By: Erica Block

EVENTFULLY PLANNED INTERNSHIP FALL 2013

My internship took place with Jaime Nelson at her home based wedding planning business ,Eventfully

Planned ,located in South Kingston Rhode Island. I couldn't’t have asked for a better Supervisor. She taught me so much over the course of 11 weeks. She introduced me to so many

vendors that I will never forget working with.

INTRODUCTION/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Jaime runs Eventfully Planned all on her own. So during this trimester I was the only other person working for her. She has

some people that she knows she can call if she needs help executing events. For example, we worked with a women named Karen for about 4 out of the 7 weddings we had during this term.

My favorite part was interacting with each new couple every week. It kept me on my toes wondering how one wedding would be

different from the next.

INTRODUCTION/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Throughout this internship I have had many accomplishments. The top 3 accomplishments included:

Setting up the receptions Working with different vendors and making a lot of connections

Learning how to make a Wedding Timeline and knowing the order of how everything goes from the ceremony through the

end of the reception

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goals Before The Internship Began:

Learn the flow of a Wedding Day How to work with different types of brides

Learn about vendor contracts How to write a contract Learn how to use Excel

Most importantly: How to become a great wedding planner

****All of these goals have been met above and beyond thanks to my supervisor Jaime! ****

PERSONAL GOALS

Eventfully Planned has been up and running for about 6 years now. Before Eventfully Planned, Jaime worked at the

New York Yacht club for 9 years then went to work at the Ale House in Newport when she turned 21. At both locations she worked front of the house as well as the back of the

house. At the age of twenty three Jaime decided to join the United States Navy where she learned superb customer

service and attention to detail. After 5 years she was honorably discharged and decided to pursue her career in

hospitality. She went to Johnson and Wales in Providence and received her bachelors degree in 2007. On top of going to

school, she was working full time at the Ocean cliff hotel as a caterer manager. After she got her degree from Johnson

and Wales she knew it was time to open up her own business, and that's when Eventfully Planned came about.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW OF EVENTFULLY PLANNED

MISSION STATEMENT OF EVENTFULLY PLANNED

“Eventfully Planned is here to help you plan the event of your dreams! Whether you need full-service planning or day-of coordination, we will customize our services to meet your needs. Trained and educated in the hospitality industry, we make planning seem seamless!”

Jaime Nelson Owner of Business

Vendors and clients help keep Jaime’s business

successful

Erica Block (Me)Intern

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF EVENTFULLY PLANNED

At Eventfully Planned my main roles as an intern were:

Typing and Maintaining Wedding Day Timelines

Office management/organization Assistance at events

Attendance at meetings for clients Oversight of vendor set-up

Confirmation of room setup and layout

MY ROLE IN EVENTFULLY PLANNED

During my internship I had a total of 7 weddings that I had the opportunity to help plan and coordinate with

Jaime. Each wedding was different so I was not working on just one big project for the term. Each wedding required different decisions, implementations, and strategies. Each event in my eyes was absolutely amazing. I had experienced diversity in venues, vendors, decorations, and brides. I got to set-up

weddings in barns, mansions, yachting centers, and banquet halls. The most popular color scheme this

term was navy and yellow, but for the most part almost every wedding was completely different from the next.

PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS

Decisions that I have had to make through this term:

Weather or not to have an outdoor ceremony outside by looking at the forecast for possible rain

Which vendor would be the best for the type of wedding the couple desires

Deciding how to set-up the reception space by using my

creativity

PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS

Quality of work:

PROJECT REVIEW PRCOESS

Tracy & Gregg’s Wedding

Michaela and Travers Wedding

Kim’s Wedding

For a wedding I had to pick up food for the bridal party so they had snacks while getting hair & makeup done, pick up a box of joe, and go to the brides apartment to set-up

the food and drinks before 8:30am. So I went onto MapQuest, typed in each address to figure how far each

place was from each other so I could figure out what time I should leave my apartment and how much time I have at each spot. I use my time management skills for each and every wedding. I am usually running to stores last minute

and I have to make sure I am on time for everything.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

I used communication every day during my internship. One time, I had to confirm a florist for the upcoming

wedding. We went over the order, and it is a good thing we did. The florist only had written down 10 centerpieces when the bride really needed 12. If I did not communicate

with the vendor there would have been two tables that didn't’t have a centerpiece and that would have upset the

bride.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

During a meeting with a potential client Jaime told me the first thing we needed to ask was their budget. How much are they willing to

spend? The couple started naming a few places in Newport that they were thinking of hosting

their wedding. I figured their budget was pretty high considering the places they were naming. Jaime kindly interrupted them asking their budget. The couple said $30,000. I knew

there was no way they would be able to have it at the places they were mentioning with only a

30,000 dollar budget. We then gave them some venue options right away that could

most likely meet with their budget. Jumping ahead to planning before asking how much

they want to spend is risky.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

My coursework from Johnson and Wales University has helped me organize, understand, and make sense of the

internship experience-.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

Crowd Control- I have coordinated events with more than 150 people. Transporting them from the ceremony spot to the reception spot could be challenging. Organization- During school I have to keep

myself organized for all my classes, I used the same techniques during my internship by keeping a calendar, making schedules, and keeping separate files for each wedding.

Alcohol Management -I was working a wedding two weekends ago. By the

time it was 9:00PM, I had to cut a group at the bar because of the way I saw they were acting. If they had been

served all night, it would have caused a problem. Having the knowledge to catch the signs of intoxication was

definitely helpful

PERSONAL REFLECTION

Time Management – Jaime and I make wedding timelines , which are hour by hour schedules for the wedding day. These keep us organized and confident that we will get everything done.

*I have learned all of the above in my coursework and have expanded my knowledge by using it in real life situations during the weddings I coordinated this trimester.*

RACHELLE & MARTIN’S WEDDING

AT COMMANDERS MANSION IN BOSTON

JEN AND MATT’S WEDDING

Narragansett at Kinney Bungalow

TRACY AND GREG'S WEDDING

Newport yachting center

KIM & MIKE’S WEDDING

Newport-Gooseberry Beach

MICHAELA AND TRAVER’S

WEDDING

Bristol- Mt. Hope Farm

SARA AND SEAN’S WEDDING

NarragansettNorth Beach Clubhouse and The Towers

LINDY AD PATRICK’S WEDDING The Towers in

Narragansett

And they lived Happily Ever After…

The End