I’ve been a part of the Stockport Events Team for two and a half years now. I have always been very organised and found myself to be the person in my friendship group to get everybody together to make plans and lasting memories, so I guess I was always destined for the industry of Events. This twinned with my passion for travel resulted in all my job roles in the early stages of my career; pre graduation being hospitality, event or trace related.
Throughout my college years whilst studying Travel and Tourism I worked as an Event Steward for Showsec, during this time I also worked as a casual conference and events team member at the Hilton Hotel Deansgate. Both roles opened my eyes to a huge range of events that took place in the city from small breakfast meetings to large scale music concerts and festivals. Whilst looking for university courses I found the perfect course for me so decided to go to university and studied a BA Hons in Tourism management with Events at Manchester Metropolitan University. My experience from working in the industry at the time had been interesting and exciting and I thought my chosen degree would open an additional pathway to events for myself. I was lucky enough to spend my placement year in the Caribbean working at one of the Sandals Resorts in St Lucia. Whilst on placement I was able to work in several departments including the main front desk, concierge, butlers’ desk, sales and of course weddings; this is where my love for weddings began. Working in a resort is a lot of hard work but a day off on the beach was worth it!
During my last year at university after returning from my placement I started to work as a Travel Agent at Thomas Cook and I graduated in 2016 with a 2:1 BA Hons. Following graduation my first full time job was as an event co-ordinator at the Village Hotel where I would book and organise events before handing over to the operations team. I was part of the team for just over a year until I saw the opportunity with Stockport Events. The position at Stockport Events was a progressive step for me in my career and I was attracted to it as I would be dealing with all stages of events from the initial enquiry, securing the business, organising the event, through to implementing operational plans on the day. I think it is nice to be a part of every element of the event management process and it gives a very personal service to our customers.
One of the best things about my job is the different people I meet whether this is someone I meet at a corporate breakfast meeting or via a private event enquiry, I meet so many interesting people with different ideas and visions and it is great to be able to be a part of helping them achieve that vision from a memorable wedding day to a charity gala dinner or concert. Weddings are a love of mine and I particularly enjoy organising the Stockport Events Bi- Annual wedding fayre. It’s great to meet and work alongside exhibitors (both new and regular) from the industry to discuss business leads, trends and support each other. Putting together the catwalk show with models and seeing it come to life on stage is one of my favourite parts of the day.
The best part of managing someone’s wedding day is seeing plans and details that have taken months, sometimes years to plan and prepare all come together for that one day. It’s great to see the joy in our couples faces when they are seeing the venue set up for the first time on their wedding day. I enjoy and take pride in the set-up element of our weddings which includes making sure the ceremony room is ready with flowers and music (I love live instrumental music!), preparing the suite for the wedding breakfast, making sure the floor plan is correct, centrepieces are out with name cards and favours to give that personalised touch. I also love that the wedding set-up means I can use my creative flair to add to somebody’s special day.
A career in events means two days will never be the same!