyone like me. But no, things don’t get done that way, so I’ve learned to be a …nice-bitch. The original BG daughter, who hopefully gets things done. I try to look at women leaders (or managers) that I think are so kick-ass (for a lack of a better word) at what they do and I notice that they are not ones who are afraid to speak their minds (in a non-rude manner, of course), are confident and try to keep things together (for the team). Do I actually have what it takes? Ah, more practice.