Event Planning : St. Louis Event Must Haves

Date: December 6, 2018 By Stacie Wiegman Categories: Corporate Tags: event check list, event planning st louis, st louis party planning, st louis venues No comments

Everyone loves a great party or celebration! If you’re finding yourself in charge of planning an event in St. Louis, it can become overwhelming to think of all of the possibilities and options you have. From small group gatherings to large, corporate events or even weddings, you’ll need to start with some basic event planning first. Here, our passionate St. Louis hospitality team has put together your go-to guide to begin planning your next event to be hosted right here in St. Louis.

Event Planning in St. Louis : Our List of Must Haves

The Perfect Location

St. Louis is home to some seriously beautiful event venues and spaces. Begin scouting for locations by determining the size and style of your event. Write down a general estimate of how many people will be attending your event, then write down a few key characteristics your space must have. For example, will you need a large dance floor? Or, are you looking for an expansive patio to take advantage of beautiful weather? With this key information, you’ll be able to search for and select a venue that will work best for your party! Some of our favorites include The Butterfly House, Mount Pleasant Estates Winery in Augusta, and Southtown Pub for delicious BBQ in a casual and fun setting (plus, they run free shuttles to Cardinals games!).

Food & Drink Essentials

Everyone loves to eat… and drink! Oftentimes, great food and beverages can “make or break” a get-together. Whether you go all-out for a seated meal, opt for buffet style, or provide everything on your own, be sure to put enough planning into what you will serve, how it will be prepared and presented, and how to make it fit your budget. Even if your event is informal, it’s considerate to bring a cooler of beverages (especially water) or light snacks along. Even if your event doesn’t include food or water, remind guests to bring along a reusable water bottle or their own bagged lunch. No one wants a hangry crowd!

Theme & Party Details

The most stylish celebrations start with a theme. Even if it’s subtle, it will help to commit to an over-arching theme to help you decide on decorations, music, food, beverages and invitations. You can save on costs by reusing a theme you may already have decorations for, or altering it for a new twist! Not sending formal invitations? Use fun emojis or memes to help get your chosen theme across to guests!

Event Logistics & Safety

If you’re new to event planning, it can be easy to forget the not-so-fun part of party planning: Determining where folks will park, how they will find your party, and how they will get home safely. With your attendee count and a plan layout in hand (Google Maps Satellite view works great!), check to make sure there is plenty of parking available for guests. If parking is located away from your event space, consider using directional signs to help guests find their way. If your party does include happy hour, cocktails, or is the cause for extra celebration (i.e., drinks will be flowing) it’s important to take guest safety into consideration.

That’s one reason why we are proud to offer a solution to worrying about guests’ safety in driving home. With SecureRide, our dedicated team of drivers help you offer your event guests a safe ride home, all at a reasonable cost to you. Plus, we have three pricing options available, making SecureRide customizable to fit your budget. Visit our dedicated webpage here to learn more and fill out a quick form to get more information on SecureRide for your event!

Party Planning Wrap-Up

It usually takes a village to pull off a successful event. Be sure to thank everyone who helped make your party perfect. We also recommend asking for feedback from a few attendees so you can be sure to make future events better than the last!

Corporate Event Planning Checklist

Date: January 4, 2019 By Stacie Wiegman Categories: Corporate Tags: corporate event planning, corporate event transportation, corporate events, corporate events st louis No comments

Planning a corporate event can be daunting, no matter the group size. Event planners have to consider a variety of factors, including appropriate venues, security, food, drinks and transportation. St. Louis County Cab & Yellow Taxi is no stranger to events. Throughout the year, we work hand-in-hand with some of the biggest corporations in St. Louis to make sure big and small corporate functions are pulled off seamlessly.

Here, we’re putting together our expert insights into what can make a corporate event successful, including a few things to avoid!

Our Corporate Event Planning Checklist

Venue

One of the major considerations to start with and consider is the venue. Can you host the corporate function on-site, or do you need an event space? Is the event casual or more refined? Corporate functions can vary from big, family-friendly BBQ’s to smaller, intimate VIP events. Always be sure to consider your event size and audience in order to select the venue that will be most suitable for your corporate event. However, just because you are putting on an event for the C-Suite doesn’t mean it has to be ritzy or stuffy! Oftentimes people appreciate a new or unique venue or style of event, so consider ditching the typical boxed-luncheon or usual happy hour spot for something else.

Guest Speaker

Will your event have a guest speaker? If so, be aware of any special equipment that may be needed, such as a microphone or slide projector. It’s a good idea to make sure any speakers are prepared for the event. Make sure they know how much time they are being allotted. If you are having a guest speaker, consider coordinating someone else to make their introduction. It doesn’t have to be a long-winded speech, but it’s common courtesy to provide a warm, welcoming introduction to any guest speakers at a corporate event.

Security

If you’re organize a large-scale event, you’ll need to consider hiring security. Some important things to consider:

Will there be security personnel at the main entrances of the event?
Are parking lots and areas around the event going to be patrolled?
Is there a guest check-in process?

Not all events require hired security. When you do need assistance with event security, make sure you hire a reputable company.

Transportation

Take some time to consider how guests will get to and from your event safely. You may consider offering a shuttle bus service to take guests back and forth between lodging and the venue. If your event offers an open bar or party atmosphere, you may want to consider our popular SecureRide Program. SecureRide gives you flexible options to provide your guests with safe, complimentary transportation after any event. For VIP attendees, you may want to provide limo or executive coach transportation to or from your event. At a minimum, make sure there is ample nearby parking for all guests! If parking is off-site, be sure to communicate that information along with directions to attendees.

Pre-Event and Post-Event Communication

When you’re taking the time to organize an event, you want to make sure guests have all of the important details. Give invitees plenty of time ahead of the event to RSVP, make any preparations (especially if they are giving a speech or presenting!), and know all important details. Then, once your event is completed, be sure to consider all feedback – both good and bad! – to help improve all future events!

Looking for more event planning inspiration? Check out another blog post on planning a successful event in St. Louis! We share some of our favorite venues, party themes, and more.

Save on Courier Delivery in St. Louis

Date: March 7, 2019 By Stacie Wiegman Categories: Corporate Tags: corporate delivery, courier delivery, st. louis taxi No comments

For any business, courier delivery costs can start to add up quickly.

When your company needs to get packages, important documents and affordable deliveries across St. Louis by a certain time, you oftentimes end up paying too much for expedited, rush, priority or express deliveries to make sure your items arrive on time

Our role as an alternative to local courier services in Saint Louis has long been a “little-known secret” to our long-time customers. For over 80 years, instead of using a traditional courier service, companies here will instead book St. Louis Yellow Cab & Yellow Taxi services, using their corporate account as a way to deliver letters, packages and boxes (both medium and small deliveries) across town at an affordable rate…much cheaper than traditional express courier services.

Businesses in STL also like the added convenience of booking and managing both taxi rides and courier delivery from one easy-to-manage dashboard. Local professional clients enjoy the benefits of detailed monthly invoices and online billing coupled with our simple reservation process.

Working around the clock? Our dedicated team does too. We’re available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to make sure passengers and packages make it to their final destination, no matter how early, or late, the deadline is. County Cab will be there with dedicated local support, when your company needs it the most.

So, the next time you need a courier in St. Louis, get a comparative quote from County Cab. You’ll be surprised to learn how much you can save by switching to the reliable courier delivery we offer. You can also book business travel rides for clients, employees and guests for business, networking and company-sponsored occasions.

Corporate