What fraternity wouldn’t want to have their fraternity formal in Ozarks, Missouri? What a beautiful place to have any event, especially a formal! The mountains, trees, rivers, and springs are gorgeous.
But do you have any idea on how to get started?
There are a lot of aspects that go into planning any event. Most students are far too busy to organize a great formal: They have classes, extracurricular activities, a social life, and sometimes, they have an extra job, too.
Organizing an amazing weekend for you and your brothers takes time and dedication. Without a doubt, you’ll need at least a semester to plan everything, which can be hard to do with all the other things you have going on.
In order to get an idea of what you’ll need to do, read our tips below on how to plan an awesome fraternity formal in Ozarks, Missouri.
1. Hotels: Staying in the woods.
The first thing you’ll need to get squared away: Where are you all going to sleep?
Before you plan anything, get your fraternity to decide on a budget. This is the one of the most crucial steps you can make because it determines what you all are going to do and how much you’re going to spend on everything.
So, when you’re looking into hotels, bear your budget in mind, particularly if you’re wanting to save on sleeping arrangements and maybe splurge on entertainment.
When it comes to staying in the Ozarks, most people think of cabins, sleeping under the stars, and things like that. However, if you have a larger group (say 200+ people), this can get extremely challenging because it’s difficult to spread that many people throughout individual cabins.
With a large group of people, it’s better to look at hotels that can actually fit or take your whole group rather than trying to split everyone up.
Some other stuff to think about:
How are you going to research these hotels? Call each one? Google and hope you find a good one? Are you comfortable filling out the hotels’ Request for Proposal forms (RFPs)?
Do you know what to look for when it comes to the hotels’ contracts? What will they expect out of you and your fraternity?
BigDaddy Formals loves these Ozarks hotels: Hilton Branson Convention Center, Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, and Marriott’s Willow Ridge Lodge.
2. Venues: Fun under the stars.
Of course, you’re going to need to plan a night of dancing, entertainment, and just general fun! The next important part of your planning is finding the perfect venue.
There are a few important things to consider when choosing a venue for your fraternity.
The first thing you’ll want to look at is how much the venue is going to cost. Does it fit within your budget? Does your group want to spend more on the venue or not? Is the venue overcharging you, or are they giving you a decent rate?
The next thing to consider is whether or not the venue can fit your whole group. If you’re set on a certain venue, but you’ve realized it can’t hold everyone, then you’ll need to find something else, or you may have to ask if you can book another room at the venue.
What’s the venue’s availability like? Are they open on the dates of your formal? This is the Ozarks after all, so many people come here for vacation, weddings, and other events.
These Ozarks venues are our top choices: Ozarks Event Center, The Venue on Brick, and The Exchange.
3. Transportation: Getting to the woods.
The last crucial part of planning your formal is figuring out transportation, and there are a few options that you can do.
If your fraternity lives nearby, then you have the option of road tripping or carpooling to the Ozarks. You’ll just need to know what your schedule looks like and whether or not you’ll want to make a two day trip or get it all done in one day.
The other thing to decide if you’re carpooling is if you all want to try to arrive at the same time, or will you need to adhere to everyone’s schedules and have everyone arrive when they can?
With larger groups, usually the best thing to do is look into transportation companies where you can rent out charter buses to get you to your destination.
If you do need to look into a transportation company, make sure they are dependable and will get your group there safely.
Where will they be able to park when they’re unloading everyone at the hotel? How much do they charge?
Our top pick for transportation is The Limo Store.
4. Last Logistics: Have you got everything?
Now that you’re aware of the big things you’ll need to get your formal planning started, let’s get down to those smaller details!
We’ve already covered the budget; that should be the first thing you consider, but the next thing to keep in mind is time. Have you allowed yourself enough time to book everything? To make sure you’re getting the best rates? Or have you waited until the last minute?
Have you decided who’s going to handle all the details? Is it going to be one person or several? Will they be too busy trying to make sure the formal is going to plan so that they miss out on all the fun?
Don’t forget about your payments! These are extremely important, so you’ll need to make sure your brothers are giving you money so that you can make payments on time. If you’re late, you could lose your booked hotel or venue.
What often happens at the beginning of the school year is that everyone is super jazzed to get the formal planning going. People are throwing out ideas and have opinions on what you all should do (sometimes too many ideas, which is another hurdle to watch out for).
But then life happens. The energy for formal planning dies down until it’s too late, and you’re all left scrambling to throw something together quickly, which is overwhelming, and let’s be honest, often ends up creating a less-than-spectacular formal.
BigDaddy Formals has been in the event planning industry for a while, and helping fraternities and sororities plan their formals is exactly what we do. We know just what to look for, we have amazing relationships with hospitality companies all over the country, including the Ozarks, and we create fun for everyone involved.
Utilizing our services can help your fraternity not only have a phenomenal formal, but also relieve the stress of having to plan everything by yourselves.
So, to get help organizing your fraternity formal in Ozarks, Missouri, set up a time to talk to one of our representatives here.
Check out what we’ll do for you in this video!
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