Recently, on a sunny Friday afternoon in Melbourne, myself, and a group of our wedding students gathered for a ‘Field Trip’ at the Royal Botanic Gardens. The purpose of our Field Trip was to learn more about Planning weddings in Melbourne and of course do some networking with each other.
Our hosts for the day were Advisory Board Member Denise and her husband Pete of The Wedding Zone. Denise and Pete are both garden wedding experts and their business is on the preferred supplier list for the Gardens. During our time at the Royal Botanic Gardens Denise and Pete shared their wealth of knowledge and explained the rules and regulations of working in the gardens. As we explored this iconic location we gained a deeper understanding of the logistics of bumping in and out of a location like this and we were thrilled to be able to watch Pete and his team as they set up for a wedding, that we were there to witness to later in the afternoon. Denise had some great tips for us and her discussion about ‘wet weather’ plans certainly gave us all something to think about, especially when it comes to working in Melbourne.
Anyone working with a couple, who would like to marry in the outdoor spaces at the Gardens, should contact licensed operators, Blakes Feast.
Whilst in the gardens we were treated to High Tea in the Terrace which is situated in the heart of the gardens. The Terrace is a cafe by day, but on Saturdays is transformed into a wedding venue in under two hours by the dedicated staff. Our Students have been extended an invitation to come along and watch the set up at a later date and we know this will be a valuable experience for them; helping them to understand more about working with venues that are not solely wedding venues.
After Champagne and a short bus trip across the city we arrived at the Atlantic Group where we met Client Relationship Manager Jennifer Bomford. Jennifer was an expert guide through 4 of the Atlantic Group’s venues, all situated on the fabulous Docklands in Melbourne. Each venue we toured was styled differently and distinctly but still offered enough of a blank canvas to be a designer’s dream. Really nothing has been left un-thought of when it comes to presentation, facilities and amenities at these venues. This part of the day was a wonderful education in working with venues as a Planner, Stylist and Designer and the students made a great contact in Jennifer too who shared her experience and knowledge so willingly. Thank you Jennifer! Our day ended with some drinks at the Woolshed Pub and although we had packed a lot into our afternoon, I was so excited to see the spark lit in each student, who all took something different away from the day.
On the following day some of us met again for an informal walk-through One Fine Day Wedding Fair and I know that this part of our trip was particularly inspiring to our Students who have their sights set on a Wedding Design career. Students were encouraged to view the Fair through the eyes of a professional and consider how the Vendors had presented their Brand and what they had done to draw attendees to their stand.
What I really enjoyed about being at the Fair was meeting passionate Vendors and learning more about the creative Wedding industry that is thriving in Melbourne. I was also delighted to gain a better understanding of just how supportive and tight-knit the industry actually is in this city. There is a lot of support for any of you who considering joining the Wedding or Event industry in Melbourne.
"Thank you so much for organising the field trip! I enjoyed it so much and it was great to meet people doing the course. I would defiantly love to attend more of these field trips!" Lauren Garbett "I recently had the opportunity to attend the field trip in Melbourne, which I found very valuable. The first day we visited the Royal Botanical Gardens along with Denise from the Wedding Zone. It was great being able to get more of an insight into garden weddings as well as being able to witness the setup of a wedding that afternoon. All while getting tips and tricks from an industry expert. It also provided a good opportunity to network with other students doing the course. The second day I attended ‘One Fine Day’ wedding expo along with Christine Ligthart who provided us some good pointers to look out for while at the expo, such as what attracts people to particular stands and giving us some ideas of what we could do for our own companies at expos in the future." Shaylee Kennedy
Being able to spend time with such a diverse group of people, all motivated by a desire to build a long-lasting career in the events industry was an absolute delight for myself, Denise, Pete and my husband Marcel, who was our Photographer/Videographer for the day. I thank everyone for being part of the experience and especially thank Denise and Pete for being so generous with their knowledge and experience. This was a wonderful event to plan and execute and I promise there will be more experiences like these over the coming 12 months. If you are in Sydney and Brisbane, stay tuned!
