Engaging event experts, particularly at the planning stages, helps maximise effective use of your budget. Event managers, by overseeing all the details of your party from negotiating with venue operators to briefing caterers, buying beverages, or sourcing props and decorations - can save you cash as well as time and trouble. Yes, it costs to hire a top event planning professional, but it's usually money well spent.

Hire the right person, and you can relax in the certainty that your big celebration will unfold smoothly and delightfully for all concerned - that the event will be more fabulous and memorable than even you could have envisaged.

An experienced manager can save you stress, time and cash, so don't assume you'd be better off doing it all yourself - especially if you're planning your own party!

Sticking to a budget
Overestimating your budget can lead to events that fall flat as you have to compromise. An event manager can help you to have a realistic grasp of what's feasible on the budget you have, and knows how to stretch a budget by clever coordination, packaging, cost-cutting, networking and negotiation.

A professional event manager will make sure you don't squander your budget on the wrong things, overlook costly details, or misjudge how much money it takes to feed, water and entertain 100 guests at a swish cocktail do.

An experienced events coordinator will have a broad network of industry contacts, so they can usually source exactly what you need - often at a better price than you could do yourself, and in a fraction of the time.

They can also save you money by avoiding expensive oversights and errors, and by efficient use of time and resources.

Get costings on previous events they've handled, and compare their rates to those offered by others in the business - as well as the quality of the outcome.

Knowing the right people
Planning extraordinary events takes experience - and insider contacts. You want your events coordinator to have the right network of contacts within the party, entertainment and hospitality industries.

The bigger their network and the more goodwill they have within it, the better. A well-connected, well-regarded event manager is in the best position to source and secure venues, caterers, props, equipment, service staff and entertainers for your party.

Who they know is important, as is personal charm: if your event manager can use his or her contacts and skills to negotiate better deals for you, the money you've paid for his or her services could be recouped in full - and you'll get better supplies and service, too.

This chapter continues in Party Magazine