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Summer of 2011 I had my first Intern, I was a little nervous about it, but turned out it was the best decision I could have made. She was a hard worker, a quick learner, a fabulous "people person". Not to mention, my favorite quality..."common sense". Sorry, but it's true.
Megan was on-board for 10 weddings this summer before she headed off to Spain to study abroad for her fall semester. She got her fill of weddings and can pretty much tell you exactly what she wants and doesn’t want for her own wedding now. From early mornings to late nights, she was always there with a smile on her face. I truly enjoyed every moment with her and was so very sad to see her go. I wish I could have cloned her...youth is an amazing thing!! I swear she ran circles around me doing teardowns and I like to think of myself as pretty darn quick.
Below you will find the top 10 things Megan learned from her Internship. She posted this on her Blog and I had to share it.
Top 10 things I Learned from My Wedding Coordinating Internship...by Megan Pitcher
I am notorious for making lists so that I can organize and remember things. I make lists of EVERYTHING. If you were to look in my purse right now, you would find a list of things that I need to get done today, a packing list, and a list of the places I want to visit in my lifetime. Lists ensure me that I will not forget anything, and checking items off a list is the most satisfying feeling.
My boss this summer, Lisa, also shares this love for making a list and checking it twice. Lisa and I had a clipboard full of lists and schedules for each wedding to help anyone that had a question- including ourselves! This wedding coordinating internship was a blast, but also huge learning experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. So, I felt that it would be fitting to make one last list for my internship this summer.
The Top 10 Things I Learned from My Wedding Coordination Internship:
10. Planning an event takes a lot of time and effort. I worked about 12-15 hours on the day of an event, and there are multiple client and vendor meetings before and after that day. I didn’t realize how much work went into planning an event until this summer.
9. Organization is key. Organization helps the set-up, tear down, and everything in between go faster. Lisa is there to make the event seamless and simple, and she did a great job of it!
8. Life is unpredictable. You can’t count on anything -from the weather (especially in Central Illinois) to the best man- to follow your plan for the day. It is important to be able to think on your toes and fix problems that come up before the client even knows about them.
7. Making a good impression on everyone you meet is important. You want people to remember you in a good way. If they love working with you, they will remember you, and even recommend you to others. This statement goes for vendors and clients! Lisa does not do very much advertising, so most of her brides come from the great recommendations of others.
6. Be creative. Each client is completely different, and so was every wedding this summer. Get a feel for your client’s personality, needs, and, wants, and plan accordingly.
5. A client’s wish is your command. A wedding is once in a lifetime. If the bride asks for dinner to be moved up fifteen minutes, it was our job to bend over backwards to get it to happen. Also, no matter what great aunt Mary wants, the client is the one paying for your services, so you should listen to them.
4. Always wear a smile. If something has come up that has added stress to your personal or professional life, it is important not to let it show. The client will start to worry if they think something is wrong. A wedding is a happy day, and a smile is truly contagious.
3. Dress professionally, but sensibly. I learned this the hard way. It is NOT smart to wear a suit coat when you will be working in 100 degree weather. Plan what you are going to wear according to the venue as well as the dress code for your company.
2. Maintain your health. This may seem like a given, but we would get so busy for 8 hours at a time that we would forget how thirsty we were! If the event coordinator passes out, then nobody knows what to do! Staying healthy is an important part of the job.
1. Curly willow trees add height when decorating a room…. and nearly every bride uses them. These are basically long, curling trees without the leaves, and are often put into a vase for decoration. We were required to tear these down and take them back to the vendor at the end of the night. After being poked and prodded by these things each weekend, I would not be sad if I never saw one of them again!
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