15 ideas for organizing a cool budget event

Events help to gain an audience, advertise a brand, promote products to the market, increase staff motivation. And you can achieve such results with a moderate budget. Do not rush to “rob the bank” to pay all organizational expenses. We have prepared 15 proven ideas for a budget but at the same time a brilliant event.

Choose an original idea

A thematic event reduces the cost of decoration and food. It allows you to avoid overloaded scenery and captures guests. And that’s why:

1. Every element with the right message – from an advertising banner to dishes and entertainment – becomes a thematic decoration of the event. At the same time, the event will look visually expensive, but also original.
2. The theme allows you to satisfy all five senses of the event guests – it is easier for the organizer to set guidelines.
3. The element of surprise is free, but it guarantees a “wow effect”. The selected topic changes the location of the event, allows you to engage guests. They voluntarily immerse themselves in the themes, play along with the organizers.

Optimize food costs

The menu is the basis of the guests’ positive impression of the event. What can be done to reduce food costs without risks:

1. Suggest guests create their dishes by choosing the right ingredients. Taco bar (a variety of fillings for cakes), ice cream with an assortment of additives – there are many options, and all of them are inexpensive. And guests at the same time will show creativity and have fun.
2. Plan an event with snacks and desserts, not lunch or dinner. You may also suggest guests bring their dishes, and as an addition to put fanciful salads, delicious desserts or drinks on the tables.
3. If this is a buffet table – put less expensive snacks on the tables (cheese, crackers), and give the expensive ones to waiters with trays. As a result, the event will receive a touch of elegance, but at the same time, guests will eat few delicacies.
4. You need to agree with the catering service on the payment for the total amount of drinks consumed, not per each person alone.
5. If you organize a lot of events, or you have a regular event – sign a permanent contract with a responsible contractor, and you will be served at competitive partner prices. This applies not only to food but also to rental premises, equipment, transportation services, etc.

Décor within your budget

Each event manager wants to operate with the budgets allocated for the organization of the Oscar ceremony and implement any idea without any problems. But the “wow effect” can be achieved with a limited estimate:

1. Focus on the monochromatic gamut in the design. One saturated color creates a bold visual effect.
2. Try to allocate enough funds for professional lighting – the atmosphere of the event depends on it.
3. If funds are scarce, ask the florist contractors to bring the floral arrangements left from recent events. Decorate the fiesta with beautiful containers, put the fruit inside, fill it with water, and place floating candles on top.

Entertainment: inexpensive, but interesting.

One of the most expensive items in the event budget is entertainment expenses. Especially if you succumb to fashion trends and invite celebrities to the event. But you can show ingenuity and offer guests other solutions:

1. Use free or budget entertainment options. Invite talented people who are willing to share their work voluntarily or for a small fee. If this is a corporate event, organize a party in the style of “The Cabbage Festival”.
2. Unforgettable emotions guarantee entertainment using … food. For example, when organizing a snow party, invite guests to make their own “snow ice cream” from dry ice. The process looks very impressive.
3. Make photo zones, or even better – rent a photo booth and decorate it according to the theme of the event. A small background poster, several accessories from the store “All for 10 UAH” – this is enough to create interesting photos. Then you can make a collage of them.
4. Suggest the participants of the event create their holiday. For example, let several guests become photographers and videographers of the holiday, and share the footage in a special closed group on social networks.