The Top 5 Event Planning Misconceptions
Nobody knows your guests better than you. Whether they’re high-energy partiers, laid-back foodies, big drinkers, sentimental types, or somewhere in between—you understand their vibe, their preferences, and what lights them up. That insight is incredibly valuable when planning an event. But here’s the thing: no matter how unique your guests may be, they’re still human—and that means they’re influenced by the same universal dynamics that unfold at every event.
Over the years, I’ve seen a pattern with certain clients: a kind of well-meaning hubris takes hold. They assume that, because they know their crowd, they can reinvent the wheel with a totally new, completely logical plan that breaks from event norms. While personalization is great—and small adjustments can make an event feel truly special—completely abandoning tried-and-true principles rarely pays off.
To help steer you toward the sweet spot between customization and strategy, I’ve outlined five common event planning misconceptions that often backfire. These are well-intentioned ideas that sound good in theory but usually fall short in practice. Let’s explore what doesn’t work—and what you can do instead to ensure your event is both personal and successful.
Good luck out there!
Michael SiagelAll Photos In This Article By Steph Stevens Photography & Event Planning By Erica Paige Events
Misconception #1: “Let’s Skip or Shorten the Cocktail Hour—Our Guests Just Want to Party!”
We hear this one a lot: “Our guests are ready to dance. Let’s rush through cocktail hour—or skip it entirely!” This mindset is especially common for afternoon events, where a cocktail hour might feel unnecessary or less exciting.
But here’s the truth: cocktail hour isn’t just about cocktails. It’s about acclimation.
Whether your event is in the morning, afternoon, or evening, your guests are still human beings walking into a social setting. They need time to get comfortable in the space, reconnect with familiar faces, and ease into the experience. This warm-up period helps set the stage for everything that follows—especially if you're hoping for a high-energy dance floor or a deeply connected celebration.
When you skip this crucial time block and try to jump straight into the action, you often end up with a room full of people who feel stiff, disconnected, and hard to engage. Transitions become clunky, and the flow of the event suffers.
Even if you’re not serving alcohol, don’t skip the cocktail hour. Treat it as one of the most important foundational moments of your event. It’s not a delay—it’s an essential step in getting your guests relaxed, receptive, and ready to celebrate.
Misconception #2: “Let’s Get the Meal Out of the Way—Dinner, Dessert, Then Dance!”
Another common pitfall is planning your entire meal flow back-to-back: cocktail hour into dinner, then dessert, and finally the dancing. While this might seem like an efficient structure, the problem is that it delays the fun. Guests aren’t engaged in an active, entertaining way until far too late in the night.
Our best events intentionally break up the evening with shorter dance sets in between courses. Having your guests get up and dance two, three, even four times throughout the event may sound chaotic—but it’s actually the opposite. It creates a rhythm. It builds momentum. It gives guests mini-highs throughout the evening.
Looking back, your guests will feel like they were taken on a journey—with layers of joy, celebration, and movement—rather than just one long seated dinner and one long dance set. Dance sets should typically last 30 to 45 minutes max. When the entire meal is front-loaded, you end up with too much time to fill at the end of the night—and even the liveliest crowd will start to fade. Two hours of open dancing might sound great, but more often than not, you’re left with one enthusiastic (and maybe tipsy) aunt dancing solo while everyone else heads home.
There’s often a tension here between what’s best for the guest experience and what’s easiest for the caterer. Some venues or caterers prefer to serve all the food at once for the sake of kitchen efficiency. While that's understandable, it's worth having the conversation and advocating for a more segmented flow.
Be intentional about breaking up your evening with bursts of energy. Talk with your caterer early and express how important it is to pace the meal in a way that supports the party—not just the plate. The result is a dynamic event with more high points, better transitions, and a crowd that stays engaged all night long.
Misconception #3: “If We Have the Room, We Should Party As Long As Possible!”
Piggybacking off the last point, another common mistake is assuming that longer = better. Some clients feel the need to stretch the party to five, six, even seven hours simply because the venue allows for it or because the space has been paid for. On the surface, it sounds like a good deal—more time means more fun, right?
Not exactly.
Just like cramming all your meal service into the first half of the night leaves too much dead time at the end, overextending the event timeline can leave your guests drained, bored, or just plain done. Your guests are human. They need energy, food, stimulation, and comfort to stay engaged. A ballroom, as lovely as it may be, is a temporary space—not a full-service, multi-hour escape room. It’s more of a holding tank than a fully immersive environment built for long-term hanging out.
Trying to stretch the party just because the room is available is rarely worth it. The final hour or two of an overlong event can often feel like a slow fade, with guests trickling out, energy dwindling, and the vibe slowly deflating.
Instead of focusing on how long you can go, focus on how strong your timeline feels. A shorter, tighter event that ends on a high note is almost always more memorable and enjoyable than one that drags on past its natural peak. Treat your venue rental as a sunk cost, and build the night around what’s best for your guests—not the clock.
Misconception #4: “We Can Save Money By Doing Some of It Ourselves”
It’s tempting. You see a task—like setting up a slideshow, managing a playlist, or handling some light decor—and think, “We’ve got this. We’ll just DIY it and save the fee.” We totally get the instinct, and yes, we’re biased as event professionals. But we say this with care and experience: your event day is the absolute worst time to take on more work.
This is the time to spend—not just money, but your time, energy, and attention. Your bandwidth should be fully dedicated to being present with your friends, family, and loved ones—not worrying about if the HDMI cord works or whether your montage file is rendering correctly.
One of the most common DIY traps is the video montage. Families often decide to create it themselves or handle the projection onsite. If you're a seasoned video editor or tech wizard, that might be fine. But more often than not, this “small” task turns into a stress spiral—eating up hours in the weeks leading up to the event, causing tension and confusion, and pulling you out of the moment during the event itself.
Whether it’s begging your aunt to finish editing, frantically collecting photos, or troubleshooting tech while guests are arriving—it’s just not worth it. Even worse is the emotional tax of handling something yourself, only for it to go wrong in front of the very people you want to impress and celebrate with.
Our advice? Be honest with yourself about what you can realistically take on. If something feels stressful, unfamiliar, or time-consuming, outsource it—or skip it entirely. Your presence is far more valuable than perfection. Pay to make it go away, and give yourself the freedom to fully enjoy your event.
Misconception #5: “We Don’t Need Seats—Everyone Will Lounge and Mingle!”
This one has become more popular lately, and we get the appeal. Soft seating and lounge furniture have taken over many event designs, replacing traditional round tables in favor of a more dynamic, modern look. The idea is to create a relaxed, stylish atmosphere where guests can mix and mingle, rather than feeling confined to their seats.
And yes, lounge setups can look amazing and feel fun—but only if they’re executed thoughtfully.
No matter how cool your crowd is, or how ready they are to party, your guests are still human beings—and human beings need to sit down. If you go too heavy on the aesthetic and too light on the functionality, your beautifully designed event can quickly start to feel like an overstuffed airport terminal. People are left wandering with plates in their hands, looking for a place to park their bodies, stash their bags, or set down an empty drink.
This isn’t just about older guests either. After four or five hours on their feet—even the youngest, most energetic attendees will need a break. If they don’t have one, it won’t just affect their comfort—it’ll zap their energy and shorten their stay on the dance floor.
We recommend seating for at least 70% of your guests, and adults in particular should be well taken care of. If you’re opting for mostly lounge seating, coordinate your food service accordingly—think smaller plates, bowls, or hand-held bites that don’t require guests to juggle a fork and knife in their lap. Comfort doesn’t have to come at the cost of design—but ignoring it will absolutely cost you the vibe.