A Taste of the Event Industry

Myself with Lindley Hewatt, event planner, and Lynn Lilly, owner

Sandy Springs Family Fun Day

Bridal Fashion Show

The Chronicles of Online Dating book launch

The Designer Bride

This summer, I had the opportunity to work on site with an event planning company, Lilly White Events. The company is owned and run by Lynn Lilly, who also is the owner of Blackout Productions and Social Lilly. I worked collectively for all three companies. Lilly White Events specializes in weddings and wedding-based events. Blackout Productions mainly works with alcohol vendors and doing promotional events for liquor companies. Social Lilly is the networking aspect of the company, which includes a book that Lynn Lilly and Lindley Hewatt wrote and published, featuring Atlanta's top bridal vendors. I was excited to be able to work with such a wide realm of events.

The first event that I did with the company was a promotional night at Steel Restraunt and Lounge. We basically planned the night to have complimentary sushi and giveaways so that the trendy Midtown hotspot could bring in an even larger Friday night crowd.

The next event I did was The Designer Bride Event at Lion's Gate Mansion in Buckhead. Many of the vendors from Social Lilly were at the venue and offered their product samples and services to brides looking to book with them. I was in charge of swag bags and coordinating vendors to donate to them. We also hosted a bridal lingerie, bridesmaides dresses, and wedding gown fashion show, which I had the opportunity to model in. (But not the lingerie, thank goodness!) It was really exciting to see the workings behind the scenes and what it takes to put on a successful fashion show.

I also worked with our Russian Standard White Nights premiere party. The Russian Standard vodka company is premiering their vodka one city at a time, and I got to be a part of the team that planned the Atlanta premiere. The night was complete with Russian Standard cocktail samples, go-go dancers, a DJ, and many well known Atlanta socialites.

Next, I helped with the Seven Deadly Sins of Summer at Whiskey Park. Once again, I worked with vendors to produce swag bags, and also with Three Olives Vodka for giveaways .

We worked with the Sandy Springs Police Department to put on Sandy Springs Family Fun Day, benefitting the SSPD benevolent fund. We worked with Event Rentals Unlimited to have tents, tables, chairs, trash cans, etc. in addition to the climbing wall, moon walks, face painting, and many other fun activities throughout the day.

We put on the Sex and the City 2 premiere party the night before the movie was even released in theatres. The event was sponsored by Skyy Vodka, which provided cocktails for the evening. The swag bags were amazing and guests were so happy with the vendors that were present to offer products and services before the film screening.

We did a book launch party for Love, Sex, & Deception: The Chronicles of Online Dating. Once again, the event was spectacular with swag bags, a lingerie fashion show, and a wonderful venue (Tongue & Groove).

The last big event of the summer that I did was Brides Who Lunch Bon Voyage. Brides and their guests traveled in provided transportation to 3 different venues, appropriate for bridal luncheons, rehearsal dinners, or anything of the sort. Vendors were at each location, and my mom got to be the featured bridal florist at Steel. Brides had a chance to book with photographers, florists, jewelers, cake specialists, and many other bridal vendors.

My favorite part of the job was working with a particular bride and groom to plan their wedding, scheduled for next Spring. I loved this because I got to work with them from step one, and be there with them every step of the way. We went to catering meetings, cake tastings, florists, talked about dress choices, venues, and everything in between. I loved having the chance to help a bride make her wedding day amazing.

I learned so much working with Lynn and I got a better sense of what it takes to be successful in this industry. The skills I learned and experience I gained will prove so valuable to me as I work toward my career in the future.