So many people ask me how I got into events. How did you get started? So what did you go to school for? Is it the best job ever? I love to share the journey that has brought me to where I am today!
I'm just going to be honest...I didn’t go to school for this stuff. But I have been around events for as long as I could remember. My mom always planned the best parties with the greatest themes and matching dishes and killer menus. She loves to entertain and a love for hospitality was ingrained in me from a young age. I used to love planning games for slumber parties with my American Girl magazines, coordinating logistics for events at the dance studio where I grew up, being in student government and organizing lunch activities or helping my mom with events at church. In college I started interning with the events department my freshman year and had several opportunities to be a part of creating and planning events for students and donors when I attended Biola. It was in these roles that my love for events grew and I realized this is what I was born to do. Before I got to plan the most popular event on campus for 4,000 people though, I was standing in a parking lot as an usher welcoming guests and helping them find a place to park. The little jobs are what made me appreciate ALL the people I work with and the jobs they do to make an event happen.
People think event planning is the most fun, exciting and glamorous job. It sure is wonderful but it certainly isn’t all roses and cupcakes! I will admit though, what I get to do, the people I work with, the stories I hear and the love I get to witness makes every toilet I end up cleaning, late Saturday hours and tired feet so worth it! Nothing brings me more joy than the look on a groom’s face when he sees his bride, the father daughter dance that always seem to make me cry or the way a room full of loved ones is excited to celebrate newlyweds!
In October 2014 I reached out to a friend from high school who was getting married and simply offered to help her if she needed anything. Little did I know that a dream would be born after dinner in small burger joint in San Clemente! A month later I was coordinating a wedding in North San Diego and I had created a simple website and gotten some business cards printed. Through word of mouth I booked a few more weddings here and there and after months of prayer, late nights, looking at fonts, writing, uploading and planning, I am so excited to finally share Grace in the Details with you!
So to answer your questions, my journey with events started with some American Girl magazines, the best mom/party planner in town, standing in a parking lot as an usher, and in a little burger joint in San Clemente. I didn’t go to wedding planning school but I have had so much experience working in the field that I’ve learned more than I ever could in a classroom. And yes, no matter how many toilets I clean, crying bridesmaids I deal with or stressed out moms I grab a glass of wine for, I have a pretty great job!
xoxo,
Amand Grace
An old, blurry pictures from the year I realized this is what I was born to do!