It’s officially been a full week since my internship started here at Strawberry Milk Events and it has already been such a learning experience! Check out what I’ve been up to so far:

First thing was first–the pinterest boards needed to be organized! One of my first projects was to take broad categories like “Weddings” and separate the photos into smaller, more specific categories such as Bridal Gowns, Escort Cards, Centerpieces Invitations and Bridal Beauty. This ensures easy accessibility for clients and/or readers looking for inspirational photos, and helps Strawberry Milk find specific pins for showing ideas or developing visual concepts more easily.

Calling vendors regarding payments for an upcoming wedding was completely new to me and admittedly, a bit tricky. The company’s reputation relies on social interaction and how we present ourselves to other vendors.  Julie helped coach me through professional phone etiquette, including anticipating answers to possible questions before they’re even asked!

During one of Julie’s phone calls, I was introduced to attrition clauses in regard to creating room blocks for wedding guests. For example, a courtesy room block lets the client reserve ten or less rooms with no attrition (financial obligation) applied. This means that if all ten rooms do not book, the client is not held responsible to pay for the unfilled rooms. If a client decides to book a larger room block (typically more than ten rooms) it then is no longer a courtesy block and there is typically 80% attrition.  Meaning, if 80% of the rooms do not pick up, the client is responsible for paying the extra rooms to meet that 80% minimum. This is extremely useful information if you’re looking into reserving rooms for your guests – each hotel varies a little bit. Know the terms and what to ask for!

Here is a quick sketch of what Julie wanted for the editorial photoshoot for Engaged Magazine. She described her vision of the dessert shot to me, and I composed a more detailed sketch in order to translate her idea into a complete picture!

We stopped by Betsey Robinson’s Bridal Collection to look at trendy bridal gowns and accessories for the Engaged Magazine photoshoot. Now, coordinating the accessories with the dresses was the fun part! We made sure to choose dresses with different styles so that the looks had variation and would intrigue readers of all kinds!

Loving the immense colors in the bridesmaid collection. Choosing the dresses for the photoshoot was much easier with all the variety!

Here we are at Saks Fifth Avenue checking out trendy shoes for the bridal photoshoot! We wanted to pick out shoes that complimented the dresses  while adding interesting textural components and a fashion-forward feel.

While Julie handled some important calls regarding the photoshoot and several upcoming weddings, I worked on a blog post that advised how to incorporate donuts into your wedding day! Maintaining a social media presence is extremely important in this day and age for small businesses – it could be a full time job in and of itself!  And hey, looking up donut puns is no easy task 🙂

Finally, here are some behind-the-scene shots of the Engaged Magazine  photoshoot. To keep each look different from one another, I helped compile slideshows of hairstyles and make-up looks that complimented each chosen dress. On the day of the shoot, we structured the shoot order in such a way that the hair and makeup styles could be built upon – it’s always easier to add than take away!  When the magazine goes to print, obviously they can print in whatever order is visually most appealing – not necessarily the order we shot.

Earrings, bracelets, and veils, oh my!  Accessories are a no-brainer.   The key was to have everything organized and labeled so that we didn’t mix up the accessories from different bridal salons.

One of our models getting pampered by the professionals – Carl Ray and Remona Soleimani! The photoshoot could not have been accomplished without each team member playing their part. Apart from Strawberry Milk as the stylist – the models, hair stylist, make-up artist, magazine editor, seamstress, photographer, furniture and dessert company (and all the assistants) all played a significant part in putting the photoshoot together and executing it flawlessly.

Drool-worthy desserts as props, made by Paperwhite Events!

A couple of behind-the-scene shots of the incredible crew at work!

Lastly, here I am finalizing the shot lists of all accessories, gowns and shoes for each completed look. Keep track of the items in each shot by designer and store is a must – especially when you are juggling items from several different stores, and may have products represented by 3 or 4 different places in one shot.  However, it’s crucial for vendors to get proper credit, and the magazine readers to know where to find something enticing!

Well, that’s a wrap! This week has been such a great learning experience and I can’t wait to see how the next couple of weeks will turn out. Until next time, keep checking the blog for more updates on my journey!