Photo Courtesy of Natalie Licini
is devoted to helping its graduates get off on the right foot, which for many students means
internships. Graduates of
Preston Bailey’s Signature Wedding and Event Design course have the opportunity to intern with him, following a rigorous application process that highlights the best of the best.
Preston recently chose his first intern from among his graduates, Tara Martin-Crawford, 28, of Kingston, N.Y. Tara currently works as a dental assistant but will begin interning under Preston starting in June. For three months she will continue the fantastic education she started within his course, and she will get unparalleled, hands-on experience creating some of the most fantastic events in the business. We recently talked with Tara about why she chose to study with
LWPI and what she’s looking forward to in her internship.
Why did you choose LWPI? “I chose LWPI because their website was very detailed, professional, and the courses that they offer cover many aspects of event planning and design. I just didn’t have as much confidence in other courses that I looked into as I did with LWPI’s. I was confident that the skills I would be taught would be inline with industry standards and provide me with a solid foundation for starting a career in the event industry.”
Did you know who Preston Bailey was prior to finding LWPI? “Prior to taking his course I was aware of who Mr. Bailey is … a renowned industry leader. Therefore, when I saw that he would be teaching a course through LWPI I knew that I wanted to be first in line to sign up for it.”
Do you have any advice for students currently enrolled in Preston’s course? “Dream big, be as creative as possible, and don’t overlook the small details of the events you design. For me the course was very time-consuming. I had to put hours and hours of work into each assignment and at times I felt a little overwhelmed. The course definitely gave me a real appreciation for what goes into designing a big event.”
What was your favorite part of the course? “My favorite part of Mr. Bailey’s course was assignment 3.1, in which I had to create three different design concepts that would be presented to a client. It allowed me to explore different ways of creating an event based on one central theme. This helped me expand my creativity and made me think about how design elements can be combined to change the mood and atmosphere of an event.”
What did you find most challenging about the course? “Preparing the vendor list and itemized price of producing the event were the most challenging for me. My dream event ended up costing almost $1 million to produce so there were a lot of vendors that I had to contact and some of the design elements were pretty complicated to get quotes for. I spent a lot of time communicating with people via phone and email, and it took a great deal of effort to stay organized with all the quotes. It was definitely a challenging assignment, but again, it taught me what is required of a designer to produce a big event.”
What did you find most rewarding? “I believe that the whole course was rewarding. I can’t choose just one aspect of it over any other because everything was really well put together and each assignment built off the one before it. There was a great flow to the course that brought me through the design process from start to finish and each assignment was very informative. I also really enjoyed the videos and hearing about event design right from Mr. Bailey.”
Do you recommend his course, and LWPI, to others looking for such a program? “I would absolutely recommend this program and LWPI to other people who have an interest in event planning and design. Preston Bailey’s course is comprehensive, easy to understand, and challenging. The assignments reinforce the lessons very well and through them, students are encouraged to really take the information they are being given and use it in ways that will really prepare them to design their own events. LWPI also does a great job of connecting students and instructors via its online community. The student-center blog is very useful because it allows people to see what designs others have come up with and give/receive feedback about them. LWPI seems to take a lot of pride in educating event professionals, novices, and everyone in between who has an interest in the event industy.”
What about Preston’s work inspires you? “I love the fact that Mr. Bailey doesn’t see limits to what he can design and produce. His events are so grand in scale and so complex and beautiful in their details that it makes you stop and think, ‘Wow, anything is possible if you want it to be.’ It must be a great feeling to know that the only limits you have in your work are the ones you set for yourself. That gives you the inspiration to really dream and let your creative flow without boundaries.”
Who encouraged you to apply for this internship? “My mother, Aunt Jeannie, and husband, Jon, have been behind me for a long time trying to persuade me to pursue a career in the event industry. They have always believed that this is my calling. When I told them that this opportunity was available, they all said ‘You have to do this! Don’t let this experience get pass you by!’”
What are you most looking forward to learning? “The area that intrigues me most is floral design. Preston Bailey is famous for the gorgeous use of flowers, and I am very much looking forward to learning how he does what he does with them.”
What is your favorite part of event planning? “My favorite part of event planning is actually producing the event. I put a lot of time and energy into carefully choosing each design element I want to use, and I love to see how everything looks when they all come together. It’s in that culminating moment that all the hard work becomes worth it.”
How much event-planning experience do you have? “At this time I have no professional event-planning experience. Ever since I was little I have loved planning parties for friends and family, and over the years I have had many opportunities to do so. Even though it has never been a job for me I have always put a lot of energy and love into every event I’ve put together. Recently, I threw my mom a surprise 60th birthday party. There were definitely some sleepless nights spent over trying to come up with the best ideas for this event and in the end it was well worth it. She had a fabulous time and it meant a lot to her that I put so much effort into preparing an evening that was all about her.”
What inspires your designs? Architecture? Nature? Art? “I think that art and nature are my biggest inspirations. I live pretty close to Woodstock, N.Y.. which is a very artistic community. I love to shop for artwork there and I also go to a lot of craft fairs. I most enjoy contemporary art, and my favorite mediums are glass and metal. However, I also find a lot of inspiration in nature. I spent a lot of time by the ocean as a child so I love the water and believe that it can be incorporated beautifully into event design.”
You’re currently a dental assistant. Are you hoping/planning to change careers? Is wedding and event planning something you’ve always been interested in? “As much as I enjoy working in the dental field I am extremely eager to change careers and begin working in the event industry. Event planning is something that has always interested me, but it took me a long time to realize that I should pursue it as my career. I always viewed it as a fun hobby rather than a potential career. However, about a year and a half ago I was really at a stand-still with my college education. I didn’t know what direction I wanted my life to take and was getting very burnt out from taking classes in different majors that weren’t leading to a degree. For a long time my family had been telling me that event planning was my calling but I always just shrugged off their comments because I really didn’t think it would be possible to make a living doing something that I enjoyed so much. I always had the notion in my head that at least to some degree, work would be something that brought me a fair amount of discomfort. After all, that’s why it’s called ‘work,’ right? After doing some serious soul searching and talking to my family I realized that my life will be much better spent doing something I’m passionate about rather than drudging away through endless days at a job I don’t really love. That is when I started looking for event-planning courses and came across LWPI and Mr. Bailey’s course.”
How did you react when you found out you had been chosen to work so closely with Preston? “I was shocked! I had been actively following the Preston Bailey student center blog and looking at all the other students’ work so I knew how hard everyone had been working and how good their assignments were. I definitely didn’t expect to be the first person selected for the internship. There are so many talented people taking his course, and it is an indescribable honor for me to have this opportunity. This is like a dream for me. I love event planning, and if I am able to start a career in this industry I know that, in the least, my life will be better because I’ll be doing something that I love. The fact that Cho Phillips (Lovegevity’s CEO) and Mr. Bailey are helping me take the first steps toward realizing my dream means so much to me. I am very grateful for this opportunity!”
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