Class Reunion Planning Checklist: Budget, Timeline & Registration

A class reunion needs a clear budget, a reliable guest list and someone responsible for each deadline. This planning guide is for volunteer committees organizing a paid dinner or reunion weekend. For product selection, use the separate reunion ticketing comparison.

Six to twelve months before: agree on the scope

Choose the event format and a realistic attendance range before booking a room. Assign responsibility for finances, venue coordination, classmate outreach and registration. Keep the event account and records accessible to the committee, rather than tied to one volunteer's personal payment history.

Ask classmates for interest and date preferences, while distinguishing a survey response from a paid commitment. Obtain venue quotes with minimum spend, deposit, cancellation dates and accessibility information recorded in writing.

Build a break-even budget

Separate fixed costs from per-person costs. For example, if the room and entertainment cost $2,000 and the meal costs $40 per guest, 100 guests cost $6,000 before payment fees and contingency. A $60 ticket would leave no margin for either. This is a hypothetical planning example, not a case study.

Budget using a conservative attendance estimate, include ticketing and processing, and decide who covers fees. Use the fee calculator to estimate the amount available for venue payments. Record when funds become available, not just the sales total.

Three to six months before: publish registration

State the date, venue, inclusions, price, refund terms, catering deadline and committee contact. Use separate ticket types only when they change price, access or capacity. Ask for a name for every attendee and collect meal choices per person where required.

Download the registration checklist. Before sharing the page, try a solo booking, a classmate-plus-guest booking, a name correction and a refund. Keep sensitive attendee information restricted to the people who need it.

One to three months before: reconcile and communicate

Compare the paid guest count with the venue commitment weekly. Keep a record of sponsorships, complimentary tickets and any scholarship-funded places so they are not confused with missing payments. Send practical reminders with accommodation, transport and accessibility information.

Have a plan for someone who cannot book online. Assign a committee member to enter the registration and record the payment method consistently. Avoid maintaining separate lists that disagree on the total headcount.

Two weeks before: freeze the catering version

Export the names and meal totals for the caterer. Label that version with a date, then track changes made after the cutoff. Confirm the door team has the correct access, charged devices and an offline fallback if the venue connection fails.

Event day and handover

Keep a clear policy for walk-ins, sold-out meals and guest substitutions. After the event, reconcile receipts, fees, refunds and unpaid expenses. Retain only the attendee data needed for legitimate follow-up and share a final budget and handover note with the next committee.

For software selection, return to the platform comparison. This guide covers planning decisions; it does not rank ticketing products.