Champaign, Illinois’ Premier
Corporate Event Planner
Company party planning, corporate meeting planner, grand opening event planning services, employee recognitions, team building retreat planner, banquets, 5K, family-friendly fundraiser planning services, auctions, and more. All within the Champaign-Urbana area. You enjoy the day without thinking about volunteer management or tables being set.
Planning Services: The Before
Custom planning package based on your needs
Consistent planning meetings with your team
Book trusted vendors (“vendors” refers to professionals like photographers, caterer, florist, etc)
Coordination and communication with all vendors
Site walk through with you and vendors
Create detailed day-of schedule
Assist with event to do list
Attend vendor meetings
Design overall look and feel + room layout
Communication with everyone involved
Plus more!
Day-Of Event Details
Physically present to run your event day
Serve as primary event contact
Vendor assistance for load in and set up
Ensure event runs according to schedule
Manage volunteers & guests
Manage tech run through prior to event start
Clean up & return rentals
Plus more!
“[Maggie] was very detailed and knew all the questions to ask.”
-Amy, MTD Corporate Client
Event Planner Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a venue coordinator and an event planner?
Your venue coordinator handles everything that pertains to the venue. This could include your room set up or helping vendors upon arrival.
Your event coordinator (that’s us!) will help with pre-planning items such as guiding you in choosing your professional vendors, creating your event day agenda, and communication with your professional vendors while planning. Then on your event day we handle execution of all the details on your event day while professionally problem solving as the unexpected arises.
Are you there on our event day?
Yes! We’ll be physically present for up to 12 hours to help run your event day.
If clean up assistance is important to you we can ensure staying until the end is included in that 12 hour time frame.
Do you provide full service planning?
Yes! We will help you plan your event from start to finish. We know you’re busy with your actual job so let us handle the one million emails and run the meetings so you can simply show up and be updated.
Is hiring an event planner actually worth it?
We vote a strong YES! And here’s why:
Stress reduction- you do your job while we do ours
Professional relationships with vendors
Realistic budget guidance
Having someone neutral in charge
Professional problem solving with extensive experience to draw from
Do you provide any actual product such as food, decor, or rentals?
Short answer: No. But good news! We know professionals in each of those areas that do provide those items. 618 EVENTS helps you to plan your event and coordinate all those details, but we don’t provide those products.
Do you provide vendor recommendations?
Yes! This is included with our packages but you can also download our list of central Illinois recommended vendors for FREE.
What’s the average cost of an event planner in Champaign?
We charge $90 per hour. Overall cost depends on where the event is taking place, how many people will attend, what our role is, and what is happening at the event. Fill out our 618 EVENTS’ contact form to receive the most accurate quote.
Are you a conference event planner?
Yes! We have experience planning corporate conferences.
What do your fees include?
The above bullet points give you a general idea of what’s included. We charge you for planning and coordinating only. The fees do not include any extra purchases such as decorations, food, a tent rental, etc. Additionally, other vendors’ fees are an additional cost to you.
Get in touch with us to start your planning!
How does our process work? Fill out our form below and a team member will be in touch to set up a consultation. Once we learn more and you say YES, we will send a contract to sign and invoice for deposit. When those steps are completed, we’ll be in business and get to work planning! It’s the best- we can’t wait!
The Who, What, When…
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Maggie Farchmin and Jackie Holt. We are event planners for any local business. Depending on the size and scope of your event we will bring on more team members. Read more about Maggie and Jackie on our About 618 EVENTS page.
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Corporate event planners, gala event planners, company party planners, conference event coordinators…we do it all.
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We start from the beginning to bring an idea or dream to life. Contact 618 EVENTS now to schedule a consultation. You do your job and we’ll do ours…we know you want to.
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If you’re hosting your event in the Champaign-Urbana area there are no additional fees. We serve Bloomington-Normal, Danville, Decatur, Downs, Mahomet, Monticello, St. Joe, Tolono, Urbana…and everywhere in between. Outside of an hour radius will have travel fees.
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Because we desire to serve you and take a load off your plate. We want your event to feel more like a party and less like a chore! You have a job to do and it’s usually NOT to plan events for your company. So let us do your job and you can do yours.
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We will lead consistent meetings with you along with keep you updated and ask questions via email and/or an online project management tool. We will book and work directly with all the vendors involved, create the planning timeline and day-of production schedule, coordinate all logistics for event day, create floor plans and layouts, plus more. Think of us as your new project manager-can do-hype women!