This is the final journal entry from Tara Martin-Crawford, an LWPI graduate who has been interning at Preston Bailey Designs the last three months. Tara is a graduate of Preston Baileys Signature Wedding and Event Design course, and she is the first LWPI graduate to intern with Preston. All graduates of this course have the opportunity to apply for an internship. Will you be next?
For the final week of my internship I worked briefly with the design department. I am definitely a computer-literate person, but I don’t have experience with graphic design or any of the programs used to create renderings and floor plans. In Preston’s course he gives a list of suggested programs that can be used for event design. I was told by employees in his design department which programs they have found work best for them. Vectorworks is what they primarily use to create floor plans. For renderings they use a combination of Google Sketchup, Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. For people who are just starting out with graphic design, these programs may be a bit too advanced. AutoCAD, I was told, is a good program that is a bit easier to use. Another option for those who are not computer savvy is to hire a third party to create your computer images. There are a lot of companies that charge reasonable fees to turn your ideas into computer-generated images.
I was able to sit down and have a chat with Preston on my last day to get some lingering questions of mine answered. During my internship I didn’t really have the opportunity to work directly with him because most of his time is spent working directly with clients or with the design team. In any event, one of the questions I asked him was to outline what the process is from the initial client inquiry up until the event is produced. This is what Preston said: When the client first calls or emails PBD the sales department gathers as much information as possible about the event and what the client does and doesn’t want for it. The client then comes into the office and meets with Preston and a member of the sales department to discuss the event. Preston said he always has images and ideas prepared to present to the client based on the information gathered during the initial inquiry. He will also present the ideas that he has specifically for his or her event, but is careful not to give away too many ideas in case the client doesn’t commit to working with PBD. (He doesn’t want his ideas stolen and used elsewhere). After the initial meeting and the client decides to hire PBD the company secures a non-refundable retainer fee which is usually around $25,000, depending on the size and overall cost of the job.
Then the design team goes to work and comes up with three different design options. They create renderings and storyboards, which are then presented to the client at the first of two presentations. Once the client decides what look he or she likes during the first presentation, a second presentation is scheduled. For this one the design-element options are actually created for the client. Again, three options are generally presented. During the second presentation the client can choose specific items that he or she likes and/or make suggestions for how things should be modified. Once all elements have been selected and agreed upon the floral and production departments begin to price out the overall cost for the event. Those costs are then transferred to a proposal (with mark-ups, of course) and given to the client for approval. After it is signed the client is required to make a deposit equal to 50 percent of the entire cost of the job. It is not until this is done that orders can be placed for the supplies and elements needed to create the event. The final balance is due two weeks before the event date.
During my time with PBD I learned that the second client presentation can be pretty expensive to create. I asked Preston if that cost ever exceeds the amount of the initial retainer fee. He said that PBD tries very hard not to allow that to happen but there are instances when it does. In the cases when it does happen, he and the rest of the team need to sit down and take a closer look at what they think the overall cost for the event is actually going to be because it could be more than they anticipated. It takes a lot of experience to be able to price out an event without actually taking the time to price everything out. If you have the time and the resources to price things before you present them to a client go ahead and do that just to be sure that you are working within and maximizing the budget. It’s always surprising to find out what things actually cost because it’s usually more than what you might think and you don’t want to provide your clients with options that they either can’t afford or aren’t making the most of the money they have to spend.
My internship at PBD went by so fast! At the same time, though, I felt like I had been there forever. Everyone that I had the opportunity to work with was awesome. They all made me feel welcome and comfortable while giving me the chance to learn about and experience doing something I love. I appreciate everyone’s help and guidance so much. There is a reason why Preston Bailey Designs is one of the top event-design companies in the world: It has the best staff in the industry! I am really going to miss working with and seeing them all, but I will always be grateful for and remember everything that I learned during this experience.
Congratulations, Tara, on a job well done! LWPI is excited to follow what is sure to be an amazing career. Join us in wishing Tara good luck as she puts what shes learned from LWPI and Preston Bailey to work in the real world!
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