My first wedding!!!

Events can be exhausting!!!!

I can’t believe that time goes so by fast, I am almost done with my internship and also my degree at Curtin university! Although most of my time has been spent in the office and completing tasks that would be done within the organisation on a daily basis, I got the opportunity to help run a wedding recently and I jumped at the opportunity.

When I arrived at the venue I felt the anticipation in the air, staff were busy fixing last minute details and the events manager was ensuring everything looked perfect before the guests arrived. The venue looked amazing, there were flowers everywhere and candles that lit the room beautifully. The Breakwater is an award winning venue that is renowned for their weddings, the room over looks the harbour and you can see the sun setting which really sets the mood for the evening.

The event ran smoothly without any major problems, I really learnt the importance of keeping on top of what was going on through out the night especially being informed and aware of any problems in order to make sensible decisions before they escalate. Other important things to remember when organising and planning an event, especially in my organisation I completed my internship were:

• Agree the purpose- this will help inform everyone who is involved and give everyone clear objectives.
• Know your audience- be aware of who will be attending the event, any dietary requirements, underage guest and so on. This will help you target and meet your objectives.
• Plan- having a clear and concise plan of the event, everything leading up to the day will be well thought through and organised. On the specific night have a print out of the plan, which should include timings and the event lay out, this is essential to keep the event running smoothly.
• Consider timings- allow for time changes, sometimes certain aspects of the night such as speeches might run overtime. It is important to prepare for these and act accordingly such as informing the kitchen on any delays and change the plan if necessary.
• Co-ordinate- give staff specific roles, ensure everyone is briefed and ensure everyone who is involved is well informed and are given specific responsibilities and tasks. The event manager is the main member who is responsible for the overall event and therefore must remain professional and make any necessary arrangements and actions.

I really enjoyed participating in the wedding, I got to have a real hands on approach to organising an event and the type of requirements necessary for the PR professional who co-ordinates an event.

I think the main key I took away from this experience was not to expect the event to go perfectly and be open to changes to the plan, instead of worry about the problem it is better to act accordingly and work on fixing the issue being presented. Organisation is such an important element in being prepared as much as possible and hopefully create an event that is successful and beneficial to the organisation.