The date for the big event is now decided (it could, obviously, be a wedding but it certainly doesn’t have to be) and it looks as though most of the organizing is going to be your responsibility. there’s a lot at stake and a large number of people will be involved and invested in the success of the evening. You don’t want to wind up so anxious that you don’t appreciate the evening yourself, but by the same token you do not want to take too informal a stance and leave too much to chance. Fair or not, you are primarily responsible for this event and you have never handled anything this big before. It sounds like you ought to consider hiring an event planner. NJ has a great deal of talented event planners to choose from so there is no need to settle for second rate. Here are a few basic expectations you should have of a professional event planner.