The Intern Experience!

My role as an intern was to assist Em in the entire planning process. I often updated timelines for events based on the changes that were made. I would also make “inspiration boards” for clients to put all of their verbal ideas into a visual with their color scheme along with some examples from other weddings. In addition to this, I filled out updated invoices, and emailed them to clients as a payment reminder a month in advance to when they are due. I also posted on all of Em’s social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Blog). I would choose a picture from her previous weddings and include an attractive caption, and popular hashtags. It was fun to see all of the likes and comments she got from other planners and vendors. I also posted blogs on Em’s website, one being what to wear to a wedding based on the venue and theme that was written on the invitation. I thoroughly enjoyed going to meetings with clients and vendors. It was interesting to witness how everything comes together, and how many decisions need to be made about every intricate detail of the big day. For example, before this internship I had little-to-no knowledge of how many different kind of linens there were and how big of a difference they made in the table setting, or how important following a timeline was to the very last second. Before this internship, I was the most unorganized, scattered person on the planet. Em’s organizational habits with all of her clients has taught me that having every file in order, and keeping contracts/notes together is extremely important, and I now use this with my abundance of school-work files and paperwork.

Although this internship was full of fun and so many laughs, I also learned so much about communication, adapting to the client’s personalities/styles, and enthusiasm for the job. All clients, as well as their families, are so incredibly different, one might find it hard to descipher a way to make all of them happy, but Em thrives in this area. She is able to adjust herself to any given situation. When disagreements occur, she acts as a mediator, and doesn’t let things get out of control. Her positive attitude is contagious to everyone in the room.

I would highly recommend this internship with this company to students who are ready to jump into a real-world experience. This is no “coffee run” internship. Em does a fabulous job of being very hands on and educational while teaching me the ropes of event planning. No two days are the same. She allows you to bring out your own creativity into the work as opposed to copying her style. She really helps one flourish and discover what they’re good at, and what they could be better at. Her constructive criticism is extremely helpful, and she helps you with every task along the way. I absolutely loved that I was able to be creative with Em, and even apply what I learned in this internship to my Event Planning class. An advantage of applying for this internship is that it is essentially one-on-one, besides client and vendor meetings, which allows for asking as many questions as you want and an immense amount of learning. I am so incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity with Em, and I can't wait for her to plan my wedding someday!