Every reunion organizer has the same nightmare.
It's the week of the event. Everything feels
under control. And then someone asks a question
— "wait, did we confirm the caterer's final
headcount?" or "who's handling check-in?" or
"where are the name tags?" — and the answer
is silence.
Not because nobody cares. Because there are
so many moving pieces in reunion planning that
even the most organized person misses something.
Usually something obvious in retrospect.
This checklist exists so that doesn't happen
to you.
Save it. Share it with your committee.
Check things off as you go. And come back
to it every month between now and the event.
12 Months Out
These are the decisions that everything else
depends on. Get them locked down early and
the rest of the planning has a foundation
to build on.
Establish your organizing committee. One
person owns the decisions. Four to six people
support specific areas — venue, communications,
sponsorships, finances. More than that and
nothing gets decided. Fewer than that and
one person burns out.
Pick a date. Check for conflicts — local
events, holidays, school calendars if families
are attending. Summer and fall weekends work
best for most reunions. Lock the date before
you do anything else.
Start your class contact list. Old
directories, yearbook pages, class Facebook
groups. The earlier you start building this
list, the more complete it'll be by the time
you need it.
Create your reunion page. Even if you
don't have every detail yet, get the page
live with the date and a save-the-date
announcement. Early visibility matters more
than having everything finalized.
9-10 Months Out
Research and book your venue. Visit at
least three options. Ask about capacity,
food and beverage minimums, what's included
in the rental, and cancellation policy.
Book with a deposit as soon as you find
the right fit — good venues fill up.
Set your event structure. Single night
or full weekend? If it's a multi-event
weekend, decide which events are free and
which are ticketed. This decision affects
your budget, your venue needs, and your
ticket pricing.
Open RSVPs. You don't need the ticket
price finalized to open RSVPs. Mark pricing
as "coming soon" and let people start
committing. Every week RSVPs are open
before the deadline is a week someone
might commit.
Begin outreach to sponsors. Start with
classmates who own businesses — they have
the most natural reason to say yes. A
tiered sponsorship offering ($250, $500,
$1,000) with logo placement on your reunion
page is a simple starting point.
6-8 Months Out
Finalize ticket pricing. Build your
full expense budget first. Total expenses
minus confirmed sponsorship income divided
by expected attendance equals your
break-even ticket price. Set your price
at break-even plus a 15-20% buffer.
Open ticket sales. Announce the price
and the deadline. Make both clear — "tickets
are $45 and sales close October 1st" is
more effective than a soft open with no
urgency.
Book your major vendors. DJ, caterer
(if not included with the venue),
photographer if you're hiring one.
Good vendors book out months in advance.
Don't wait.
Send your first class-wide announcement.
Full event details — date, venue, ticket
price, RSVP link. Send it to everyone
on your contact list. This is your
formal launch.
Set up your communication rhythm.
Monthly updates to the full class list
keep the reunion present in people's
minds without becoming noise. Put them
in your calendar now so they actually happen.
4-5 Months Out
Confirm sponsorship commitments in writing.
A sponsor who said "sounds interesting"
is not a sponsor. Only count money that's
been committed and received. Update your
budget accordingly.
Publicly thank your sponsors. A post
to the class Facebook group and class
reunion page naming your sponsors builds
their goodwill, signals legitimacy to
fence-sitting classmates, and often
prompts additional businesses to ask
about sponsorship.
Share who's coming. Post an update
to the class group showing RSVP momentum.
"47 classmates have already committed
— don't miss it" creates social proof
that converts fence-sitters faster than
any other message.
Plan your event details. Menu,
decorations, centerpieces, any special
elements like a photo slideshow or
signature drinks. The earlier you lock
these down, the less scrambling in
the final month.
**Order custom merchandise if you're
doing it.** T-shirts, koozies, or any
print-on-demand items need lead time.
Order 4-5 months out to avoid rush
shipping costs.
2-3 Months Out
Send a formal save-the-date reminder
to anyone who hasn't RSVPed yet. Keep
it friendly — "we'd love to have you
there, tickets close on X" lands better
than a pressure campaign.
Confirm your vendor bookings. DJ,
caterer, photographer, any rental
equipment. Get confirmation emails
for everything. Know who to call if
something changes.
Finalize your event timeline. What
time does the venue open? When does
food service start? When does the DJ
play? When do you do the slideshow?
Having a minute-by-minute plan for
the night prevents chaos.
Plan your check-in process. Who's
at the door? How do you verify RSVPs?
Where are the name tags? A smooth
check-in sets the tone for the whole
evening — don't improvise it.
1 Month Out
**Confirm final headcount with your venue
and caterer.** Most venues need this
2-3 weeks before the event. Give them
your confirmed RSVP number plus a
10% buffer.
Send a detailed logistics email to
everyone who has RSVPed — exact address,
parking instructions, dress code if any,
full schedule for the night, what's
included in the ticket. People need
this information more than once.
Follow up with unpaid RSVPs. A direct
payment request to anyone who RSVPed
but hasn't paid closes most of these
out cleanly. Keep it simple and friendly —
not a guilt trip.
Brief your committee on day-of roles.
Who handles check-in. Who manages the
photo wall or sign-in table. Who is the
point of contact for each vendor.
Write it down. Send it to everyone.
Order name tags. If you're printing
name tags from your RSVP list, do it
now. This gives you time to catch
spelling errors, add maiden names,
and handle last-minute additions
without panic.
1 Week Out
Final headcount to all vendors.
Caterer, venue, any rental companies.
This is usually your last chance to
adjust numbers without a penalty.
Confirm vendor arrival times. DJ
setup time. Catering delivery window.
Photographer start time. Know exactly
when everyone is arriving and who
is responsible for letting them in.
Prepare your check-in materials.
Printed RSVP list organized alphabetically.
Name tags sorted and ready. Any printed
programs or event materials. Have
everything in a box so nothing gets
forgotten the morning of.
Send a final reminder to your class.
Last chance energy. "We can't wait to
see you Saturday — here's everything
you need to know." Keep it short,
warm, and logistical.
Charge everything that needs charging.
Microphone for speeches. Camera batteries.
Any tech that's part of the slideshow setup.
Day Of
Arrive early. Before the vendors,
before the guests, before anything
can go wrong that you can't fix.
An hour early is usually right.
Two hours is better.
**Walk through the venue with your
committee.** Tables set correctly?
Name tags at the entrance? Bar setup
confirmed? Slideshow loading? Catch
problems before guests arrive, not after.
Assign your committee their positions.
Check-in table. Sponsor greeting area.
Floater for problems. Everyone knows
their job before the doors open.
Have a vendor contact list on your phone.
DJ's number. Caterer's number. Venue
coordinator's number. If something
goes wrong, you need to reach someone
immediately.
Take a breath before the doors open.
You've done the work. The list is checked.
The room is ready. From here, your job
is to enjoy the reunion you spent months
building.
The Thing Most Organizers Forget
Not an item on the checklist — more of
an observation from every reunion that's
ever been planned.
The things that go wrong at reunions are
almost never the big things. The venue
doesn't collapse. The DJ doesn't cancel.
The things that go wrong are the small
things — the name tags that got left
at someone's house, the printed RSVP
list that doesn't match the actual
guest list, the check-in process that
nobody thought through until people
were standing at the door.
This checklist exists for those things.
The obvious-in-retrospect details that
feel invisible until they're suddenly
urgent.
Print it. Use it. And then put it down
and enjoy the reunion. You earned that.
*MyReunite keeps your RSVP list, payment
tracking, member management, announcements,
sponsor management, and name tag orders
all in one place — so your checklist
gets shorter, not longer.
[Start planning your reunion free →]
(https://myreuniteapp.com)*
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