Planit Events

Hats Off | “ Week “ 3

This is actually my second rodeo 🤠

I used to think that meant it would get easier. That the mental load would lighten, the hard conversations would get smoother, and at some point I’d actually clock off on a Friday and mean it.

Spoiler: I do not mean it.

Being in business doesn’t come with an off switch. You’re thinking about it in the shower, in the middle of the night, at dinner, on a holiday you booked six months ago specifically to stop thinking about it. Not always because something is wrong, sometimes just because your brain has decided that 11pm is the perfect time to replay a client conversation from four days ago and identify seventeen things you could have said differently.

You don’t fix that. You just get better at living with it.

What experience actually gives you is clarity on what deserves your energy and what doesn’t. You get better at knowing what needs your attention at 11pm (almost nothing) and what can wait until morning (almost everything, it turns out). You get better at making decisions without all the information, at staying calm in a crisis, at looking like you have absolutely everything under control when what you actually have is a plan B, a plan C, and a very good poker face. 🃏

That’s what you’re paying for when you hire someone who’s been around the block. Not the hours on a timesheet. The decade of knowing what breaks, who to call, and how to fix it before anyone else in the room has even registered that something went wrong.

I once had a potential client respond to a marquee wedding quote with his own version of what he thought it should cost. A detailed, personal breakdown calculated by a man who had never coordinated a marquee wedding in his life, never managed a supplier in a paddock at 6am, never sweet-talked a florist into a last minute turnaround, and almost certainly never had to make a tent look like a fairytale in the pouring Hawke’s Bay rain. 🌧️

He was taking the p**s, frankly.

We responded with a very warm “good luck and we wish you all the best with your wedding” and left it at that. 😊

Because no formula in the world can measure what it costs to show up, year after year, in every kind of weather, for every kind of client, and make it look easy. That knowledge isn’t free. It was earned, one rodeo at a time.

The second rodeo is still a rodeo. You just know where to hold on.

Fellow business owners, what’s the one thing nobody warned you about? Drop it below. I have a feeling we’ve all got a story….

(Also offically my new favourite cap 🤣)

Hawke’s Bay’s season ahead is shaping up to be a busy one, and we’re building our team across the board to match. 🙌🏻

We’re looking for bar, event and wait staff of all levels for the season ahead, along with people interested in project-based event work spanning admin, sales and event coordination and management 👊

We’re also growing our temp admin arm and want to hear from admin superstars looking for flexible, casual work.

Whatever you’re after, casual shifts, project work or temp admin, we’d love to hear from you. Send through your CV or get in touch at

[email protected]

Four men. One black jersey. Zero filter.

Ian Kirkpatrick, David Kirk, Taine Randell and Darren Shand are sitting down for a night of stories you won't hear anywhere else, all in aid of the Wallace Foundation Rescue Helicopter Trust.

Off The Record: Beyond the Black Jersey proudly bought to you by Bayleys is a charity Q&A dinner raising funds to keep the rescue helicopter flying for our region.

Real stories, real impact. 🚁

📍 Napier Conference Centre
📅 Saturday 19 September 2026
🎟️ Tickets on sale now: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/off-the-record-beyond-the-black-jersey/napier

Tables are limited. Get yours before they're gone.
Wallace Foundation Rescue Helicopter Service

Sharing the love for our good mates in Gisborne! 🍷☀️💕

If great local wine, delicious food, live music and a day out with your favourite people sounds like your kind of Sunday, then Wine & Food – Sip & Savour Gisborne needs to be in the diary.

📍 Matawhero Wines
📅 Sunday 25 October 2026
🎟️ Tickets from $60
🍷 Six local wineries
🍴 Local food
🎶 Live music
🚌 Bus tickets available
✨ Limited VIP tickets

Round up your crew, make a weekend of it and get amongst it , this one looks like a seriously good time!

All information and tickets at www.gisbornewineandfood.co.nz

Cheers to our Gisborne mates.
We can’t wait! 🥂

Introducing a brand new event for Hawke's Bay 🚁

OFF THE RECORD: Beyond the Black Jersey 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘴.

A charity Q&A style rugby dinner raising funds for the Wallace Foundation Rescue Helicopter Trust. Because minutes save lives.

This is a night that hasn't happened before and won't happen again. Four men who've shaped New Zealand rugby at the highest level, together on one stage, sharing stories they've never told publicly.

🏉 Ian Kirkpatrick MBE - Former All Blacks Captain, Flanker, 1967–1977
🏉 David Kirk MBE - Captained the All Blacks to victory, 1987 Rugby World Cup
🏉 Taine Randall MBE - All Blacks captain 1996–1999, led the side in 22 tests
🏉 Darren Shand ONZM - 20 years as All Blacks GM, 2 Rugby World Cup wins, 250+ tests

Off the record. On for one night only. Saturday 19th September.

Tickets are on sale now.
Wallace Foundation Rescue Helicopter Service
Bayleys Real Estate Hawke's Bay

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/off-the-record-beyond-the-black-jersey/napier

First game of the season 👏👏👏

What a game ! ❤️

5️⃣0️⃣ Piece

I’m home from Eventing the Future and I have a busy brain and a full heart, that is genuinely the only way to describe it. ❤️

What. A. Couple. Of. Days.

I had the absolute pleasure of attending the NZEA conference and I am still buzzing. So many takeaways from every single session, honestly my notes app is chaos. We covered everything from audience engagement to marketing, a fireside chat with some absolute legends of this industry, sponsorship, cities and events, data and AI, and brand new venues opening up around the country.

Massive thank you to Hannah and the A&P Society for taking me along, I’m so grateful. And can we talk about how amazing it was to spend a couple of days with some other fellow event legends from the Bay too, there’s nothing like sharing an experience like that with people who just get it.

To NZEA and the whole crew behind eventingthefuture.co.nz, you did an incredible job. The speakers were incredible, so honest and so generous with what they shared. And being in the brand new NZICC for it all, wow. What a venue.

Can we just be real for a second though. It’s no secret that since Covid, this industry has been on a wild, wild ride. It’s been hard. Really hard for a lot of us. So being in a room full of hundreds of people who are still here, still passionate, still doing the work, hit different. It was inspiring in a way I wasn’t expecting.

To every speaker who showed up and shared so honestly, and every partner who made this whole thing possible, thank you. You could feel how much heart went into it.

Here’s to the wonderful world of events. Twenty five years in and it still gets me every time 🎉

✨ GIVEAWAY | Two tickets to She Leads Hawke's Bay ✨

We were really looking forward to this one, but we double booked 🤷🏻‍♀️

Rather than let our tickets go to waste, we'd love to gift them to someone who'll get real value from the evening.

Hosted by the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce, She Leads: Lead With Intention is an evening designed to inspire, connect and empower women in leadership.

Hear from Jo Dowley (ReFrame Lab), who'll share how understanding the brain can help you lead more effectively under pressure, and Rachel Agnew, who'll explore what it means to lead with intention while balancing the many demands of work and life. Expect practical leadership insights, honest conversations and the chance to connect with an incredible community of women from across Hawke's Bay.

📅 Wednesday 5 August📍 Te Rae, Hastings

If you'd love to be there, comment below or tag someone who would. We'll randomly draw two winners and transfer the tickets.

Find out more here:https://www.hbchamber.nz/events-training/events/she-leads-lead-with-intention/

Good luck! 💛

She Leads Lead With Intention :: Hawke's Bay Chamber Join us for She Leads: Leading with Intention, an evening that brings together three women with diverse leadership experiences across neuroscience, farming and self-leadership. Through practical insight and lived experience, they'll explore how greater self-awareness helps us make better decisions,....

Matariki is a good time to pause and look back 🌌

Nine stars rise together in the cluster, each carrying its own weight. Pōhutukawa holds the memory of those we've lost. Waitī and Waitā watch over the rivers and the sea. Tupuānuku and Tupuārangi hold what grows from the earth and the trees. Matariki sits at the centre, tied to our health and wellbeing. And Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the youngest, carries whatever we're still hoping for ✨

Remembering those we've lost, grateful for what we have, looking ahead to what's coming. Feels like a good moment to sit with all three.

Wishing you and your whānau a peaceful Matariki.

Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou Māori 🌠