Submission Deadlines & Fees
June 1st-SUBMISSIONS OPEN, TICKETS GO ON SALE
$100 Early Bird Entry Fees: June 1 through June 30, 2024, 11:59 p.m. CST
$125 Regular Entry Fees: July 1 through July 14, 2024, 11:59 p.m. CST
$150 Last Chance Entry Fees: July 15 through July 28, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
Last Chance Entries have been extended!!
This year's competition is open to events that took place between November 1, 2022 and May 31, 2024.
Important Links
Judging Process
Preview the Submission Questions
Submission Guide
Choosing Your Photos
Budget Worksheets
Begin Your Submission
2024 Antonian Awards categories:
• Best Catered Event—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in catering. Eligible entrants include caterers, specialty bakeries, restaurants, facility operators, hotels, or any other entity that provides food to the special events industry.
• Best Corporate Event Under $75k (Budget Worksheet Under $75k)
• Best Corporate Event Over $75k (Budget Worksheet Over $75k)
This category honors excellence in corporate event planning. Eligible entrants include corporate event planning professionals, facility or venue managers, producers, and managers of events for corporations. Events in this category may include but are not limited to, company celebrations, employee or client appreciation or celebrations, etc.
• Best Dessert—(no budget required) *new category
This category honors excellence in baking. Eligible entrants include caterers, specialty bakeries, restaurants, hotels, or any other entity that provides desserts to the special events industry.
• Best Entertainment Production (Under $50k) (Budget Worksheet Under $50k)
• Best Entertainment Production (Over $50k) (Budget Worksheet Over $50k)
This category honors excellence in entertainment production. Eligible entrants include entertainment producers, choreographers, designers, event professionals, or performers of event entertainment.
• Best Event Design Décor (Under $25k) (Budget Worksheet Under $25k)
• Best Event Design Décor ($25k-$75k) (Budget Worksheet $25-75k)
• Best Event Design Décor (Over $75k) (Budget Worksheet Over $75k)
This category honors excellence in event design. Design/Décor items in this category include but are not limited to theme decor, floral design, props, scenery, display design, and/or balloon artistry.
• Best Event Filmography—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in event videography. Eligible entrants are videographers or event planning professionals who produced a video(s) for a business-related purpose(s).
• Best Event Photography—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in event photography. Eligible entrants are photographers or event planning professionals who produced a photograph(s) for a business-related purpose(s).
• Best Floral Design—(no budget required) *new category
This category honors excellence in floral design. Eligible entrants include floral designers or event planners who worked closely with the florist on the concept. Entrants can also enter the Best Design Decor category, but the submission must describe the full event design, not just floral design.
• Best Industry Contribution—(no budget required)
This category honors an event professional whose event, service, or product impacted the growth and prestige of the live events industry. The contribution may be an article, a speech, a product, a book, a program, or an event. This is not a lifetime achievement award. Note: This is the only category where names and companies/logos are permitted.
• Best Logistics & Support Services—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in logistics and event support services. Eligible entrants include but are not limited to tenting, transportation, crowd control, risk management, and/or other specialty services (photo booths, valet parking, etc.).
• Best Meeting/Conference Program—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in meeting/conference programs. Eligible entrants include meeting and conference planning professionals, destination management companies, or other entities that provide these types of meeting/conference services for single or multi-day programs. The entry should include BOTH a meeting and a special event component.
• Best Non-Profit Event (Under $75k) (Budget Worksheet Under $75k)
• Best Non-Profit Event (Over $75k) (Budget Worksheet Over $75k)
This category honors excellence in non-profit event planning. Eligible entrants include non-profit event planning professionals and other entities that provide these types of non-profit event planning services. Events in this category may include but are not limited to, fundraisers, institutions, campaigns, kick-off events, and/or donor events.
• Best Overall Creative Solution—(no budget required)
This category honors individuals or companies that have met and overcome significant or unique event challenges, including but not limited to unusual or difficult client demands, locations, logistics, and/or time frames in the planning and production of an event. Limited budgets do not qualify as an award-worthy challenge. Must be an event; no products are permitted in this category.
• Best Marketing/Design Collateral—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in digital and print marketing/design. Eligible entrants include producers and designers of digital and print event marketing collateral. Eligible collateral includes advertising, promotional pieces, invitations, event signage, etc.
• Best Public Event—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in planning and implementing public events. Eligible entrants include public event planning professionals or other entities that provide these types of public event services. Events in this category may include but are not limited to, street fairs, festivals, trade shows, concerts, and sporting events.
• Best Social Event (Under $75k) (Budget Worksheet Under $75k)
• Best Social Event (Over $75k) (Budget Worksheet Over $75k)
This category honors excellence in social event planning. Eligible entrants include social event planning professionals and other entities that provide these types of social event planning services. Events in this category include but are not limited to bar/bat mitzvahs, personal celebrations, and milestone birthdays, i.e., Sweet 16, 40, 50, etc. Weddings are not eligible in this category; see Wedding Category.
• Best Team Event (Under $75k)(Budget Worksheet Under $75k)
• Best Team Event (Over $75k) (Budget Worksheet Over $75k)
This category honors excellence by a team of industry event professionals (a minimum of three members from the same association are needed to qualify for this category and one must be a member of an association—ILEA, NACE, AAHA, etc.). Events in this category may include, any event produced for a client. Only ONE online entry is allowed for each event. A team leader must be chosen and is responsible for the team's entry. For question #6, each team member must supply one answer to the team leader who will include it in the team's entry.
• Best Technical Production—(no budget required)
This category honors excellence in special event technical, design, or execution services of a non-social event (corporate, non-profit, etc.). Eligible items include but are not limited to lighting, audio visual, multi-media, staging, and special effects.
• Best Wedding (Micro or Elopement)—(no budget required)
This category recognizes excellence in wedding planning services for a micro wedding or elopement for up to 50 people (including the wedding party). Eligible entrants include wedding planning professionals and other entities that provide wedding planning services. All elements of the micro wedding/elopement must be included, not just one section (flowers, venue, etc.).
• Wedding (Under $75k) (Budget Worksheet Under $75k)
• Wedding($75-$150k) (Budget Worksheet $75-150k)
• Wedding (Over $150k) (Budget Worksheet Over $150k)
This category honors excellence in wedding planning. Eligible entrants include wedding planning professionals and other entities that provide these types of wedding planning services. Events in this category are limited to weddings only.