I have spent the week in the books. And let me tell you it has been really tough. I couldn't believe that it took a mere five months to get me out of the habit of studying that I have had for 15 years.
Anyway my assignment this week has been working on my own personal method by comparing my internet research from last week with several printed options and choosing what I feel is important and there by creating my own method out of several other professionals. But the most interesting part of the week has been the etiquette training, which consists of reading about 4 different books on etiquette, wedding etiquette, life etiquette and general etiquette. Its funny how these simple rules keep our society running. I really think that all the reading I am doing should be mandatory to all students in fact I think they should offer a class on etiquette in the Corporate Event Planning certificate as a required course.
Alright I hope everyone has a wonderful day I have to continue my reading.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Nearly the end...
I can feel the effects of the wedding season in my life, today is the first Saturday that I have not had to work or prepared for a wedding in the coming weeks and I am bored. I have no idea as to what to do today, its funny how quickly I became used to the hectic schedule of a planner.
This past week has been rather slow, we have mostly been talking and working on my own personal method once I enter the "real world" and so far that is the plan for next week as well. It is really nice that Alisha goes so far out of her way to help me get on my feet at the end of my internship.
The most significant event of interest this week was pitching for a fund raising organization for the Phoenix Art Museum. Alisha takes on a community service project each year and learned about this one at our gallery wedding a few weeks ago. We dressed nice and met with the group Wednesday morning and discussed what services she would be able to offer probono for these ladies in their efforts to raise money for the gallery. It was interesting to see Alisha make a formal pitch to offer her services free of charge. You would think they should be thankful that she is willing, but it was a formal like interview. What I learned is that in this industry you are constantly building on your own personal reputation and therefor should take every interaction seriously and behave professionally. Treating each client as though they are your first priority.
Other than that I have been getting into the job hunt mind set...any ideas??
This past week has been rather slow, we have mostly been talking and working on my own personal method once I enter the "real world" and so far that is the plan for next week as well. It is really nice that Alisha goes so far out of her way to help me get on my feet at the end of my internship.
The most significant event of interest this week was pitching for a fund raising organization for the Phoenix Art Museum. Alisha takes on a community service project each year and learned about this one at our gallery wedding a few weeks ago. We dressed nice and met with the group Wednesday morning and discussed what services she would be able to offer probono for these ladies in their efforts to raise money for the gallery. It was interesting to see Alisha make a formal pitch to offer her services free of charge. You would think they should be thankful that she is willing, but it was a formal like interview. What I learned is that in this industry you are constantly building on your own personal reputation and therefor should take every interaction seriously and behave professionally. Treating each client as though they are your first priority.
Other than that I have been getting into the job hunt mind set...any ideas??
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Not so Bridezilla...
The wedding we coordinated this weekend was one that was originally supposed to be aired on the the Bridezilla Show on the Wedding Channel. The bride was nervous and stressed as a a bride usually is and a little uncoordinated with so much going on but by no means a bridezilla. My morning started on site Saturday at 11am. Before I was even out of my car a bridal family member was interrogating me as to why the pastor was not notified that we were only starting set up at 11am and not 8am anymore. Truth be told it was an honest miscommunication mistake. We had arranged to come early to start decorating, and the bride changed it to 11am and we only remembered to call the Pastor that morning, he was honestly not worried about it and totally understood, but the family member was full of wedding day jitters and was not to calm about it. Either way the van with all of the decor did not arrive till 12:30pm anyway leaving it really tight for us to get the ceremony site ready, but we all worked really hard and the stage was ready for show time.
As I mentioned before this was my first solo, and it wasn't flawless but it was good. I got the bridal party down the aisle about 20 minutes late, because the bride had a large dress that took some time getting on. And I had to set up the cocktail hour whilst the ceremony was going on. The ceremony ran short and the chocolate fountain wasn't ready, and also to find out the cups were at the reception site and not the ceremony site. This minor tragedy caused problems for Alisha cause her volunteers decided dropping off the cups was an opportunity to ditch her, leaving her to finish the site just in time for the guests to arrive. The cups arrived about ten minutes after the cocktail hour started. Also I think a lot of the guests left immediately after the ceremony for the site cause there were only like 20 people at the cocktail hour. Anyway I stayed calm and to be honest I felt in my element running the ceremony, I really enjoyed it.
The reception went off very well considering, the bartender never showed and we never found out why. The cake sort of collapsed while cutting it and we luckily caught it and saved it!!! It was more funny than tragic to be honest. We ended the wedding about and hour early because guests were already heading home. And it was a little sad that there weren't really people to send the bridal party off. However the bride and groom were having to much fun to notice anyway.
What I learned was to know your guests, no matter the amount of alcohol no group of people are going to attend a 8 hour party, I suggest either a morning wedding or evening wedding but not both. People are funny like that, I also learned to try and keep the venue an open space, creating walls between the dance floor and tables separates people and creates clicks.
Clean up went off pretty well and Alisha and I were home around 12:30am. I wish this blogging site was not public, the stories we could share with each other that does not need to be filtered due to public access can only be interesting, and I am not referring to yesterdays wedding specifically.
As I mentioned before this was my first solo, and it wasn't flawless but it was good. I got the bridal party down the aisle about 20 minutes late, because the bride had a large dress that took some time getting on. And I had to set up the cocktail hour whilst the ceremony was going on. The ceremony ran short and the chocolate fountain wasn't ready, and also to find out the cups were at the reception site and not the ceremony site. This minor tragedy caused problems for Alisha cause her volunteers decided dropping off the cups was an opportunity to ditch her, leaving her to finish the site just in time for the guests to arrive. The cups arrived about ten minutes after the cocktail hour started. Also I think a lot of the guests left immediately after the ceremony for the site cause there were only like 20 people at the cocktail hour. Anyway I stayed calm and to be honest I felt in my element running the ceremony, I really enjoyed it.
The reception went off very well considering, the bartender never showed and we never found out why. The cake sort of collapsed while cutting it and we luckily caught it and saved it!!! It was more funny than tragic to be honest. We ended the wedding about and hour early because guests were already heading home. And it was a little sad that there weren't really people to send the bridal party off. However the bride and groom were having to much fun to notice anyway.
What I learned was to know your guests, no matter the amount of alcohol no group of people are going to attend a 8 hour party, I suggest either a morning wedding or evening wedding but not both. People are funny like that, I also learned to try and keep the venue an open space, creating walls between the dance floor and tables separates people and creates clicks.
Clean up went off pretty well and Alisha and I were home around 12:30am. I wish this blogging site was not public, the stories we could share with each other that does not need to be filtered due to public access can only be interesting, and I am not referring to yesterdays wedding specifically.
Friday, April 3, 2009
One needs the bride to plan a wedding...
This week has been constantly postponed. I understand life happens and as planner and coordinator I need to learn to deal with and work with situations like this. This is another one of my obstacles that I am working on over coming and learning about myself during my internship. I am a very scheduled and reliable person, I am punctual and dedicated to what ever I am doing. We have a wedding tomorrow afternoon that I feel will be cutting it close. One of our last and most important meetings was canceled on Wednesday because the maid of honor went to the hospital on what she thought was labor pains. It was a false alarm. Luckily Alisha was able to meet up with her before the rehearsal to iron out some details. We were supposed to meet up again today but did not hear from the bride till late this afternoon, and by that lost another day. And I am not saying anything against the bride, I am fully aware of her situation and its not only her wedding that is filling up her plate right now. It is just tough to feel completely prepared for tomorrow with so much going on. But that is the life of a planner.
Luckily Alisha in all of her confidence and experience has prepped me very well to run my first solo on Saturday. Alisha will be at the reception site this Saturday getting it ready whilst I am at the church coordinating the ceremony, I am really excited and nervous to be in charge of something this big for the first time. I know I will do well.
We also ran a site inspection this week for a wedding that we will be coordinating in May at this million dollar home in Scottsdale with spectacular views. It will be a very unique and cool ceremony.
Those are the big things we have dealt with this week. Wish me luck for tomorrow.
Luckily Alisha in all of her confidence and experience has prepped me very well to run my first solo on Saturday. Alisha will be at the reception site this Saturday getting it ready whilst I am at the church coordinating the ceremony, I am really excited and nervous to be in charge of something this big for the first time. I know I will do well.
We also ran a site inspection this week for a wedding that we will be coordinating in May at this million dollar home in Scottsdale with spectacular views. It will be a very unique and cool ceremony.
Those are the big things we have dealt with this week. Wish me luck for tomorrow.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
My first culturally different wedding...
What a beautiful Spanish/English wedding and reception. It was the least stressful event so far and it was still a great experience, again my biggest struggle was learning that its ok when everything is not perfect, and its ok when you mess up. At the end of the day it is what it is and people still had a wonderful time!
This wedding was held at the Phoenix Art Museum in Downtown Phoenix, a very unique and spectacular location. The reception was held in the great hall and the ceremony on the grass outside.
We were mostly in charge of making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be and making sure everything runs smoothly. We even had to turn into last minute decorators because the bride ran out of time.
Our day started at around 1:30pm and it began with hauling the decor from the brides house to the site. Moving glass with out protective boxes was tougher than it seems, we did manage to get everything on site with out breaking it. However 3 of the centerpiece bowls broke before reception. The glass was so thin I broke it with my bare hands just moving it. Luckily I did not get cut. But I did get injured later in the day.
After helping with the decor and checking in with all the vendors and making sure the reception hall was perfect we set up the cocktail hour room which is where I had a run in with the table and banged up my shin pretty badly. This is where one of the glitches occurred, we were short a few linens for the cocktail hour tables but we improvised using linens from the reception and ceremony twice.
Now going over my day it feels like we did not do much but it was so busy I was running around until the vows started.
Once the party started we had to over see the whole thing making sure people are where they are supposed to be and help where ever a hand was needed.
I got to see one of my first intern decision at work when the translator was working and I made a good judgment call by hiring Ricky, he was fun and focused doing a great job.
Alisha said it nicely, we are being paid to be there friends and make sure they have a wonderful day! All in all the day went smoothly the couple had a great time and family seemed to really like us and knew that they could come to us for whatever they needed. My favorite part of this wedding was a little baby in a tux.
I learned that there is no real job description and that we have to do whatever it takes to get the job done in time even when things are chaotic. This weddings most chaotic feature was the seating chart where the last minute seating chart did not match the printed labels, and on some tables there were more names then seats. This is where we scrambled the most and just made the call that the VIP table were important and the rest can be placed sporadically. It ended up being rather interesting watching a 180 guests try to find their seats with minimal direction. Organization is key!!! This time I got home around 12:30am, I was excited about the early night.
This wedding was held at the Phoenix Art Museum in Downtown Phoenix, a very unique and spectacular location. The reception was held in the great hall and the ceremony on the grass outside.
We were mostly in charge of making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be and making sure everything runs smoothly. We even had to turn into last minute decorators because the bride ran out of time.
Our day started at around 1:30pm and it began with hauling the decor from the brides house to the site. Moving glass with out protective boxes was tougher than it seems, we did manage to get everything on site with out breaking it. However 3 of the centerpiece bowls broke before reception. The glass was so thin I broke it with my bare hands just moving it. Luckily I did not get cut. But I did get injured later in the day.
After helping with the decor and checking in with all the vendors and making sure the reception hall was perfect we set up the cocktail hour room which is where I had a run in with the table and banged up my shin pretty badly. This is where one of the glitches occurred, we were short a few linens for the cocktail hour tables but we improvised using linens from the reception and ceremony twice.
Now going over my day it feels like we did not do much but it was so busy I was running around until the vows started.
Once the party started we had to over see the whole thing making sure people are where they are supposed to be and help where ever a hand was needed.
I got to see one of my first intern decision at work when the translator was working and I made a good judgment call by hiring Ricky, he was fun and focused doing a great job.
Alisha said it nicely, we are being paid to be there friends and make sure they have a wonderful day! All in all the day went smoothly the couple had a great time and family seemed to really like us and knew that they could come to us for whatever they needed. My favorite part of this wedding was a little baby in a tux.
I learned that there is no real job description and that we have to do whatever it takes to get the job done in time even when things are chaotic. This weddings most chaotic feature was the seating chart where the last minute seating chart did not match the printed labels, and on some tables there were more names then seats. This is where we scrambled the most and just made the call that the VIP table were important and the rest can be placed sporadically. It ended up being rather interesting watching a 180 guests try to find their seats with minimal direction. Organization is key!!! This time I got home around 12:30am, I was excited about the early night.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A week of research
The week was my week back from spring break and it was a little different from my average week with La Ruche because Alisha was out of town. Tragedy struck a friend of hers this week when she lost her mother and Alisha has been by her side since. It sounds bad to say it this way but that is the perk of a smaller company, she can do that.
I have spent the week doing research and learning more about my trade, seeing how other planners operate and how to deal with certain families. It may not have been a super busy week with our clients but it was definitely an educational week.
Even with learning about the troubles and dramas that come along with special event planning I am sure that I have made the right decision as to what to do with my life.
I have learned what types of things to say at initial client meetings for example asking the clients "what they envision for their event" as opposed to just throwing my ideas at them. This way I learn more about them and create my ideas around their visions. Oddly enough this is a challenge for me considering I am so headstrong on how I think things should be done and I have to let that go and do what the clients want not what I want.
It may not have been a week of first hand learning but definitely and educational week none the less.
I have spent the week doing research and learning more about my trade, seeing how other planners operate and how to deal with certain families. It may not have been a super busy week with our clients but it was definitely an educational week.
Even with learning about the troubles and dramas that come along with special event planning I am sure that I have made the right decision as to what to do with my life.
I have learned what types of things to say at initial client meetings for example asking the clients "what they envision for their event" as opposed to just throwing my ideas at them. This way I learn more about them and create my ideas around their visions. Oddly enough this is a challenge for me considering I am so headstrong on how I think things should be done and I have to let that go and do what the clients want not what I want.
It may not have been a week of first hand learning but definitely and educational week none the less.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
From beginning to end...
Wow what a busy 10ish days!!! Just when you thought you have an idea of how an event goes you learn a hundred new things, you also discover how little you knew before the event. Alisha and I hosted a wedding this weekend for 187 guests where La Ruche was in charge of almost every aspect of the event. What an amazing experience.
The week leading up we spent most of our days tying up lose ends confirming the vendors and decor help. Not to mention making 200 boxes and bows for the guest gifts as well as preparing the ceremony programs.
I have never understood how many 200 is till this week. The day of was even crazier but it was so awesome and stressful and nerve wrecking and successful. My morning started Saturday morning around 9:30am, Alisha was running a little late trying to get some last minute things in order. I was on site when the girls who were helping us with decor arrived, let me tell you we needed the help, here is the glimpse of before and after.
BEFORE
AFTER
The girls showed up on ten and set up began, luckily we had a lot of help from the hotel employees. Putting on chair covers and chair ties, cutting and washing fruit for the decor as well as mapping out the seating chart table names and followed by trying to form a long piece of white fabric into something nice to look at whilst the wind is blowing, luckily the florist brought zip ties and we managed to get it up and sturdy.
We finished these tasks at around 2 where Alisha and I took a little break for lunch. When we got back it was crunch time. Adding the finishing touches to the table linens and center pieces as well as getting creative with some of the decor bought over the year of planning that had not specific purpose yet. Making sure the bridal party and brides were happy was constantly on our minds as well. The silliest thing caused me a lot of stress, trying to get the place cards out when the paper they are printed on refuses to tear on the perforated edge and is taking way longer than we had, luckily four or five of the hotel staff helped me and we got them out and ready at the very last minute before we opened the doors for dinner after the ceremony and cocktail hour. Alisha and I both missed the entire ceremony because we were finishing up the room. With everything going on we had amazing staff and vendors to help the evening be perfect, and you know what it was AWESOME!
During the reception we had a little down time, just making sure we were available to the guests and vendors if they needed anything. After a highly successful reception where everyone had a grand time it was time for break down. Break down took about 2.5 hours, removing all the decor and cleaning up the mess, again the hotel staff were a great help but only responsible for the catering related things, leaving us with all the extras and and about 1.5 hours after they all left. We got home at about 3:20 am making for an 18 hour day. And you know what that 18 hour shift was better than any 6 hour shift at other jobs I have had, I know I am in the right field and career path.
The week leading up we spent most of our days tying up lose ends confirming the vendors and decor help. Not to mention making 200 boxes and bows for the guest gifts as well as preparing the ceremony programs.
I have never understood how many 200 is till this week. The day of was even crazier but it was so awesome and stressful and nerve wrecking and successful. My morning started Saturday morning around 9:30am, Alisha was running a little late trying to get some last minute things in order. I was on site when the girls who were helping us with decor arrived, let me tell you we needed the help, here is the glimpse of before and after.
BEFORE
AFTER
The girls showed up on ten and set up began, luckily we had a lot of help from the hotel employees. Putting on chair covers and chair ties, cutting and washing fruit for the decor as well as mapping out the seating chart table names and followed by trying to form a long piece of white fabric into something nice to look at whilst the wind is blowing, luckily the florist brought zip ties and we managed to get it up and sturdy.
We finished these tasks at around 2 where Alisha and I took a little break for lunch. When we got back it was crunch time. Adding the finishing touches to the table linens and center pieces as well as getting creative with some of the decor bought over the year of planning that had not specific purpose yet. Making sure the bridal party and brides were happy was constantly on our minds as well. The silliest thing caused me a lot of stress, trying to get the place cards out when the paper they are printed on refuses to tear on the perforated edge and is taking way longer than we had, luckily four or five of the hotel staff helped me and we got them out and ready at the very last minute before we opened the doors for dinner after the ceremony and cocktail hour. Alisha and I both missed the entire ceremony because we were finishing up the room. With everything going on we had amazing staff and vendors to help the evening be perfect, and you know what it was AWESOME!
During the reception we had a little down time, just making sure we were available to the guests and vendors if they needed anything. After a highly successful reception where everyone had a grand time it was time for break down. Break down took about 2.5 hours, removing all the decor and cleaning up the mess, again the hotel staff were a great help but only responsible for the catering related things, leaving us with all the extras and and about 1.5 hours after they all left. We got home at about 3:20 am making for an 18 hour day. And you know what that 18 hour shift was better than any 6 hour shift at other jobs I have had, I know I am in the right field and career path.
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