Week Four: First Event at The New York Times

This was a busy past week for The New York Times events team. We had two intimate client entertaining events this past week with the executives of the New York Times company and their clients. Client entertainment events are extremely important for the company because it helps us secure sponsorships from other companies for the paper.

Our first event was a happy hour for the release of the Climate Magazine. I helped my team by cross-checking invites and name-tags, printing and cutting menus and then helping with check in at the event.

Our second event of the week was a Women in Travel Dinner for a few executives of the New York Times and their clients from travel companies. I was given a lot of tasks to help with this event which was both exciting and a little nerve-racking. I had to cross check names, print menus, create gifting, input clients names into the check in system and more. I really enjoyed being able to be so hands on for this event and then see it all come together that night. I felt as if I had a lot more responsibility than I have had in previous weeks and that the team placed a great amount of trust in me. At the event I was in charge of ensuring that the table was set correctly and assisted with check in of the guests. I really enjoyed being able to see my first two corporate events and to play such a large part in the planning process.

This was a particularly fun week for me because not only was I able to assist with two New York Times events, but I also assisted my boss from last summer, Ashley Douglass Events, with a wedding in Montauk, NY. We had started the planning stages of this event when I was an intern last summer and I had assisted as much as I could with the planning while I was abroad and back at school in the spring. This wedding in particular was like a circus with millions of moving parts and dozens of different vendors. It was amazing to see all of the planning finally come together into one cohesive event. During the day of the wedding, I acted as day of assistant, communicating with the bride and groom, orchestrating vendors, and helping to ensure a smooth flow of the wedding. While I am completely exhausted from this week I loved being a part of three really special events. Being able to see two corporate events at The New York Times with one team and then being a part of a wedding with my boss from last summer in the same week was a really eye-opening experience and one that I learned a lot from.