Tie the Knot

This summer I had the privilege of being the Conference and Event Planning Intern at Lakeside Chautauqua.  Before my internship I had decided wedding planning was not for me based on past experiences working in the field. However, part of my internship did include planning weddings and my boss thought I had a great skill level for it. Therefore, I was assigned several weddings to plan on my own.

Going into my internship I had worked a bridal show, a few weddings, and had basic knowledge of what goes into the planning process, but found myself struggling to answer all of the questions I was asked by a bride or the family. I turned to research and found my saving grace of the knot.com.
    
The Knot website is the most-trafficked wedding planning site because of the vast amount of information to help with every step of wedding planning. There are many different functions to the site, so I will only name my favorites. First, is a gown gallery with more than 20,000 to view and search. Second, there is a function similar to Pinterest that allows the user to look up ideas and pictures.  Third, there are tools such as a checklist, budget guide, guest list manager, and wedding page builder.  Lastly, there is a function that allows you to view local florists, photographers, reception sites, etc in a city closest to the user.
   
I found myself studying the knot.com every chance I could get and making sure to refer all brides to the site and all of its functions. Not only does the knot.com have different functions, but it also serves as a social media site. There is a community of personal profiles, blogs, boards, and member web pages that the user can access to receive advice, ask questions, and find out what other brides are doing for their weddings.

The knot.com also features their own blog with current trends and hot topics of the wedding industry. My recent favorite blog is “9 New Fall Wedding Trends We Love Right Now!” Read all about it at The Knot Blog

Welcome back Polar Bears!

At Ohio Northern University I am the President of the Student Planning Committee or more commonly known around campus as SPC. SPC holds more than 30 free events each semester for the student body to have a fun and exciting time with their peers in a safe atmosphere.

The weekend before school starts is what we call “Welcome Weekend” on campus. This past weekend was Welcome Weekend and the freshman and upperclassman living on campus were moving in and adjusting back to school and life in Ada. SPC held three events during Welcome Weekend to help everyone get excited for the upcoming semester.

The first of three events was on the Saturday of the weekend. Typically, we host "The Price is Right", but we decided to try something new this year. We hired a group called Mission IMPROVable, which is an improvisational comedy troupe that does a show similar to “Who’s Line is it Anyway.” They had a fast-paced show that heavily included student involvement. It seems as though all the students loved the troupe based on the amount of laughs echoing through the gym.

The second event took place on Sunday of the weekend. The event was Movie on the Tundra and has been a tradition at Ohio Northern for many years. The Tundra is the grassy area between the dorms and academic buildings, which makes for a great spot to put a giant inflatable movie screen! The movie this year was Divergent and students bring blankets and SPC provides candy and popcorn. This year the attendance hit about 650 and we can’t wait for it to happen again next year.

 The third and final event of the weekend took place on Monday, which was also the first day of classes. What better way to end the first day of school then with comedy? That’s been SPC’s thinking for many years as we bring back the event Opening Comedians year after year. This year we had two comedians, Chastity Washington and Paul Varghese. Both comedians had relatable and of course hilarious jokes that kept the students laughing the whole event. It was a great Welcome Weekend back to campus and I look forward to a wonderful and exciting semester!