Wedding Time!

This past Saturday I worked my first wedding at the Warhol. I got to the museum at 3:00 and we went over the floor plan and itinerary for the night. We begin moving furniture into place and setting up the candy table. There was also a Photo Booth and life-size games. All the linens were put out on the tables and we constructed the branch-style centerpieces. The grooms arrived at 4:30 p.m. and we went over final details. The reception began at 5:30 p.m. I made sure everything was running smoothly and answered guests questions. At 6:00 p.m. the tours of the museum and studio projects began. At 7:00 p.m the ceremony started and my boss and I turned over the tables and made sure everything was in place for the dinner and reception after the ceremony. This ceremony was extremely special because it was the first gay ceremony after Pennsylvania has the law to legalize gay marriage. Everything ran without a hitch and the clients were happy.

Office

This past week I worked on a lot of office work. I'm still learning how to work the event system to schedule events at the Warhol. I helped my boss answer e-mails and answer inquiries. I then inserted some of the events into the system and made event sheets to distribute throughout the staff that will be involved. I also went through the system and made print out checklists of things needed before each event takes place such as insurance, deposit and contract. I then stapled a list into each folder for every event happening at the Warhol in the next few months. After going into the system, I made sure to note what was still needed for each event.

Do & Don'ts!

This past week at the Warhol I did not go to the Warhol on Monday because my advisor had the day off. When working in events you work long nights and most weekends. It is very rare there are no inquiries or paperwork to be done along with the execution of the event so Mondays are usually a quiet day to have as your weekend. On Thursday I worked on a PDF document that will be going on the event page of the basic rules & regulations of the Warhol event space. Because the Warhol is a museum, it has to be protected. Nothing is to ever be tacked to the wall or have open flames to protect the paintings and renovation. It is good to have this kind of information available on the website so inquiries know what to expect when they would like to hold their event at the museum. I looked at examples of other lists as well as my own knowledge when designing how the document would work.

Smooth Sailing!

The Warhol recently updated it's event space and has been improving ways to show it and its versatility. I have been researching places to distribute our new print advertising. I have been finding local businesses that can hold corporate events, holiday parties or weddings at our venue. The new event space has had a complete renovation, making it look similar to Warhol's popular silver factory. It features an open lobby, 130 theater, cafe bar, Photo Booth and store. I also wrote a general letter to each business inviting them to visit the museum.  I have also been working on a comparison list of other museums. With the new versatility of the event space, we are looking to see how our rental fees compared to other museums across the US. Day to day I observe Ryan making contracts, responding to client inquiries and distributing event information throughout the Warhol to all people involved in events from security to gallery attendants. 

Christine

Learning the Ropes!

This week at the Warhol I'm learning a lot of the logistics of events like timelines, when things need to be dropped off and picked up, and catering techniques. The Warhol uses an event planning program that organizes not only all the events at the Warhol but through all of the Carnegie Museums. I started learning how to work the system. I also started learning all paperwork required for having an event and how information can be found and sorted not only on the computer but in physical form. Staying organized as an event coordinator is one of the most important parts of the job. There are multiple events being planned at one time as well as multiple moving parts of an event that need to be informed and organized such as staff, security and attendants. On Friday night I shadowed a wedding rehearsal taking place on the first floor. I have been to a wedding rehearsal but it's not just about the logistics I wanted to observe, it's how my advisor catered and worked with the client to make her vision come to life.

Next Adventure!

Wednesday was my first day as the Special Events intern at The Andy Warhol Museum. First I got acquainted with the space and the general museum procedures. I sat down with my supervisor and discussed what I was looking to get out of this internship and what he lessons he could provide me with. I then reviewed event information pertaining to the Warhol such as rental pricings, catering and history on the Warhol. The Warhol is currently playing a film on Andy Warhol's life and in the midst of switching their 'special exhibits.' I began doing research on competing event spaces in Pittsburgh on things such as price, number of rooms for rental and the size of rental rooms. On Saturday I shadowed a meeting with a couple having their wedding at the Warhol in October. Ryan (my supervisor) went over thing such as technology logistics, food, bars, floor layout and an event timeline of the night. With Warhol weddings, you can also get tours of the buildings and printing studio time. After the meeting we met a client hosting event Saturday night and helped them set up the room and arrange the furniture. Every party is different and has a different and aesthetics. 

I'm very excited to continue my internship next week!

Christine