Segment one
Event Management
Discovery, budgets, agreements, BEOs, timelines, vendors, staffing, execution, and post-event learning.
Black Iris Staff Training
Event Management
& Wedding Coordination
A practical course for turning a client conversation into a thoughtful, budget-aware plan—and turning that plan into a well-run event.
0 of 11 lessons complete
Welcome
Plan with care. Execute with clarity.
This course teaches the Black Iris operating method. You will read short lessons, answer knowledge checks, complete planning exercises, and finish by producing a training BEO and event-day plan.
Listen and document → establish priorities → define the budget → build the plan → confirm the agreement → create the BEO → execute → review
Segment two
Wedding Coordination
The wedding lifecycle, couple care, ceremony and reception flow, vendor alignment, final-week preparation, and day-of coordination.
How to use this course
- Work in order the first time.
- Complete the exercises with fictional information only.
- Use the downloadable workbooks for longer planning activities.
- Mark a lesson complete only after passing its knowledge check.
- Review the capstone with Jeff or the assigned manager before working independently.
Authority boundaryTraining does not authorize staff to sign contracts, commit pricing, approve purchases, alter agreements, or make safety commitments. Escalate decisions outside your assigned authority.
Course downloads
Planning WorkbookDiscovery, budget, plan, and BEO practicePDF · printable
Event-Day ToolkitRun of show, contacts, checks, incidents, and debriefPDF · printable
Wedding ToolkitFinal-week, rehearsal, ceremony, and reception toolsPDF · printable
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Foundation · Lesson 1
The Black Iris planning system
After this lesson, you can
- Explain the full event lifecycle.
- Distinguish a request, proposal, agreement, and BEO.
- Label information as confirmed, awaiting verification, proposed, or TBD.
One continuous planning chain
An event begins with listening, not with filling boxes. Discovery identifies the desired experience, people, priorities, constraints, and budget. The plan turns that information into an approach. The agreement confirms the commercial scope. The BEO translates confirmed scope into instructions that staff can execute.
Each document answers a different question:
- Discovery summary: What did we hear?
- Plan: How could this event work?
- Proposal: What scope and price are offered?
- Agreement: What did authorized parties confirm?
- BEO: Who does what, where, and when?
ConfirmedSupported by an agreement or verified decision.
VerifyReported by a client or vendor but not yet confirmed.
ProposedA staff recommendation awaiting approval.
TBDUnknown or undecided.
Example: “The couple would like access at noon” is a request. It becomes confirmed only after the authorized Black Iris decision and agreement are verified.
Advanced practiceExperienced planners use change control: every material change has a source, owner, approval status, operational effect, and timestamp.
Knowledge check
A client says during a call, “We’ll need the venue two hours earlier than the contract says.” How should it appear in the working plan?
Event Management · Lesson 2
Discovery conversations
After this lesson, you can
- Lead a focused discovery conversation.
- Separate facts, preferences, questions, and assumptions.
- Produce a concise written recap.
Start with the outcome
Ask what success feels like before discussing chairs, menus, or décor. Learn the event’s purpose, audience, priorities, decision-makers, budget scope, and fixed constraints. Avoid interrogating the client; follow their answers and ask only the next useful question.
Core questions
- What are you celebrating or trying to accomplish?
- What would make the event feel successful?
- Who is attending, and how many people do you expect?
- Which three elements matter most?
- What budget are you comfortable working within, and what must it cover?
- What is fixed? What is flexible?
- Who may approve changes?
If a conversation is recorded, use the approved notice, obtain consent, and keep the recording only in approved restricted storage. A recording supports planning; it does not replace a written, client-verifiable summary.
Planning exercise
Write the five headings you would use to summarize a discovery call.
This answer stays in this browser and is not submitted.Knowledge check
What should happen immediately after a detailed discovery conversation?
Event Management · Lesson 3
Budget-first planning
After this lesson, you can
- Clarify what a stated budget covers.
- Build a plan backward from priorities.
- Explain tradeoffs without promising unauthorized discounts.
Protect the purpose, then shape the scope
A number without scope is not a usable budget. Determine whether the client means the entire event, the venue and food, or only one category. Separate fixed costs, per-person costs, optional enhancements, taxes and charges, and a contingency allowance.
- Write the client’s top three priorities.
- Identify fixed constraints: date, guest count, access, required services.
- Price or verify the core experience.
- Add operational necessities.
- Add optional enhancements in priority order.
- Show the gap honestly and offer scoped alternatives.
Budget flexibility means exploring choices. It does not mean every budget is feasible or that staff may invent concessions.
Useful language: “Let’s protect the parts that matter most and explore where the scope, selections, or timing can change. I’ll identify anything that requires management approval.”
Advanced practiceTrack estimate version, assumptions, inclusions, exclusions, owner, and expiration. Never compare two totals without reconciling their scope.
Knowledge check
A couple says their budget is $12,000. What is the most important next question?
Event Management · Lesson 4
Plan, proposal, agreement
After this lesson, you can
- Move from concept to confirmed scope.
- Recognize unauthorized commitments.
- Keep changes traceable.
Ideas become obligations only through approval
A plan describes an intended experience. A proposal communicates an offer and its assumptions. The confirmed agreement establishes approved scope and commercial terms. Staff should never use a beautiful planning document to blur that boundary.
Before operational planning, verify
- Correct client, event, and date
- Reserved spaces and guest-count terms
- Access, program, and load-out hours
- Included services and exclusions
- Food, bar, rental, and vendor arrangements
- Payment status from authoritative records
- Which open decisions have owners and deadlines
When scope changes, note the request, source, time, cost or operational effect, decision owner, and final disposition.
Knowledge check
A planner emails a new floor plan that uses an additional room. What comes first?
Event Management · Lesson 5
Build the BEO
After this lesson, you can
- Complete every Black Iris BEO section.
- Separate guest hours from access and load-out.
- Turn the plan into instructions with owners and timing.
The operational source of truth
A useful BEO lets a staff member understand the event without reconstructing months of messages. Preserve the standard order: event header; contacts; summary; financial summary; special instructions; run of show; detailed timeline; space-by-space setup; food and beverage; bar; staffing; vendors; logistics; floor plans; internal operations notes; and post-event notes.
Quality rules
- Use both short and long dates.
- Mark unknowns TBD; never disguise a gap.
- Identify the on-site decision-maker and backup.
- Distinguish expected, guaranteed, and maximum counts.
- Distinguish access, setup, doors, program, breakdown, and load-out.
- Give every critical activity a location, owner, and cue.
- Keep sensitive client information out of public calendar fields.
- Link to authoritative floor plans and agreements; do not duplicate stale versions.
Mini BEO practice
Knowledge check
Which timeline is operationally complete?
Event Management · Lesson 6
Run of show, vendors & risk
After this lesson, you can
- Build a timeline backward from doors.
- Identify dependencies and conflicts.
- Coordinate vendors without assuming authority.
Build from immovable moments
Start with fixed guest-facing moments, then work backward through setup and forward through breakdown. Include buffers. Track who owns every cue and what must already be true for it to happen.
Confirm each vendor’s company, contact, scope, arrival, departure, access, setup location, power or equipment needs, storage, and removal plan. A vendor saying “the client approved it” is evidence to verify, not authorization.
Risk scan
- Conflicting times or room assignments
- Unsafe installation or blocked egress
- Power, sound, lighting, or weather dependencies
- Missing security, accessibility, or dietary follow-up
- No owner for a decision or cue
- No fallback for a critical vendor or activity
Advanced practiceCritical-path planning identifies which delayed task will delay doors. A backup plan is strongest when it has a trigger, decision time, owner, and communication method.
Knowledge check
The florist and caterer are assigned the elevator at the same time. What is the best response?
Event Management · Lesson 7
Event-day management
After this lesson, you can
- Lead a pre-shift briefing.
- Respond to changes without losing control.
- Close and document the event.
The event-day rhythm
Observe → verify → communicate → assign → follow up → document
Before doors, walk the spaces against the BEO, verify safety and access, check vendor status, test critical cues, confirm the decision-maker, and brief staff on timing, responsibilities, escalation, and contingencies.
During the event, maintain one master timeline. When plans change, establish what happened, protect safety and the guest experience, identify decision authority, communicate only what each person needs, and record material changes. Never solve a momentary problem by creating an unauthorized financial or contractual commitment.
Afterward, confirm guest departure, vendor load-out, personal items, lost and found, damage or incidents, space condition, and unresolved follow-up. Conduct a short debrief while details are fresh.
Knowledge check
A hosted bar reaches its spending cap. The host is unavailable. What should staff do?
Wedding Coordination · Lesson 8
The wedding lifecycle & couple care
After this lesson, you can
- Describe the wedding lifecycle.
- Clarify venue, planner, and coordinator roles.
- Support a couple warmly without making unsupported promises.
A wedding is an event with emotional weight
The operating discipline remains the same, but communication deserves extra care. Listen for traditions, family dynamics, sentimental items, accessibility, dietary needs, and the moments the couple most wants to protect.
The lifecycle is inquiry → tour → qualification → proposal → agreement → planning → final details → rehearsal → wedding day → closeout. At every handoff, state who owns the next step.
Clarify roles early
- Venue representative: venue commitments, building operations, and venue team.
- Planner: broad planning strategy, design, budget, and vendor plan as contracted.
- Coordinator: final logistics and execution as contracted.
- Vendor: that vendor’s defined scope.
- Couple or designee: client decisions within the agreement.
Warm and precise: “I understand why that matters. I’ve recorded the request and will verify the timing and staffing impact before we call it confirmed.”
Knowledge check
The couple, planner, and a family member give conflicting instructions. What should Sam do first?
Wedding Coordination · Lesson 9
Wedding flow & vendor alignment
After this lesson, you can
- Build ceremony and reception flow.
- Coordinate cues across vendors.
- Plan room transitions and contingencies.
Build backward from the ceremony
Map access; wedding-party arrival; getting-ready needs; installation; photographer coverage; soundcheck; guest arrival; processional; ceremony; recessional; cocktail hour; portraits; room transition; reception entrance; dinner; toasts; formal dances; dessert; open dancing; last call; send-off; breakdown; and load-out.
Each cue should answer: what happens, exact time, location, owner, who must be ready, and what equipment or prior action it depends on.
Vendor alignment questions
- What is included in your scope?
- When do you arrive, finish setup, and leave?
- What access, power, tables, storage, or staffing do you require?
- Which cues do you give or receive?
- What is your weather or failure fallback?
- Who is the event-day contact?
Advanced practiceFor a room flip, create a minute-by-minute labor plan, temporary guest destination, equipment map, release trigger, and inspection owner.
Knowledge check
What is the best way to schedule the ceremony processional?
Wedding Coordination · Lesson 10
Final week, rehearsal & wedding day
After this lesson, you can
- Conduct a final BEO review.
- Run a focused rehearsal.
- Protect the couple while managing day-of operations.
Final-week control
Verify the final guest count, spaces, floor plan, menu, dietary needs, bar plan, vendor contacts, access, ceremony order, music cues, décor inventory, personal items, weather decision, transportation, payments from authoritative records, and every unresolved BEO item. Distribute only the approved version.
Rehearsal
Confirm lineup, processional order, pace, positions, handoffs, readings, recessional, and who gives each cue. Focus on movement and responsibility; do not exhaust the group with unnecessary repetition.
Wedding day
Establish one communication channel. Shield the couple from routine operational noise while keeping authorized decision-makers informed. Protect sentimental items and document their final handoff. When the timeline slips, protect the highest-priority moments and communicate the revised sequence.
Scenario
Rain begins 45 minutes before an outdoor ceremony. Write your first five actions in order.
Knowledge check
Which is the strongest rain plan?
Final Assessment · Lesson 11
Capstone: plan the Hawthorne wedding
Your deliverables
- Discovery summary and open questions
- Priorities and scoped budget plan
- Approval and change list
- Training BEO and run of show
- Vendor and staff briefing
- Contingency and post-event plan
Fictional case brief
Jordan and Avery Hawthorne are planning a Saturday wedding for approximately 110 guests. Their three priorities are a calm ceremony, generous buffet dinner, and a lively dance floor. They report a $24,000 total wedding budget, but have not said how much is available for venue, food, and beverage.
They request ceremony seating in the Main Gallery, cocktail hour downstairs, dinner and dancing in the Main Gallery, and private space for the wedding party. They would like vendor access at noon, ceremony at 5:00 p.m., cocktail hour at 5:30, dinner at 6:45, toasts at 7:45, dancing at 8:15, last call at 10:30, and guest departure at 11:00. Their email says, “Someone told us we could stay until midnight,” but no source is identified.
The florist requests two hours and elevator access. The caterer needs 90 minutes, elevator access, and a confirmed final count. The DJ plans to arrive at 3:30 and needs a dedicated circuit. One guest uses a wheelchair; two guests report severe nut allergies. The couple wants an outdoor photo period, but no rain decision point exists. A family member is paying for the bar and wants authority to extend it.
Your taskUse the Planning Workbook, Event-Day Toolkit, and Wedding Toolkit. Do not invent prices, approval, room availability, access, equipment, or safety accommodations. Mark gaps and assign an owner and deadline.
Submission checklist
Completion acknowledgment
Black Iris Event Management & Wedding Coordination
Complete the checklist and final knowledge check to prepare your acknowledgment.
Final knowledge check
Which capstone item should be treated as confirmed?