Wedding and events co-ordinator — Annie Valle

After gaining work experience during her media and journalism degree Annie now works as a wedding planner at Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve

Why did you choose a career in events?

I loved the thought of working with new clients to help them plan their special day.

How did you get your job?

I worked at Port Lympne as a waitress throughout the holidays and then would return to university during term time while I was studying at Northumbria University.

In my third year I had to do work experience for one of my modules, and asked the sales and marketing director if I could do it alongside them. While completing my work experience, I met the wider team at Port Lympne and chatted with the events manager, who said there was a vacancy to cover the administrative side of events while someone was on maternity leave. I decided to take the job as events always intrigued me, seven months later I was promoted to the wedding and events co-ordinator.

What kind of tasks do you complete in a typical day?

A typical day in the office would include meetings with couples and leisure group clients to run through the details of their events, and writing up and amending the function sheets that we use to run the events. I'll also be chasing payments, invoicing, and sending over contracts for future bookings.

We also have to conduct show-arounds to show the venues and, of course, we have the actual events themselves to work on too, where I'll greet the client on arrival and introduce them to our operations team who will look after them on the day.

What do you enjoy about being a wedding planner?

My favourite part is when the ceremony is over, and the couple are surrounded by family and friends knowing that their day is being looked after so they can relax and enjoy themselves. I also love receiving the wedding photos and videos a few weeks after their wedding day and going through them with the team.

What are the challenges?

The big challenge is the pressure you sometimes feel to ensure that everything is 'perfect' ahead of the wedding day. Understandably, couples want their day to be the best day of their lives, and with that, there comes a responsibility to ensure everything is organised and handed over correctly to the operations team who run the wedding on the day.

What three skills do you need for a successful career as a wedding planner?

• organisation
• problem solving
• patience.

What are your career ambitions?

My career ambitions are to work my way up to manage an events team one day. It would be great to lead a team and maybe even start my own business.

Can you debunk a myth about working in events?

One big myth in the events industry is that all we do is go for a coffee and cocktails with clients while we try and sell them their dream event or wedding. This is not true and only a very small (but lovely) part of our role.

I spend 95% of my time working on administrative tasks, planning and attending meetings. Although I find it enjoyable, I know that some people may have the misconception that working in events is all about attending lunches and dinners. In reality, there is a lot of work that needs to be done behind the scenes to make an event successful.

What advice can you give to others who'd like to become wedding planners?

My advice is to find out what side of weddings you want to work on. Do you want to sell and plan the wedding for the client, or do you want to work on the operations side and run the wedding on the day? They are both very different, and I didn't realise until I worked in the industry how important it is to choose the right one for you.

Find out more

• Discover how to become a wedding planner.
• See what the hospitality and events management sector has to offer.