The encyclopedia of event planning.

Welcome to EventPlans.ca.

EventPlans.ca is a free, independent encyclopedia of event planning for Toronto and the GTA.

It is written for the person who has just been handed an event and needs to get it right.

What you will find here.

There are step-by-step guides for weddings, corporate holiday parties, kids' birthdays, conferences, galas, trade shows and team building.

Each guide has a timeline, a checklist and a realistic GTA budget.

Written for Ontario.

The rules here are local.

Liquor permits through the AGCO, the thirteen percent HST, service charges, insurance and accessibility are explained in plain language.

How to use it.

Pick your event type from the menu and start with the overview.

Then follow the timeline, one page at a time, and use the planner to keep track of what you have done.

Everything in this video is free, and it all starts just below.

Plan any event in five steps.

Every event on this site, from a backyard birthday to a thousand-seat gala, is planned with the same five steps.

Learn them once and you can run anything.

Set the brief.

Write down the purpose, the guest count, the date and the total budget before you call anyone.

Every later decision is checked against this page.

Build the budget.

Split the money before you spend it.

Venue and food usually take about half, and a ten percent contingency protects you from surprises.

Book the room.

The venue fixes your date, your capacity and many of your rules.

Book it first, and read the food and beverage minimum and the cancellation terms before you sign.

Line up the people.

Caterers, entertainment, audio and visual, photographers and rentals come next.

Get every quote in writing and confirm what each one needs from the room.

Run the day.

A run of show lists every cue with a time and one owner.

On the day, your job is to follow it calmly and fix small problems before guests notice.

Everything in this video is free, and it all starts just below.

The free Academy, tools and directory.

Beyond the guides, EventPlans.ca has three things that make planning faster.

All of them are free, and none of them need an account.

The Academy.

The Academy is a full event planning course in short lessons.

Each lesson has a narrated video, a worksheet and a quiz, and you can finish with a certificate.

Planning tools.

Calculators and templates handle the arithmetic: budgets, guest counts, bar estimates, seating and timelines.

Your progress is saved in your own browser.

The directory and encyclopedia.

The vendor directory lists entertainers, caterers and production companies with price ranges and what they need from the room.

The encyclopedia explains the industry terms you will hear from venues and suppliers.

Everything in this video is free, and it all starts just below.