Confessions of an Event Planner

Judy Allen is one of the world’s leading authorities on staging, event and lifestyle design and the bestselling author of ten books for the professional, business and consumer markets. Allen, a master of creative design, has flawlessly executed successful special events—corporate, social, and celebrity—for up to 2,000 guests at a time in more than 30 countries around the world. She has designed and produced memorable events such as Disney’s worldwide theatrical opening-night gala for Beauty and the Beast, and the orchestration of Oscar-winning director Norman Jewison’s 25th anniversary celebration for Fiddler on the Roof.Highly skilled in staging events that are strategically designed to be one-of-kind experiences and a master of transforming the energy of an event environment by engaging the senses with trademark primary design principles, Allen has worked closely with CEOs, CFOs, presidents and their executive staff around the globe to create, implement and oversee their corporate and social business events.The many diverse events that Allen has designed and executed extend from complex one-day events to elaborate arrangements of theme productions taking place over the course of a week. These events ranged from very exclusive VIP events to multimillion-dollar, multimedia fantasy extravaganzas including seven new-car product launches and involved high-tech stage and show productions.Allen, and her 2jproductions (www.2jproductions.com) partner, Joe Shane, are now bringing their dynamic creative energy, innovative style and perceptive insight to home, life and lifestyle design and world class resorts around the world through Sensual Home Living (www.sensualhomeliving.com) and other initiatives.

• Preface ixAcknowledgements xix1 Meetings, Mayhem and Margaritaville 1Em finds herself in a distressing real-life situation that tests her ability to walk the fine event planning line of giving her clients what they want and keeping the guests safe.Q&A and Assignments 342 Sun Jammin’ 49Em and her staff fall into a delicate situation when their client’s mistress—who is also his executive assistant—decides that she wants to go on the company trip. The situation is serious, as the client’s wife and children are on the program as well.Q&A and Assignments 723 You Want Me To Try Alligator, Rattlesnake and What??? 91Em experiences the difficulties of managing a client’s demanding wants and whims during a site inspection and finds herself in a sticky situation.Q&A and Assignments 1114 Wedding Daze 121Em saves the day—or rather the cake—when attending a personal, not professional event, and takes her creativity to new levels.Q&A and Assignments 1245 From City Lights to Desert Nights 127Em and her team are faced with handling their first death on a program, on top of handling the ongoing hijinks of some well-known attendees during their event.Q&A and Assignments 1486 Inventive Incentives 161Em’s innovative design creativity helps one company with limited funds meet their company objectives by developing a multi-tier program that has three events taking place at once in three different parts of the world.Q&A and Assignment 1647 All Hail (or Oh, Hell) to the Man Who Would Be King 167Em and her team handle a difficult client on top of an intricate event program. They must devise ways to manage both successfully making this a true test of their talents.Q&A and Assignments 1848 Long Commute to Work 189Em sets out on her own to do a site inspection for a client and then heads to a nearby destination to check it out as a possible incentive destination for other groups.Q&A and Assignments 1979 Guests Gone Wild 205Em and her team have to deal with an abusive guest who goes out of control, is fired on the spot and is sent back home but not before causing more havoc and added drama.Q&A and Assignments 21510 Taking an Ethical Stand 221Em has to make the decision whether to keep or “fire” a client. She has her personal and company’s reputation at stake and knows that sometimes it is best to walk away.Q&A and Assignments 22711 Social Agenda 231Em and her team take on their first nonprofit event and experience firsthand the challenges nonprofits face when creating events with limited funds.Q&A and Assignments 24812 Rocking the Casbah 255Em has another encounter with DiamondDiva but this time around she is going in knowing exactly what to expect and how to handle her client demands in a way that causes her no stress and protects her client, her company and her own composure.Assignment 257Conclusion 259Final Assignment 261