A Day In The Life Of An Event Manager!

Meet Lexi! Lexi has been with Simply Fresh Events for nearly six years and has held every title and has participated in every aspect of our events during that time. She has worn many hats, and today she is shedding some light on what it takes to make your event or wedding a success (hint: it’s a LOT)!

Every event in our industry is different, providing different challenges, dynamics, and excitement. In my time at Simply Fresh I have grown to appreciate weddings the most for their formal style, unique touches, and the learning opportunities they present. While every couple brings something new to us for their wedding, my process to be as best prepared to execute their wedding with my team is often the same. 

My process for a wedding is almost always the same, starting the day before running through all the small details of the day to come. Morning of the event I’ve already got a list of tasks in my head to assign to make sure we can get out the door on time. I check in with the culinary team, offer assistance and run through our menu to get a second set of eyes on the pack list. I review our truck, looking for larger important items, meet with the rest of the staff again, double and triple checking things, because I’m a bit of a perfectionist if you couldn’t tell.

Once on site I find the wedding coordinator, get a run through of the space and where each part of the night will occur, and get ready to unload with my team. I like to help culinary set up a prep space while unloading so that I can make sure we are as organized as possible, and I know where everything is throughout the night

After things are fully unloaded from the truck we start assigning tasks for set up ranging from ceremony chairs (my personal least favorite) to the table’s place settings for dinner. I typically pick up smaller tasks in each area of the event, checking in on all the staff during this time. Prior to the event starting is the best time to catch little mistakes, and teach others not only how we do things, but why we do things so they can apply the new things to other situations. After setting up, and everyone getting changed into our formal uniforms we hold our staff meeting right before cocktail hour, running through the seemingly small details that help us work together as a team to put on the best event possible.

Cocktail hour is where I think the fun really starts. There’s more of a sense of urgency, the food and drinks are out and available, and guests start flooding into the space with huge smiles on their face. During this time I typically float around between areas, but always manage to end up back in cocktail hour because I love the different interactions we get with guests. 

Dinner service, the next part of the night, is an intricate part of the night that I love for its challenges, and requires high focus. Each plate is constructed in a way that not only showcases the taste, but presents it in a delightful but carefully thought out way. Once salads have been dropped I take my place on the floor, confirming with the coordinator we’re ready to start dinner, and direct servers to meet me or my coordinator at the correct table. Once all the meals have gone out our night slows down a bit, but I know that champagne needs to be poured for toasts, tables have to be cleared, dessert has to go out, and we need to start cleaning our backspace, leaving it cleaner than it was when we showed up. 

The load out process is different every time, but packing a truck is always like playing a life-size game of tetris. While the truck is being loaded and the event is coming to a close we break down every item that we used to transform a barn or ballroom into a beautiful event space and load it up to take back with us. Once there’s no trace we’ve ever been on site, we head back to the kitchen, arriving around midnight typically. We throw on our favorite music to get us energized again, unload everything from the truck, minus our mobile kitchen, and reload for the next day’s event, ready to be back the next morning and do it all again.

Do you have a question for Lexi? Comment below to ask!