As an events coordinator, my primary goal is to ensure that organizing your event is smooth, efficient, and stress-free. I understand that managing the details can be overwhelming, which is why I'm here to take that load off your shoulders. From start to finish, I will guide you through the entire process, keeping everything straightforward and easy to manage. My commitment is to make logistics effortless by being clear about what I need from you at each stage and by mapping out the way forward so you can relax and focus on enjoying the event.

This page outlines the simple steps we'll take together, starting from our initial contact to organizing all the essential details, and finally to wrapping up with post-event feedback. My process is designed to be transparent and collaborative, ensuring you're always informed without feeling overwhelmed.

At every step, I’ll work closely with you to understand your vision and expectations, ensuring a seamless experience. By the end of the process, you’ll be able to look back on a well-executed event where you could enjoy the moment while I handled the logistics.

If you’ve never organised entertainment for an event before, the thought of it might be quite daunting and unclear. So to help you, over the next few videos I’ll run through the process going from requesting a quote, booking us, the planning before the event, right through to what to expect on the day. This will hopefully make things much clearer and give you a guide of what to expect from us.

QUOTE

So the first step is to request a quote from us. But how do you do it and what goes into a quote? Let’s say you’ve been on the website and might even have had a discussion with myself about your event where I might have been able to give you a rough idea of costs. However to get a written quote with a full break down, you just need to click on the Get Quote button and complete the form. This provides us with all the necessary details to evaluate your needs and quote accurately.

Once sent, you’ll get a notification email letting you know that we’ve received your request. As soon as I get it, I’ll check our band calendar to ensure the date is clear and also with the core team for their availability. Sometimes we might get a situation where a member is unavailable, I which case I’ll reach out to our extended team to cover which sometimes take a bit more time. However I’ll aim to personally come back to you with a pdf quote within 24hrs.

When you receive the quote you’ll see a copy of your event details along with detailed costings broken down. Firstly the basic performance cost. This covers the normal 2 hours on stage, 4hrs setup/pack down, the music in between sets and the waiting time at the event. So usually say 6pm-12midnight for the 6 members.

Where we’re travelling over an hour to the venue (taken from a central point) we’ll add travel costs. This is charged as usual HMRC mileage rates however where possible we’ll look to share transport to minimise this cost. For larger venues where we need to bring in a larger sound system with sound engineering, this cost will need to be added.

Also in certain circumstances where the event logistics require the band to arrive earlier to setup or to leave later an addition hourly cost will be added to cover the extra time. You may have requested addition entertain, such as a jazz or acoustic set, which will be listed separately.

Lastly we’ll also enclose a sheet with the basic requirements we’ll require such as stage sizing, room to change and refreshments. Overall the quote should give you complete clarity on the costs vs your event needs

MAKING A BOOKING

Once you’ve had a chance to review the quote and want to go ahead and book the band you just need to email me to let me know. I’ll provisionally hold the date in the band calendar and create a contract. Again this would be standard practice for any professional band and gives both yourself and us the peace of mind in case of any issues. Within the contract we set out the overall logistics requirement for the event and terms and conditions. All of this I’ll email over to you as a pdf.

Once you receive this, you just need to sign the contract and return a scanned copy. To secure the date we ask for a 10% deposit to be paid into our account via BACS. This is held separately until the event has taken place.

Often, especially during the busy summer and Christmas periods, we’ll get multiple requests for the same date. We try to manage this on a first come first serve basis. So if another party approaches us we’ll contact you to inform you and agree timelines for returning the contract so the date can be secured.

As soon as we have the contract and received the payment we’ll lock down the date and send you a PDF receipt for your deposit.

BEFORE THE EVENT

As soon as the contract is in place, we can agree timings for when you’d like to look at the logistics and the finer detail for your event. Remember, our focus is for you to get the best out of your event, so I’m always very keen to offer you advice and support where you need it. This doesn’t have to just be the entertainment. Having had the opportunity to work with many excellent suppliers in the past, I’m more than happy to pass on recommendations and contacts where needed.

Often for events that are planned a year in advance we might look to do this planning closer to the event but of course is very much up to you.

As part of the logistics, I’ll walk you through the whole event, from start to finish, ensuring we have the detailed running order set. I’ll also be keen to identify your venue events coordinator for the day who I’ll look to make contact with, as well as any other supplier such as addition entertainment that we’ll need to work with. Where required, I’ll proactively make contact to introduce myself and ensure we have a plan before the day. Again I’ll capture this itinerary and share with you and the venue coordinator as a pdf for us all to work from.

A couple of days before the event well make final contact with you to confirm everything is ok. Then it just a case of looking forward to the event.

ON THE DAY

With all of the organisation already done, it will just be a case of putting the plan into action and working off the logistics sheet as agreed. However, even the best planned event can change on the day. Therefore we will always be flexible to the situation. I’ll be your point of contact so just let me know of any changes you want to make and I’ll inform the team.

On arrival I’ll make contact with the venue organiser, introduce the team and run through the itinerary including setup. This means we can get on without having to disturb you. With all of the unloading of gear, the team will typically dress down in black logoed polo shirts.

Our set up usually takes about 1.5hrs in total. In some situations guests may be present in the room when we are unloading and setting up. We’re conscious that we don’t want to effect proceedings, therefore we’ll aim for minimal noise and disruption when we bring the gear in and set up. To ensure we have a good sound balance and to check for any issues we have to do a short sound check that usually takes about 10-15mins. At this stage we’ll be able to put on any background music as required.

We are keen to let you get on with enjoying your event. Therefore we try not to disturb you, however whenever you are free come and say hi. As I’ve mentioned before, for us its not just about just turning up and playing the music. We want to be part of your party. Therefore we’re always keen to chat and interact with your guests. We’ve got a great team who are really friendly and approachable so please come and have a chat. You’ll often find me drumming up support for the dance floor before it starts!

Since it’s often over a fair few hours, we’d usually request food and refreshments and a place to change once we’re setup. Depending on the itinerary we’d run any pre performance entertainment before going into the sets as agreed.

After the performance, and to help with pack up, where practical we may move some of the backline equipment out. However we’ll obviously keep the music playing as needed through the main PA to keep your party going!

Your feedback is always really important to us so I’ll contact you a few days after your event to get you’re your thoughts. So hopefully this has been useful to give you the clarity on what to expect working Amanda's Music Events!