Interested in a career in events? If you’re lucky enough to secure a job with an event agency, you’ll likely start in the position of Event Assistant. To give you a flavour of what that might entail, we asked Faye Smallwood, Event Manager at Make Events in Cheadle Hulme to describe her day, from waking up to lights out.

Read on to discover what kept Faye busy during her 19.5-hour working day as she helped her team pull off an epic Christmas party for sportswear brand Puma.

MORNING

7am – my alarm goes off, and I immediately check in with my manager Helen (who has been onsite since 6am). I get ready for the day ahead, putting on my Make Events t-shirt ready for set-up and prepare to tackle the rush hour commute to Manchester.

9.30am – I arrive on site around to meet our lovely client. Laura, who is very excited. We assure her that yes, we can top the last event – we always aim for bigger and better.

10am – I go and catch up with the AV team, to make sure everything is running on time, and ensure they have enough coffee to keep them going for the long day. The room is filled with flight cases and masses of tech equipment and lots of crew unloading everything.

In amongst all this, I start to sort out the bespoke table centres – personalised baubles filled with glitter to fit with the “Make Believe” theme for the night.

I triple check that everyone is included and that they are all sorted into the right tables. Little things like this make life easier later on when time is of the essence.

AFTERNOON

1pm – just before lunch, our amazing designer arrives on site. He has created a Puma themed Christmas tree, giant Puma shoe box, and an enormous cloud to hang – complete with Puma trainers, snowflakes and LED batons! These magic touches are what ensures Make Events stands out as an events agency. We create events that are bespoke to each particular client, with lots of personalised pockets throughout.

I always ensure that the crew have plenty of food and snacks throughout the day. Not only does it keep them going, providing Jaffa Cakes and Squashies means they don’t mind as much when we change something last minute or ask them to move something for the umpteenth time that day!

We then get the go-ahead that the trussing and rigging are all in, so we can start to attach the giant cloud. Once this is lifted, the whole room is transformed. Tables can start going down, and the space starts to feel ready for the three-course dinner.

We have made sure the table centres will blow people’s minds. Our designer has created giant snow globes, with Puma trainers hanging in the centre, complete with snow whizzing round! The personalised table names and bauble place names sit nicely on top of the white sequin tablecloths…these aren’t your standard dining tables!

Although we tend to go through events as a team in the run-up, and I send everyone a detailed event plan in advance, I always like to do an onsite briefing. This way, everyone knows exactly what they are looking after and at what time, so the event runs super smoothly.

2pm – whilst I am doing this, my manager looks after the run-through of the opening show. We have worked alongside an amazing company to create a dance routine to open the evening, with bespoke costumes and makeup; a glittery make-believe Christmas themed number ends with the company’s MD popping out of the giant shoe box on stage to kick off the night.

As well as the Make Events team, I brief the entertainers that will be appearing throughout the night. We run through their roles, timings, where they need to be and introduce them to whoever is looking after them.

ONE HOUR TO GO

With an hour to go, the ice luge (carved into the shape of a Puma trainer!) arrives onsite. I help the delivery man wheel it to the loading bay, and up into the main room. I then call on some help to lift the extremely heavy creation into place.

Now it’s time for the final touches – checking the white wine is on ice, that bottle openers are on the tables, that the extra bread ordered is going out etc. We never want to miss a detail, to ensure that everyone has the perfect night.

SHOWTIME

Event time always rolls around very quickly, and then it’s over even faster! The next few hours are spent prompting acts, making sure the ice luge is constantly stocked, that the hotel staff have cleared tables on time and, most importantly, that the guests are dancing away with drinks in hand, having the night of their life.

It’s important that we are always reading the room, and adapting the event plan slightly as we go – if people look ready to dance earlier than expected…let’s get the band out and get that dance floor full.

As 1am rolls around, the announcement is made that although the evening is ending, midnight munchies and further drinks are available downstairs at the hotel bar (I have already been down to warn the staff of the surge that is soon to be expected).

We can then start to de-rig, carefully packing everything away and turning the room back to a normal conference space. It’s sometimes quite sad when it’s all over and the magic disappears.

BEDTIME

2.30am – after a super speedy shower I climb into bed, setting an alarm for 8am to get up and deliver another event the next day.

As clichéd as it sounds, every day is different – and that’s what makes it such an exciting job. My favourite part of the job is experiencing the event days, when you see the client’s face light up. They will only have seen the blank space and our ideas in a presentation, so making those ideas come to life does feel pretty special.

Got questions about starting a career in events? Check out the “Starting Out in Events” category on the EventTribe forum.