The Top 5 Things I Learned as an Event Intern
Before my internship working with Serendipitous Events this summer, I had a couple of ideas of what being an event planner would be like. Surely it would involve making a couple or family amazed at how you can transform a space into the wedding of their dreams and going to vendor meetings, but what are some of the things that this job requires that I didn’t think of before I worked my first wedding? Over the summer, I learned that there is a lot of hard work that goes into making dreams become reality.
Here are the top 5 things I learned on my way to being a better planner!
1. You have to be organized.
Working in event planner, you need to know every detail of every event going on. What type of flowers are you ordering, what time the caterer will arrive, how are you getting the cocktail tables from Point A to Point B? All of these things have to stay organized, for multiple events at a time. Taking notes is key to making this happen!
2. But you also have to be flexible
Event with your skills of mastering your timeline and all the little details, there will be times where things will not go to plan. “The world is an imperfect place, screws fall out all the time,” The Breakfast Club. You must be willing to find solutions to the random problems that occur, such as the wedding party taking too long to leave the ceremony or a collar fitting too tightly on a groomsman. You are in charge of making the chaos flow back to normality.
3. You to also be a problem solver
There are people who see a problem and get flustered, and then there’s us event planners who think of a creative solution for figuring out a solution. Just like planners get their creative juices flowing by planning layouts and table settings and decor for brides, they are just as creative when it comes to engineering solutions to making your wedding or event perfect! Whether that be hanging a picture frame from a bottom of a staircase with wire or getting 12 groomsmen down a staircase safely. Most problems, a good planner is already prepared for because they have experience, but sometimes random things come up an an even better planner can work to fix it on the spot.
4. You have to be able to work long hours.
Corporate or private events sometimes only involve part of your day, but when working as a wedding planner you are typically required to work 10-15 hour days. Without knowing how rewarding and fast-paced those days are, that might seem daunting. Wedding days have been, without a doubt, some of my favorite days of this summer. Watching a bride walk into a venue and cry with adornment and getting thank you’s from the newlyweds in their wedding speeches makes these long hours SO worth it.
5. Finally, you have to be passionate
Let’s face it, it can be physically and mentally exhausting to be on top of your game at all times. If it weren’t for the passion that I have experienced about this industry and seen from my coworkers, it would be a challenge to get through the days. But something drives us to be engaged and excited to take on each event as if it was our own! At the end of the day, the beauty that comes from a job well done is worth any stressors that come your way.
XO,
Sara Waldner / Summer 2018 Intern
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Photo Credit: The Photography Shoppe