Thursday, February 26, 2009
Pretending to be my Boss
So the past two days, which are luckily the slowest days of our week, I had to pretend to be Emily. Emily, my catering manager and internship supervisor left for a 4 day holiday to Chicago. She left this past Saturday at 6:00pm, leaving me alone at a wedding for the remainding 2 hours. Although it was a mellow wedding, I still couldn't help feeling stressed. Bob, one of our banquet managers was on site so he acted as my safety net. The following day, the bride sent Emily a message saying we did a fabulous job. Whew! Now only 10 more weddings to survive...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Will you be my Valentine?
150. 150 hours in just under 3 weeks. At this rate I'm going to crash and burn. Haha.
In all seriousness, I definitely feel like I'm more than "just a student". I worked my second wedding on Valentine's day. At first I was feeling stressed out because the bride and groom were 45 minutes late, which threw off the time-line. With such a particular bride, I was surprised. We later found out why they were late and it was because one of the photographers was running late!
Anyway, I learned first hand why we have timelines and why they are so important. This wedding, my role was to assist Emily as another wedding coordinator. I found this more fulfilling than working in the kitchen during a banquet.
The host and guest interaction between our organization and cliental is the key to being a 4.5 star resort. I was the face of Ocotillo that night and I had to solve challenges proposed to me by guests, vendors and other staff. I had to keep everyone happy while trying to keep my sanity, or rather, keep smiling while trying not to show my true colors; I wanted to pull my hair out!
The stress subsided when I was able to solve these challenges, as well as being complimented by the bride in that we can throw one heck of a party!
All and all, the bride and groom were whisked away in their black carriage to a happily-ever-after-ending, whereas the guests were abusing the open bar and getting totally smashed! What a great night! I guess you can say their hangover will serve as a momento for their wedding :)
In all seriousness, I definitely feel like I'm more than "just a student". I worked my second wedding on Valentine's day. At first I was feeling stressed out because the bride and groom were 45 minutes late, which threw off the time-line. With such a particular bride, I was surprised. We later found out why they were late and it was because one of the photographers was running late!
Anyway, I learned first hand why we have timelines and why they are so important. This wedding, my role was to assist Emily as another wedding coordinator. I found this more fulfilling than working in the kitchen during a banquet.
The host and guest interaction between our organization and cliental is the key to being a 4.5 star resort. I was the face of Ocotillo that night and I had to solve challenges proposed to me by guests, vendors and other staff. I had to keep everyone happy while trying to keep my sanity, or rather, keep smiling while trying not to show my true colors; I wanted to pull my hair out!
The stress subsided when I was able to solve these challenges, as well as being complimented by the bride in that we can throw one heck of a party!
All and all, the bride and groom were whisked away in their black carriage to a happily-ever-after-ending, whereas the guests were abusing the open bar and getting totally smashed! What a great night! I guess you can say their hangover will serve as a momento for their wedding :)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Money isn't Everything
In two weeks I have manage to rack up 100 hours at Ocotillo Golf Resort. They are sure getting their money's worth--if I was a paid intern. Although the original pay rate would have been nice, you cannot be a price tag on experience.
Between my part-time job, internship and schooling, my social life has seemed to have dwindled. I keep telling myself I have only 3 more months to go. Now don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy about my position. I do not take this experience for granted. I'm working with a great company that really takes care of their employees. Hey, you can't go wrong with $2.00 employee meals at Bernard's (http://www.ocotillogolf.com/Bernards-Restaurant_0bfd8c283417.html).
I never thought I'd be learning and actually doing wedding planning. At first I was overwhelmed with all the little details going into a wedding, but I have started to get used to it. I was even able to pull off 5 tours this past Saturday! It was nuts but it was awesome. The information about our facilities and wedding packages rolled easily off my tongue. I even recieved some nice compliments from the guests. This past weekend I also learned how to write and complete a BEO (Banquet Event Order), create facility and ceremony layouts, invoicing and much, much more that goes into planning a successful wedding. Oh I have also learned that our guests come from all walks of life and it saddens me to see some future brides putting down their future husbands. Got to love that ball and chain!
Between my part-time job, internship and schooling, my social life has seemed to have dwindled. I keep telling myself I have only 3 more months to go. Now don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy about my position. I do not take this experience for granted. I'm working with a great company that really takes care of their employees. Hey, you can't go wrong with $2.00 employee meals at Bernard's (http://www.ocotillogolf.com/Bernards-Restaurant_0bfd8c283417.html).
I never thought I'd be learning and actually doing wedding planning. At first I was overwhelmed with all the little details going into a wedding, but I have started to get used to it. I was even able to pull off 5 tours this past Saturday! It was nuts but it was awesome. The information about our facilities and wedding packages rolled easily off my tongue. I even recieved some nice compliments from the guests. This past weekend I also learned how to write and complete a BEO (Banquet Event Order), create facility and ceremony layouts, invoicing and much, much more that goes into planning a successful wedding. Oh I have also learned that our guests come from all walks of life and it saddens me to see some future brides putting down their future husbands. Got to love that ball and chain!
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