Want a Gig with a Wedding Planning Company?
Welcome back to my preferred method of storytelling: Blogging!
Since my last blog post, I took a HUGE risk and launched Reception to Follow: A podcast for wedding people!
The reaction was wild, so I won’t be writing as much this winter. I am 100% ready to lean into this podcasting adventure.
If you tuned into Episode 2: Advice for Aspiring Wedding Planners, you might have heard me tease an upcoming blog interview with Day of Pittsburgh’s very own Emily Daniels! She is the only person who has ever sent me a cold email that has resulted in a job.
Want to learn how she did it? Read her interview below!
Meet Emily!
Give me the cliff notes version of how you ended up back in Pittsburgh, and seeking opportunities within the wedding community.
ED: I grew up in Pittsburgh, and was raised with a deep love and pride for the city (I even did a Powerpoint on “Why Everyone Should Move to Pittsburgh” for a persuasive English project in college). In searching for new experiences and a desire to spread my wings, I went out of state for college.
HD: I would pay money to watching that Powerpoint!
ED: I went to The University of Massachusetts in Amherst, which is a beautiful area of western Massachusetts. After I graduated, I got a job at one of the other colleges in the area as an event services and summer programs intern: Hampshire College.
HD: You started young! I didn’t get my first events gig until I was like 25 lol.
ED: The campus has a beautiful barn that has been there since 1820 and was renovated to become an event space in the late 1900s. I spent the summer and fall after college working 2-3 weddings every weekend in The Red Barn and fell in love with them.
HD: It’s so crazy how addicting it is. I love weddings, even after coordinating over 50!
ED: With the barn wedding trend growing—
HD: …unfortunately. LMAO SORRY GUYS I CAN’T!!!!! If you’re a #dayofpgh barn bride, you’re exempt from such judgement and I love you.
ED: —I was soon promoted to be a full time event coordinator. I worked on several other types of events while there, but primarily I focused on weddings and social events in The Red Barn.
HD: Go Emily!
ED: After a couple of years, I grew a bit tired of the college town vibe that Amherst has, and began longing to go back home to Pittsburgh. I reached the point where I had coordinated more than 50 different weddings and events in The Red Barn.
HD: I’m about to sell my company to you lol.
ED: One weekend in mid-November, the tent that covered our outdoor cocktail hour space collapsed under the weight of a surprise snowstorm, on a triple wedding weekend (I was the day of coordinator for events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), and I quickly problem solved and soothed multiple crying brides.
HD: Wowzaaaaaaaa that sounds stressful! I remember you telling this story when we first met for coffee.
ED: After this happened, I really felt empowered and confident in my event management skills and felt that I had probably learned as much as I was going to from that position. This desire for change and to be challenged deeper, coupled with the fact that I had met my forever partner in life, really drove me to decide it was time to move on.
HD: I’m so happy it lead you back to Pittsburgh!
ED: With both my fiancé and I working in the service industry in some capacity, moving to a city with more opportunity just made sense. I knew I wanted to stay in events and weddings, but I also knew that this is an industry where most jobs don’t get posted on Indeed. It’s an industry that can be tough to break in to in new places, and has a lot to do with knowing the right people.
HD: DING DING DING! I completely and 100% agree with that. I would never post a job opening on Indeed. Everyone I’ve ever hired was a personal connection from a trusted contact or a rockstar venue coordinator I met on site.
How did you find me, and why did you end up reaching out to me via email?
ED: I spent months looking up ‘Wedding Venues in Pittsburgh,’ ‘Event Spaces in Pittsburgh,’ ‘Pittsburgh Wedding Coordinators,’ etc. to try to get a lay of the land before the move. My mom was also very helpful and would send me companies or venues that she thought would fit what I was looking for and my personality.
HD: I recommend doing as much research online as you can at first. Also, it’s a pandemic soooo you’re stuck on the Google regardless for the time being.
ED: By this point in my career, I felt I knew more about what I wanted and what type of people I wanted to work with.
HD: Very interesting. Especially the ‘type of people’ part. All of the wedding planners I know are so uniquely diverse. Working for me will likely be completely different than working for them. I think that’s a huge point aspiring planners don’t take into consideration as much as they should when reaching out to us.
ED: I had previously boxed myself into this idea that I wanted to work for a venue specifically, but the more I looked the more I thought of branching out and reaching out to independent planners.
ED: One day, my mom sent me the Day of Pittsburgh website and said something along the lines of “she sounds great!!!!”
HD: Shoutout to your mom! MVP.
ED: I kid you not, I read your whole website top to bottom in one day. The two lines that really drew me in were:
I. Love.Weddings. and I hate burlap.
HD: Hahahaha. I’ve very, very proud of this website. I built it all by myself. Every single word, photo, design choice, and blog post is meant to attract my ideal client, and my ideal planners! I’m secretly a marketing and branding nerd.
ED: Both of those statements resonated really deeply with me—I’d love to never see a mason jar wrapped in burlap again after working barn weddings for 3+ years.
HD: Lmao!
ED: I replied to my mom, “Day of Pittsburgh lady sounds so sweet; I think I’m going to e-mail her and try.”
HD: This makes me smile, and I’m smiling again reading our first e-mail exchange. It’s iconic:
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2019
Subject: Open Positions
From: Emily PierceHello Heather!
My name is Emily Pierce. I've recently moved back to Pittsburgh after several years of living, studying, and working in Western Massachusetts.
I came across the Day of Pittsburgh website on my search for a job in the wedding industry in Pittsburgh. I could not have said it better: "I. Love. Weddings." too! I've been working in events in some capacity since my freshman year of high school; for the past 3 years I worked with an event venue called The Red Barn on Hampshire College's campus. I coordinated many different types of events here: mostly weddings, but also bank dinners, fundraisers, proms, bat mitzvahs, and more!
I am very eager to broaden my horizons in wedding coordinating by working with an event planner as opposed to a venue, and after looking through your portfolio and blog posts, I am inspired! I would love the opportunity to work with you if you have any positions open or are seeking any help! I have attached my resume for your review.
Thank you for your consideration,
Emily Pierce
HD: EMILY YOU CRUSHED IT! Here’s my reply:
Date: Sun, Jul 21, 2019
Subject: Re: Open Positions
From: Heather DavisHi Emily, thanks so much for reaching out!
You're one of the first cold emails I've received that actually felt like you got to know my business a bit, so kudos to you haha!
I'm in the process of growing my team right now, and I'm always looking for motivated and experienced planners to join in. I'd be happy to meet for coffee to share more information and get to know you better! If you're interested, let me know what the week of 7/29 or 8/5 look like for you.
Thanks!
Heather
Did you connect or 'pitch' to any other wedding industry folks? Did they reply?
ED: I applied to a lot of event-related postings on Indeed and started working at a restaurant as a server in the meantime. I really felt that when I broke into the Pittsburgh wedding scene it was going to be with someone meant to be…pun intended!
HD: Good for you on being patient, and not forcing anything out of desperation. I struggled with this a lot when I was applying to jobs after moving to Pittsburgh. In hindsight, it was a huge waste of time.
ED: My big goal was actually not to get a job right away in weddings here, but rather to network myself and kind of weasel my way into ‘knowing the right people.’ I did not want to send a bunch of cold emails half-heartedly just because I needed a job.
HD: OMG I wish I was this aware of how powerful networking is when I was your age. I started out as an events coordinator at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Spending 5 years there connected me to some big time vendors, and knowing them helped me significantly when I launched Day of Pittsburgh.
Tell me your side of our first coffee date! That was so much fun lol
ED: Hahaha, I think I came home to my fiancé afterwards, beaming, and said ‘I just really want to be her friend!’
HD: I DID THE SAME THING TO ANDY! Swear to God.
ED: Really though, I was pretty nervous going into it. I remember sitting down and you were just so warm and welcoming that it quickly felt like I was just having coffee with a new friend, while also detailing my experience in events.
HD: Wow. This really hits me in the feels because I just remember having so many shitty interviews when I was looking for a job, and feeling so uncomfortable and bummed and awkward after. I never want anyone to feel that way when they meet with me, especially younger women starting their career.
ED: I went into it prepared for it to be an interview. Not that I was expecting that from how our e-mails came across, but it’s better to be prepared! The fact that it was just a fun conversation made it all the better and solidified the fact that I definitely wanted to work with you!
HD: I firmly believe—especially for any creative field—all good interviews should feel like a fun conversation. That’s when both you and the hiring person know it’s a good fit! Looking back at all those shitty interviews I mentioned…they were not good fits for me.
What advice would you have for other folks who are emailing me right now seeking experience or employment?
ED: My advice to anyone job-hunting, for anything, is to always do your research and make sure you are applying to something you are passionate about.
HD: LOUDER FOR THE TWENTY-SOMETHINGS IN THE BACK!
ED: Especially with sending cold emails! I feel like those two points can come across very easily.
HD: Literally you could fake it even. It takes all of 10 minutes of your time to scroll my recent blog post or whatever.
ED: I think it’s also important to read your audience. While I wanted to convey to you that I was a professional and had several years of experience, I also wanted to convey real emotion that could come across via email.
HD: And that’s why you’re a lead planner right now. I knew from that e-mail you were a rock star.
ED: The Day of Pittsburgh website is teeming in both of these elements: Professionalism and real emotion.
HD: That’s the best compliment I’ve ever received in my entire life. I take my website so fucking seriously lmao.
ED: I think also, for anyone looking to break into the events industry, I’d advise patience. Especially with the world right now being as it is.
HD: Not going to lie: I’ve received some very eager cold emails, and multiple follow up phone calls from recent college grads this year and it pisses me off. I don’t have enough work for my current leads right now…I don’t have enough work for myself. Read the pandemic room. Don’t cold e-mail me right now lol seriously. I’m not hiring. I wish I was. End rant.
ED: Transferable skills can be a huge part of a marketing yourself as a job candidate, so work on boosting some of those areas while you are hunting for a wedding or event professional that truly “sparks joy” for you.
Why do you think your email to me resulted in success?
ED: I think it was successful because I did a lot of research and followed my heart, and my cold email to you expressed that. (How many times can I emphasize research and passion in one interview? Lol)
HD: Haha! I agree!
ED: But really, I was not sending the same basic email to different people, just looking for any job. I waited until I found someone who I genuinely wanted to work with, someone who I thought I could relate to and who I found inspiring.
HD: *Sobs into my coffee.*
ED: I think I even said in my initial email that your blog inspired me, which it did, and which you continue to do so! I also think it’s incredibly important to be yourself. Know what you want, be confident in what you do, and stay true to yourself; it will come across to others.
HD: Love you Emily! Thank you so, so much for this interview.