Event planning guides
A rain-call deadline: the clock for the indoor plan or the tent plan
An outdoor Washington-area event needs a clock time when someone chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan. A forecast is not that decision, and every clock on this page is an example the host replaces.
Key decisions
- An outdoor Washington-area event needs a clock time when someone chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan.
- A forecast is not that decision. Ask the operator how many hours before the start they need the call, then put that clock on the timeline.
- In the example the host replaces, the start is 4:00 and the call is at noon. From noon to 4:00 is 4 hours. If the operator needs 6 hours, noon is late by 6 − 4 = 2 hours.
An outdoor event in the Washington area needs a clock time when someone chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan. A forecast is not that decision. The choice is one of those two plans, made by a named person at a clock the operator's lead time produces. Every clock time on this page is an example the host replaces.
Write the indoor plan as a named room already on the agreement. Write the tent plan as the tent setup already on that same agreement. Leave a line blank until the operator's agreement names it. The call then chooses between the two written plans. Keep the clock on one comparison worksheet.
Ask how many hours before the start
Ask the operator how many hours before the start they need the call. Write that number down, subtract it from the start they confirm, and put that clock on the timeline. The operator confirms the date. Published spaces are whatever is listed. A listing leaves the lead time blank until the operator fills it in.
Send one note: the date you hope to use, the start you hope to use, the indoor plan, and the tent plan. Ask for three answers: confirmation of the date, confirmation of the start, and how many hours before that start they need the call. Hold the timeline's decision clock until those three answers are in.
The person who makes the call needs both plans in hand before that clock. At the clock, they choose the indoor plan or the tent plan. The timeline records the plan they chose and the time they chose it.
Count noon against a 4:00 start
Example only. The host replaces every time. In the example, the event starts at 4:00. The example decision is at noon.
From noon to 4:00 is 4 hours. Noon to 1:00 is 1 hour. 1:00 to 2:00 is 1 hour. 2:00 to 3:00 is 1 hour. 3:00 to 4:00 is 1 hour. 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4.
If the operator needs the call 6 hours before the start, noon is late by 6 − 4 = 2 hours. The example gap is 4 hours. The lead time in this illustration is 6 hours. 6 − 4 = 2. Those 2 hours are how late noon is.
Count the 6 hours back from 4:00. One hour before 4:00 is 3:00. Two hours before is 2:00. Three is 1:00. Four is noon. Five is 11:00. Six is 10:00. In this illustration the call belongs at 10:00. From 10:00 to 11:00 is 1 hour, and from 11:00 to noon is 1 hour. 1 + 1 = 2, the same 2 hours as 6 − 4 = 2. Noon is 2 hours after the call this illustration requires.
10:00 is still an example. It appears because this illustration uses a 6-hour lead and a 4:00 start. Ask the operator how many hours before the start they need the call, then put that clock on the timeline. If they need 4 hours and the start stays 4:00, noon matches their number. If they need 6 hours and the start stays 4:00, write 10:00 and treat noon as late by 2 hours. If they confirm a different start or a different lead, replace 4:00, noon, and 10:00 together.
| Line | Example on this page | What the host writes |
|---|---|---|
| Event start | 4:00 | The start the operator confirms |
| Example decision | Noon | The call when the lead time is 4 hours before that start |
| Gap | Noon to 4:00 is 4 hours | The hours between the written call and the start |
| Six-hour lead | Noon is late by 6 − 4 = 2 hours, so the illustration clock is 10:00 | The clock that many hours before the confirmed start |
| Who decides | A named person, other than the couple | The name, and how the party hears the choice |
Name the person who makes the call
Name the person, other than the couple, who makes the call. Write that name on the same line as the clock. That person chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan. The couple is in the day. The name on this line is someone else: a planner, an on-site coordinator, or a family member who has agreed to hold the decision.
Write how the rest of the party hears the choice. Name who tells the people already on the agreement, and who tells guests if the plan changes. Those can be the same person as the one who makes the call. A role with no name leaves the line unfinished. A forecast with no person leaves it unfinished the same way.
Read the line once before the day: the clock, the name, the indoor plan, and the tent plan. The named person chooses one of the two plans at that clock.
Keep the outdoor page, the rooftop page, and the wedding page on their own jobs
Outdoor event venues in Washington, DC is a different page. It separates a park permit from a private courtyard, rooftop, or hotel terrace. Use that page for the permit-versus-courtyard distinction. Use this page for the clock when someone chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan.
Rooftop event venues in Washington, DC is a different page again. A rooftop or terrace there is a contract with that building. Use that page for the building's rules. A clock on this page leaves the roof's agreement on that page.
When the outdoor event is a wedding, Wedding venues in Washington, DC compares the ceremony address and the reception address as one guest day, including the late ride home and whether the reception building allows an outside caterer. Use that page for the two buildings. Use this page for the clock. The person who makes the call is still someone other than the couple.
Replace the example after the operator answers
Cross out 4:00, noon, and the illustration's 10:00 when the operator confirms the date, the start, and how many hours before the start they need the call. Subtract that lead time from that start. Put the resulting clock on the timeline next to the named person. Read the line from the date through the name and check that the subtraction matches the lead time. A forecast is not on that line.
Browse published spaces to set a listed space next to this clock. Published spaces are whatever is listed. The operator confirms the date. Browse DMV venue guides for the regional set, and browse venues for the wider library. After the operator confirms the place, the date, and the lead time, plan the gathering.
Put it into practice
Track the decisions you’ve made and the questions still to ask.
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A little more clarity
Common questions
If the event starts at 4:00 and the example decision is at noon, is noon on time?
From noon to 4:00 is 4 hours. If the operator needs the call 6 hours before the start, noon is late by 6 − 4 = 2 hours. Ask the operator how many hours before the start they need the call, then put that clock on the timeline. These clocks are an example the host replaces. A forecast is not that decision.
Who chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan?
Name the person, other than the couple, who makes the call. That person chooses the indoor plan or the tent plan at the clock on the timeline. Write the name beside the clock. A forecast is not that decision.
