Nationals Stadium

Last night I attended my second rained out baseball game of the year at National’s Stadium. As I sat in the nose-bleed section getting absolutely soaked by the mid-summer downpour, I should have been miserable. Instead, I was having a ball! There’s something about a baseball field that puts everyone in a good mood. From the amazing food smells to the silly crowd games, baseball stadiums never fail to make people feel like kids again. For this reason, I think National’s Stadium is a fabulous place to hold an event. Event guests are immediately put at ease in a location that evokes both nostalgia and playfulness. The next time a client asks me for venue suggestions, I won’t hesitate to mention the ballpark as a unique option.

by Laura Miller, Event Planner

Running Around Everyday Life

Running Around
Everyday life…

Running around
Day after day

Running to keep balance
Between work and play…

We run around
Crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s

This running keeps us
Sharp and wise…

Running around is part
Of the plan

It is a key to us being
A successful women or man…

We run around to make our
Lives just right

Working so hard for all the accomplishments
In sight…

If we slowed down and stopped running
Life could stand still

Id bet this Running around
Keeps our lives truly full filled…

by Nancy Radin, Senior Event Planner

Day-of Planning, Why do I need it?

So here you are planning your beautiful day, and you start getting frantic about how this wonderful day is going to play out. If you already planned out the whole wedding, then why should you worry about how it is going to turn out? Well hello, the day of your wedding is one of the most important days of your life and you should want it to be perfect without a hitch.

Day-of planning is the single most important investment that you can possibly make. The amount of work that goes into the event is worth every penny: from coordinating with vendors to managing the details, securing the timeline and paying attention to every detail that your expert’s trained eye will do. It will guarantee that you and your fiancé will reign supreme on that day. A small price to pay for a lifetime of great memories… So relax and hire the experts at Gala to plan your day, and never worry about a thing because you are in great hands!

by Rosie Goulette, Event Planner

My Career

With only months left until my college graduation, I realized that the time had come for me to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. It seemed like every second I was being bombarded with questions about what I was going to do after school, and I always had the same answer—that I wasn’t sure yet. Over the past couple of summers, I had spent my breaks interning at an art gallery, a trust firm, and a non-profit group, all of which were unique experiences that were completely different from one another. In the end, I came to realize that I walked away from each experience with loads of new knowledge and skills, but no true passion for any of the dynamic career paths. Over the years, I had always considered event planning as a potential career that I could really love, but had little actual experience in the field outside of small sorority recruitment events at my university. When I came across the incredible opportunity to intern with Gala, I was more than excited to learn more about this industry that I previously knew so little about. Within the first week I learned more than I had ever anticipated I could possibly learn in an internship. From learning how to set up and number tables in a room, to how to fold a napkin five different ways, I gained a wide range of new knowledge and skills that I genuinely found interesting and fun. However, the most valuable thing I learned during that first week at Gala was the importance of the strong relationships event planners have with each and every one of their clients. My very first day on the job, I was able to sit in on a meeting with a planner and her client, where I was able to witness the passion that the Gala planners have for their work. After seeing this, I was really inspired to be an event planner, and I knew for sure that this was a career path that I wanted to pursue.

by Jessica Marzelli, Event Planner Intern

Glass bubble candle holders

Right now, I am excited about new and inventive ways to use candlelight at my events. I especially love this glass bubble candleholder by CB2. I think they would look amazing hanging in clusters over a table, a dance floor, or really any other focal point in your event space. Hung with translucent wire, groupings transform into a cost effective and unique “floating chandelier.” Fresh and modern, hanging bubbles are a nontraditional way to add romance to any space.

by Laura Miller, Event Planner

A lesson learned

There was a time, early in my career, when I was working regularly at a downtown hotel and my clients were small associations and small corporations with special events. Three times within a two month period, my clients told me that they had a limited budget for the special event that would be the grand finale of their annual meeting.

I would plan their events and give them a bit more than they were budgeted to spend. It was a big bang for their buck. I also had a trick up my sleeve. The hotel had beautiful, 8 feet tall palms in large terra cotta containers lining the large concourse in front of the ballrooms.

After my crew set up the décor that the client had paid for, I had my guys bring in as many of the palms as we needed to enhance the look of the event. Everyone was thrilled with what was done.

The fourth time I went to pull my little trick, the palms wouldn’t budge from their settings. I asked my contact at the hotel what had happened. He told me that they got tired of having to move the palm trees back after I had used them so they anchored them to the floor.

It had never entered my mind to tell my crew to put them back after the event was over. I inadvertently outsmarted myself by not considering the hotel’s needs.

I learned a great lesson. Always treat all people that work on your job as a member of your own team. Their tasks should always be considered and should always be respected. You want them to cooperate with you, so you should set the tone and cooperate with them. Since then, teamwork has been an important feature of each and every event that I have executed.

by Paul Garner, Vice President

Getting Your Feet Wet

How do I get into the event planning business? There are lots of ways. But the BEST possible way is:
- Get an internship and work your tail off for someone else for free so you can get your feet wet.

It worked for me.

“When you know… you just know…”

It didn’t even take one day before I knew event planning was exactly what I wanted to do. Stepping foot into Gala I just knew this place would be my new home. Coming in with the mentality that my job would be so glamorous, I was in for a rude awakening.
I never thought that this industry would be so hard, hard, HARD!

It is safe to say that in this industry there is never a dull moment. From the minute you step foot through the door, there is always something to do, a challenge to endure and accomplish.

Finding what you love to do is the key to success…

by Tala Farr, Event Planner