Most weekends of the last three years of my life have been stationed in wedding venues in the suburbs of Chicago performing a variety of event duties.
Formally, I am an Ceremony Assistant, DJ assistant, and a Photo Booth Attendant.
Efficiently, (and what looks stellar on the ole resume), I am an Event Coordinator.
Whether the wedding has 100 or 400 guests, the same occurrence is expected: the vendor questions. Ahead is compiled the 5 most frequent questions asked of us, almost guaranteed, at every wedding.
#1: “So what is it that you actually DO?”
Well, as an event coordinator, I coordinate events.
Err…
That involves a complicated answer.
Over 200 weddings and ceremonies have brought me
a variety of responsibilities. In one single, momentous day, I have been:
- Bubble Distributor -- quick, the ceremony starts in 7 minutes - and we need those bubbles NOW!
 |
| These bubbles, right? |
- Traffic Controller -- things get confusing when you get married in the middle of the woods
- Captor of Memories -- ah, the ease that cellphones and portable printers bring to capturing tiny important moments conveniently and instantly
 |
| Aha! Found the bubbles. |
Joking aside, mostly my job is to make your day
run as efficiently as possible, and doing whatever that takes to get it there.
Specifically, there are bare minimum duties for assisting, such as handling
equipment, checking in with the bride about last minute ceremony changes, and
notating where the important family members are sitting so I can locate them
for toasts and speeches. And when I am a photo booth attendant, I am of course
managing the guest’s photo taking experience with directions, print outs, and
scrapbook recommendations.
#2: “Don't you have the best/most fun job ever?!”
Yup! We sure do…
 |
| But not having a pizza late night snack could so be a deal breaker. |
We get to help create a day for guests and
guests of honor that they have been thinking and dreaming up for months, if not
years. Not coincidentally, this day happens to be a very fun, entertaining
evening, that we get to basically act as stagehands and support. As any theatre
stagehand would know, there is nothing more satisfying than completing a solid
performance, even as the invisible hands behind it. Even better, we get to use
our own creativity and personalities to enhance the experience. What could be
more fun than getting paid to be ourselves….and have fun?
#3: “Do you ever get tired of saying that?"
“3...2...1...WAITFORTHEFLASH!”
While the phrasing can get a little dull as a
photo booth attendant, what doesn’t get tiring is the awesome picture results
when we do say it.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen
couple’s hold a kiss for a whole 7 seconds, and on that LAST second, break
apart.  |
| Forever will be the look of confusion on two love birds facing each other, faces only just breaking apart, in the photo booth at Jenny Smith’s wedding on 9.9.17. |
Naturally, laughter ensues post picture. However, we do our best to avoid this travesty and say our phrase for the sake of saving the guest’s picture.
#4: “You must come across a lot of bridezillas…”
Fortunately, it’s just not like the TV shows on
this one. That is fortunate for not only my disinterest in reality TV, but for
everyone involved.
Most brides understand this, and are overly
considerate of everyone, including us. There have been times when the first
thing the bride says after a brief introduction is, “make sure you sit at table
6, we have your vendor meals placed there, so make sure you eat!” While
everyone enjoys a good meal, our main priority certainly isn’t dinner, or for
the bride to be looking out for us. We do our best, even sometimes under much
duress, to ensure it is, in fact, the other way around.
And it has been proven, not everything on TV is
true.
#5: “So how did you get into weddings?”
Coming up with a
marketing/sales elevator pitch wasn’t difficult after indulging wedding guests
with my work and life, given time and time again to perfect it.
It was time for me to
hang up my apron at the deli after discovering some of my skin sensitivity
problems affected my ability to sanitize (in addition to some questionable
management actions). I updated my resume for the college career fair coming up
shortly, did some slight research on the companies that were to be there, and
set forth to apply to a cosmetic sales position with JCPenny. Out of curiosity,
I stopped in just to hear a little more about a job for photo booth attending
at weddings.
Like any money
motivated college student, I was hooked. It sure beat minimum wage, AND I got
to eat dinner. When can I start?
I tried out weddings
with money in mind, like any job seeker does, but fell in love with the magic
of the evening. My type-A personality fell in line with the company and
industry culture, and the ultimate goal of the job resonated with my emotional
side.
My job as an event
coordinator may as well be titled “Memory Maker”, to match all the other corny
and kooky job responsibilities I find myself taking on. I couldn’t ask for a
better job, where I get to help create an environment for amazing first
memories of two people joining families and lives.
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