Naming your event planning business is something you have near-absolute control over. So it’s worth making sure you get it right.
There are several things to consider when choosing your event planning business name, and we’ll go through them here. Sure, there are legal and design considerations. There are also web domain issues like is the .com available, and what to do if it’s not. And we’ll cover that stuff. But beyond and above all of that, your name matters because your customers are human.
Why Naming Your Event Planning Business Matters
If you do some research on naming your business, you’ll find tips like make it catchy or make it easy to spell. And that’s good advice which I’ll undoubtedly be repeating below. But that’s missing the forest for the trees. The forest, if you’ll allow me to extend the metaphor, is language.
As entrepreneurs, we’re so totally focused on our skills and services. We forget that language is how we communicate with our clients. And how you name your event planning business is a big part of how you communicate with your clients.
A great company name can lift you up, according to NFX. When you’re not in the room, the name of your company is what gets passed between people. It speaks for you when you’re not there.
Your name communicates your business offering and who you are, and what types of clients you’d like to work with. While the NFX article has some excellent tech-centric examples of this, I’d like to illustrate the point with an event planner.
Reflecting Your Attitude In Your Name
Let’s look at Grit City Weddings, a Tacoma event planning business founded by the fantastic Ashley Griffith. On her website, she states, “We are blue-collar and strong and unique and ridiculously beautiful.” You can see how that is reflected in her business name.
I spoke to her about her business and name previously, but I’d like to highlight some key points from that interview. You can read the full interview here: It Takes Grit To Survive Your First Year As A Wedding Planner.
“When I was doing the research, the planners I found in this area just didn’t speak to my aesthetic. It felt more like lilies and lace. And while I think that lilies and lace are beautiful and have a place, that’s not the sort of thing that drives me,” Ashley recalls.
“Even if your wedding is going to be in someone’s backyard, I believe that those people – the ones who aren’t necessarily the traditional lilies and lace sort – should be able to have a really beautiful wedding, too. And a really great celebration, regardless of what that looks like to them.”
You can see how her name communicates precisely who she is and who her clients are.
Event Planning by Grit City Weddings
Your Name Reflects Your Brand
So whether your name is gritty, like Grit City Weddings, or evokes images of gorgeous florals and magic like Enchanted Designs, your name is a reflection of you.
I’ve come across a few other absolutely exceptional examples of names that perfectly reflect the personalities behind the business. There’s Leave It To May Events, whose founder, Desiree May, is the type of person who values get-it-done tenaciousness. Or Angela Garcia, an energetic optimist who named her event planning business Perfectly Bubbly Events. Trust me, that name is utterly perfect for her personality.
The name communicates who these event planners are. So when it comes to naming your event planning business, find a name that fits.
Love Your Event Planning Business Name
This might sound obvious, but believe me, after you’ve brainstormed names for a couple days, you’ll need to hear this. You should love your business name. It should be a name you’re proud to represent, and it should feel like an extension of you.
It’s easy to overthink the name and prioritize the technical aspects of the naming process. But don’t lose sight that the name is something you’re going to hear, and say every day. Make it something you’ll love.
Should Your Name Be The Company Name?
When naming your event planning business, you might be tempted to use, well, your own name. I’ve previously interviewed luxury wedding planner Em Devaud of Em Devaud Events. Her business name is her name, and while it certainly works for her, it also sets up some expectations. When your name is on the marquis, so to speak, you’re expected to be the one available 24/7.
And while Em has a team, she’s also expected to be on-site at every wedding and on-call 24/7. Her clients are hiring the person as much as contracting the business.
And that’s okay for many event planners, but there are a few more considerations. If you plan to expand the team and grow your event business or add a partner, naming your company after you could be a barrier.
Let’s dive into some technical aspects of naming your event planning business.
Watch Out For Fads
Naming your business around fads can be a mistake. One of my favorite examples was the rash of business names inspired by the turn of the millennium. At the time, leading up to the year 2000, plenty of businesses add “Millennium” or 2000 or related terms into their names, including Millennium Park in Chicago. When it turned out to not be that big of a deal, the names ended up bland and boring and sounding dated even within a few years.
Other naming trends like e-something or i-something now feel dated and silly. What sounded cutting-edge ten years ago sounds fuddy-duddy today.
So when it comes to naming your event planning business, aim to be timeless, and don’t jump on any bandwagons.
Where Will Your Busines Name Be Seen?
Your event planning business name doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It will need to stand out in a wide variety of places like:
- Your website
- Directories like The Knot or Party Slate
- Social media
- Email newsletters
- Word of mouth
- On a logo, maybe even on a T-shirt
So try to consider how your name will appear in these various channels. I’ll explain a little more.
On your website, your name has pride of place. It isn’t competing with anyone else, but it’s there to evoke a vibe and represent your brand. However, on listing websites, your name is competing with many others. In this context, your name is there to differentiate your event business from competitors.
Your name needs to be available on social media and clear (and hopefully not too long). Still, the impact is based on your images and the content shared. But when it comes to a logo, well, your name should fit with the visuals you hope to use.
All this is simply to say that when naming your event planning business, explore how it will look in different contexts.
Watch Out For Misunderstandings When Naming Your Event Planning Business
Common mistakes, when naming your event planning business, are pronunciation and spelling. And yes, ThymeBase is guilty of this. The name should be easy to say and straightforward when it comes to spelling. ThymeBase sounds like TimeBase, and that causes some confusion.
So if your business name ends in a “d,” people might mistake it as a “t.” Or, if you use your own name, hopefully, it’s easy to spell for your clients. For example, I bandied about the name “Event Lark,” but everyone thought I was saying “Event Lock” because of my accent. It got pretty frustrating.
Another common mistake that can catch people out is how the business name appears when written down as a website URL. One of the most straightforward examples is Ben Dover Events would look like bendoverevents when written as a URL. See it? But there are way worse examples.
Do You Need A .COM Address?
One of the most common naming issues is finding a business name with an available .com. Does it actually matter? Let’s explore this briefly. Let’s start with why it doesn’t matter.
Most people don’t type in a URL when visiting your website. They usually just run a search by typing in your business name. After that, when they type in your business name in their web browser bar, your website auto-fills. So, in that regard, you can go with a .co, or something else.
However, most people still expect a .com web address, which is still considered the norm. So if your business name has a competitor who already owns the .com, then I’d be wary. You’ll likely inadvertently send traffic to them. But what if your preferred option is taken? Here are your options:
- Go with three words when buying your domain. These are more likely to be available as a .com.
- Shorten your name and go with a memorable TLD (top-level domain) like .events.
I’d recommend avoiding .co, .me, or .io. While these are common in the tech world, they’re less likely to be familiar to your clients. And .net is just kinda lame. Also, there are many city domains, which I think are really cool. Still, they can be severely limiting if you plan on serving clients outside of that area.
Should You Use A Service When Naming Your Event Planning Business?
Are you totally stumped on a name? Did you know there are services out there who specialize in helping you find a business name with an available .com? Well, it’s true.
There are some automatic name generators like this one by GoDaddy. Or you could hire someone on Fiverr, and there are crowdsourced naming services like SquadHelp. To be honest, I’m a bit iffy on them all. I think they can be pretty good at getting your creative juices flowing if you’re truly stuck. But I don’t think they can genuinely find a name for your event planning business that you’ll genuinely love.
What Else Should You Do When Naming Your Event Planning Business?
Here are some of the necessary chores I recommend you too once you’ve settled on a name:
- Check for the trademark at USPTO.gov
- Search your Secretary of State’s website to ensure your name isn’t too similar to a competitor’s.
Naming Your Event Planning Business Is About You
When you’re naming your event business, you’re staking a claim in the ether. You’re saying this space is mine! Give yourself the freedom to call your business something that is totally and wholly yours.