Class reunions are a great way for you to reconnect with your past classmates, celebrate accomplishments, and reflect on a pivotal period of your life. You can have a good time and laugh just like you did when you were in school. If you are the person who is leading the charge in planning the reunion, there is a lot of organization and time that goes into the entire operation.
In this article, we examine everything you need to know about the planning process. You will need to budget 12–18 months if you want to orchestrate a perfect reunion. We will walk you through the different stages and what you need to do at each juncture of party planning. It will take patience, determination, and communication to delegate your committee members and create a fun experience.
12–18 Months Ahead
When you first begin to plan the reunion 12–18 months out, this is the time where you come up with the ideas and lay the groundwork. You will create your trusted team of committee members, determine what your goals are, and gather interest for the party. You need to create a strong base and framework for the celebration while keeping a flexible mindset as the planning endures.
Gain Interest and Finalize the Date
The first thing you should do in the planning process is gauging the amount of interest for the class reunion. You may have the idea in your head, but you need to figure who is echoing your passion. Find great reasons to organize, such as time milestones that may fall on a 10th year since graduation. Started asking around your social circles and gaining feedback on what people want out of this.
You can put out a poll on Facebook or other social media or send out many texts to your close friends. You need to figure the actual need or desire for the party before invest time in planning an elaborate celebration.
Form a Committee
When you form your committee, you can always start with your close relationships, but do not be afraid to branch out to people who you may not know as well. The best types of party planning people come from backgrounds like entertainment, hospital, food, or service industries. These professionals are used to interacting with people and organizing events for their own companies.
Depending on the size of your party and your goals, you should split the members into subcommittees that focus on a specific function of the party planning process. By splitting up responsibilities like this, you can communicate more efficiently, and the meetings will run more smoothly because each person knows his or her role.
The main functions include a promotion, financial management, and running the main event itself. The promotion team should be responsible for classmate searches, website creation and maintenance, mailings and communications, ticket sales, photo and biographical information gathering, and any other marketing functions. But everyone should ultimately be contributing to finding classmates.
You should also have a committee that oversees the budget. This role could be just one person, the treasurer, who will maintain the ledger, organize the invoices, payments, and cash flows. The treasurer will also be one of the few people who will manage the bank account that will get created for the reunion.
Lastly, the event team will oversee the execution of the event itself. This subcommittee will spearhead the decisions involving the venue decorations, entertainment, food menu, giveaways and door prizes, festivities and awards, displays, centerpieces, slideshow, photographer or videographer, and any on-site logistics. The people who have experience in the event planning industry will thrive in this situation.
Visit the School
Another essential step in the overall planning process is visiting the school itself to gain more information. You should first inform them that you will be throwing a class reunion celebration and might need their help. It is smart for you to confirm if anyone else contacted the school with the same motivation and idea. You could team up with whoever did and avoid throwing competing reunions.
The school can be an excellent resource for you as well in the planning process. The office can provide you with a class list and yearbook that will serve as an excellent reference in your classmate’s search, as well as when you send out invitations. You can also ask to utilize the mascot and a school banner for your event. The administration office would also be happy to share the link to your website that you will create.
When you visit the school at first, this is also an excellent opportunity for you to bring your phone or camera and snap pictures of the updated campus. These pictures will be a great marketing addition to your website and any future communications that you send out.
Develop a Budget
The budget is the key to the entire party planning equation. The financial goals in your budget will define what your flexibility will be with the resources for the party. This preliminary budget should be somewhat outlined before your first committee meeting so that you can give each subcommittee an accurate direction.
As you gain feedback from other people, you should estimate the number of paying guests that you foresee will be coming. This information will give you a base for the revenue target. It is also beneficial for you to define a clear goal for what you want your sponsor to be. Once you know these two figures, create a temporary price that you will sell tickets for, and then do the math.
Next, go ahead and itemize all your expenses for the event, including promotions, vendors, decorations, gifts, rent for space, and other expenditures. Once you calculate this total, you can adjust and finalize your ticket price to better align with what you will need to profit or breakeven. Your goal should be to breakeven, but if you have a surplus, you can reinvest that into promotions or donate to a charity.
The budget should serve as a trustworthy guide as you negotiate with vendors, caterers, and purchase supplies for the event. When you promote, think of cost-efficient methods, like social media and email marketing. Lean on the advice of your committee to make smart financial decisions throughout the planning process.
Start a Website and/or Facebook Page
A website will provide the attendees with a centralized location to find relevant information about the reunion. When you start creating the website, more content is better. People love nostalgia and fun memories, so be sure to include many photos on the website from high school events such as sports games, dances, graduation, and typical days at school.
When you create a site-specific for the reunion, it shows that you are serious, and it is a fantastic way to arouse interest and buzz. When people visit the site, you want them to feel intrigued and interest in coming right away. The website is also an efficient avenue for you to sell tickets throughout the planning process. You can also post updates here as things change closer to the big event.
There are many pages that you can add to the site, but make sure to have “call-to-action” areas where people can submit information like their email or simply register for the event. Another excellent way for you to find classmates to invite is to develop a “missing classmates” page where people can check and reach out to the people that are listed if they know them.
Some other vital webpages that you could include:
- Questionnaire – this is another beneficial strategy for gaining feedback ahead of the event
- Memorials page – an area that is dedicated to classmates that have passed away
- Sponsorship page – as you gather more sponsors, that can purchase ad space on your site
- Donations page – this can be another call to action that entices people to donate
- Quiz page – there is no better way to educate people than re-test them on their knowledge of the school and other classmates
- What’s New page – you can post information here about significant events that have happened in classmate’s lives, such as births, marriages, and other accomplishments
- FAQ – people may have questions about the event, so you can work with the committee to compile a list of inquiries that you can list on the site
- Photo albums – apart from the collage of pictures on the homepage, you can have an archive of photos that are specific to certain topics or events
In addition to the main website, you can create a Facebook page that gauges more interest and RSVPs. A Facebook group will also serve as a message board for people to interact and excite each other up for the main event.
Prepare Business Cards
The creation of a website shows that you are serious about this reunion, but business cards will take it to another level. Business cards are relatively inexpensive to develop, and you can use these as a valuable marketing tool throughout the process. You can have the manufacturer put information on the card, such as the school name, reunion year, mascot, web address, phone number, email, and your name.
When you see classmates or other key people in person, you can hand them this card, which will serve a constant reminder to them to pay it forward to the next person. As you gather more vendors for the event, you can also give them this card to show them that you are intentional about throwing an excellent party. Make sure you pass these out to your committee members as well at the first meeting.
Open a Bank Account
You must remain organized throughout the whole planning process, and a bank account will enable you to do that for your finances. You should have a ledger that details all the outgoing and incoming cash flows with your vendors, sponsors, ticket sales, and other supplies. When you accept or write a check, you need to make a copy so that you have a record of everything.
When you create the bank account, you should make a joint authorization for 2–3 committee members, preferably for you as the chair and for the treasurer subcommittee. A bank account will also allow you to cross-reference who has RSVP’d and paid for their ticket. This event is a big one that will require a lot of cash, so an account with the bank will keep you level-headed and in control of everything.
Send out Save the Date Cards and Emails
At least a year before the event starts, you should be sending out “save the date” cards to the people you have gained contact information from. You should check in with your promotions team weekly to see how they are doing with building up a directory.
You can either send cards or emails, depending on the available information you do have. But, if you want to keep it official, the official card in the mail is the best route for you to go. As you gain confirmation from people, make sure to have organized lists of people who have responded.
Collect Online Classmate Profiles and Pictures
This step in the process is one that should get done up until the official start date, but you can never start too early. Classmate profiles and pictures will be uploaded to the website and used for the slideshow for the event. People will love to provide this information because they love talking about themselves. You can have a form on the website for attendees to fill out directly.
8–12 Months in Advance
In the 8–12-month timeframe, you will focus on establishing relationships with vendors, sponsors, and nurturing your leads for classmates who will attend the big event. This stage will most likely be your second round of outreach marketing, whether that is through email or phone call. You want to instill excitement and hype around the event and lock people in for the guest list.
Book the Venue
When you book the venue, make sure to consider the number of guests that will be coming. You want to ensure that people have room to walk around and spend time in different areas of the building. If you’re going to make it truly authentic, you could have it in the school gym, the football field, or in one of the many reception halls that the university will reserve for you.
Your first round of marketing to potential guests will be the “save the date,” but the second round of communication will emphasize the venue. If you are hosting the event during the summer, an outdoor reunion would be an excellent strategy.
Book the Caterer
Along with the venue, you need to have everything aligned when it comes to food. When you gather your first round of RSVPs, make sure to communicate this to the caterer and provide an updated meal count monthly. When you send out invitations, you can also gain feedback on what type of food you want each guest to have. You can split it up into chicken, fish, as well as a vegetarian option.
Line Up Musical Entertainment
There are many ways for you to approach the music aspect of the reunion. But a unique strategy is to gather people were in the marching band, or played an instrument in college, and have them perform at the gathering. Whoever you decide to have as performers for the party, you should make sure that nostalgic songs like the fight song and other party songs get played for the guests.
Finalize Ticket Pricing
As you negotiate with vendors and start to purchase more items for the event, you will have a better idea of what to lock the ticket price in. If the cost of everything is less than you thought, you can offer a discount for tickets. If it is more than you thought, you will need to build this into the ticket price. Make sure to confirm and be confident in the price before you send out marketing communications.
Send Out More Hype Emails and Promotions on Facebook Page
As the date approaches and you are trying to arouse excitement for the event, make sure to highlight all the unique aspects of the reunion. Talk about the giveaways, door prizes, food, and bonding that all the guests will enjoy. You want to communicate that you have many different activities and forms of entertainment so that people will be interested and always looking forward to the party.
Start Fundraising
A lot of businesses will support a class reunion because it is an excellent opportunity for them to advertise their business. You can get creative with how you will raise funds, but a great place to start is to sell advertising space. These forms of marketing can get placed on the website, event program, or memory booklet. You can also offer to announce the business verbally at the live event.
Fundraising is where the extra hard work comes in to play. You should have a section of the committee that is dedicated to making consistent phone calls to people to politely ask for donations. Give people a reason contributes to a beautiful night for everyone involved. Some other crafty ways of gaining funds are to host an online auction, organize a raffle, or sell drink tickets that event for the guests and have a bar.
Hire a Photographer and/or Videographer
You should begin taking quotes for a photographer during this timeframe because you need to have a game plan for capturing the moments of the event. The smart option is to hire a separate photographer and videographer so that each of them can focus on recording memorable moments of the night. You should ensure that you have a plan to distribute the photos to guests at a later in point in time.
Plan Festivities, Awards, Games, and Speakers
When your committee meets, you should task the event subcommittee by outlining a set of activities that will keep guests entertained throughout the reunion. Some fun aspects to include are a wine cellar, slideshow with pictures and biographies, and an official guest book that people can sign. This booklet would serve as the yearbook specific for the reunion.
When you outline the award, you should ensure that they are fun, but appropriate, and do not offend anyone when you present them. A few ideas for awards include:
- Couple that was most recently married
- A couple who has been married the longest
- Most number of grandchildren or children
- The newest set of parents or grandparents
- Most popular teacher
- Most popular coach
- An honorary award for the most substantial distance traveled to the reunion
Along with the slideshow, you should also have a video that brings in nostalgic highlights of when everyone was in school. When you select the speakers, you can start by asking the administration and getting the president, provost, or other leadership figures that are heavily tied to the university.
Plan Décor, Centerpieces, Displays, and Registration Kits
As you plan the décor and other visual displays for the party, focus on themed items that pertain to the school and other memories that people created during their time there. A couple of decoration ideas include balloons, streamers, bouquets, school banner, photo collages, and certain items from thrift shops.
For your displays, you should ask the office at the school to provide a class photo that you can decorate and blow up. Then, at the event, you can get a picture, print it off on an accessible printer, then make a side-by-side comparison on the big screen. Other ideas include a tribute to deceased classmates with a memorial, a map that pinpoints where everyone lives, and a collection of comments from absentees.
Order Mementos and Giveaway Prizes
You should ensure that the people at the party will have memorable items to take home. There can be given in the form of souvenirs, giveaway prizes, and welcome registration kits. A few ideas for these collectibles include:
- Logoed pens
- Logoed key chains
- Photobooks
- Notepads, pens, and pencils
- Themed candy
- Themed coffee mugs
- M&Ms that are the school colors
- Class picture
- A CD version of the slideshow that was shown on the big screen
The Final Steps
As you get to the final months and weeks leading up to the event, you want to make sure you finish strong on your hard work and planning. This juncture is where everything comes together, and you can tie up loose ends. Here, you should focus on confirming everything with the vendors, caterers, and other committee members to make sure everything will run great on the big day.
Assemble the Slide Show and Video
Once you have all the classmate pictures and biographies submitted, you will need to put everything on to a PowerPoint to get shared at the event. When you type everything out, you should ensure that the font is clear and legible. When you run the video, do it during a time of the reunion in which everyone will be paying attention, such as the beginning.
Get the Registration Desk Ready
As the final date approaches, print out the attendance lists, signage, and other marketing materials for the front desk. Run through the check-in processes with the events team and the volunteers who will be operating the registration table. Prepare everyone with the right amount of registration packets, which include a program, memory book, and other mementos that you ordered.
Dedicate Someone to Float with the Cash Box
As the event date approaches, your committee should dedicate someone to roaming around the party with a cash box for donations. Not everyone may have had the chance to give money online through the website or ahead of time, so this could be a great strategy, especially when everyone is in a good mood and enjoying the party.
Decorate the Room
When you decorate the venue, you should refer to a diagram that you prepared ahead of time. It will show where all the tables will be set up, booths, displays, and other decorations will go. You should mark where the registration table is and where the entertainment will get set up. You should provide this diagram to the vendors and caterers who will also be in attendance for the event.
This last step should get done the day before, or the day of, depending on what time everything starts. This part is when the events subcommittee will kick it into high gear, but everyone should be ready to help. As you set up, test the audio and visual components of the reunion, such as the slide show and speakers for music. You want to ensure that everything is in line and ready to go.
Conclusion: Always Keep the Guests in Mind
As you can see, there are a lot of components that go into planning a reunion party. As the planner, you are in a unique position to make the event something that no one wants to miss. It all starts with feeding off your passion for reconnecting your classmates and establishing trustworthy relationships with the committee members, volunteers, vendors, and sponsors.
The most important thing is to make sure that everyone has fun and feels a real sense of connection and belonging with the group. The extra decoration and prizes are the cherry on top, but you want to create an environment that promotes memorable conversations and laughter. In the end, the reunion party is an opportunity to celebrate their time in school and how it has improved their lives and relationships.