The best event advice I could ever give?  Having worked in the industry for 17 years I’ve got to know a thing or two about events, but sometimes the best advice is the simplest.

There are tons of tips on how to create a good event such as always elevate speakers/ bands/cabaret entertainers above the seated (or standing guests) as the larger your event, the harder it is for all your guests to see the ‘point of interest’.

My next tip sounds rather negative but ALWAYS plan for an impending disaster and ALWAYS consider a plan ‘b’. You need have all your suppliers contact numbers with you at every event you attend, this means that if anything goes even slightly off plan you can gather the flock accordingly.

However neither of the above would be my best piece of advice…. So after my 17 years of experience running events, this is the number one piece of wisdom. Always take 3 pairs of shoes with you to an event. They can all be high heels all of equal height you don’t need to succumb to flats. Just three different pairs. Your feet will ‘sit’ differently in each pair and the pressure points will be different. Nothing is more debilitating than sore feet and that soreness will show on your face! This agitation may make your guests wonder if anything is wrong with the event itself- which is not a look that you want to portray! When you are literally ‘running’ an event for it’s entirety your poor feet can only take so much. As a matter of curiosity to just how many miles you do cover? I recently wore a pedometer (calibrated to my stride length) to an evening event. The event was for 450 guests spread over two floors with a total of 14hours attendance, including  rig and de rig and the total came to 27miles!!

I can honestly say I walked a marathon In heels- well in 3 pairs of heels!! So my advice stands, 3 pairs of shoes will see you through an inordinately long day when you are on your feet and ‘running’ an event.

Photos by Sam Taylor for a recent conference for Homeserve with the title “Walking A Mile In Your Customers Shoes”.