My journey to becoming your Event Planner

Today, I’m embarking on a journey that I have been dreaming about for a long time, starting my own event planning service!

This blog post is all about ME, Ashley White, and my journey to becoming your event planner.

I am a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate with a degree in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Planning. I joke to people saying I have been in this industry since I was a tiny little girl, helping my mom plate the fancy appetizer spreads to taking dessert orders on Thanksgiving. The hospitality industry is my passion and it has been for a very long time.

My story begins one day in the City of San Francisco. I was grumpy as grumpy gets, not sure why, I mean I was on vacation… Anyways, my mom told me we were going to eat at the hotel restaurant, me naive, little 15 year old was not too happy we weren’t going out on the town looking for an extra yummy restaurant. Fast forward to us getting our plates for dinner, I was served a medium rare filet and a side of mashed potatoes. The first bite of mashed potatoes I took, my world turned upside down, I was over the moon, full of PURE joy. It was this moment that I knew, whatever I was going to do the rest of my life, it would involve food.

I was now 16, and I had my first job! I had become a hostess as my first restaurant job. This was great, I was loving the industry, on most days anyways. At this point I still felt like I wanted to be a head chef and create food experiences like the one I had, had in the City. After 2 years more as a host, I was now 18, finally legally able to be a server! I rushed to apply for a serving position and got the job! At this point I had realized that I was not going to be a chef, the realities of the lifestyle was not for me. So college comes around and I needed a way into Cal Poly, and I had to choose a major in order to apply. Hospitality, tourism and event planning was a major at Cal Poly, this was perfect, so I applied and GOT IN! A dream come true!

In college I continue my path in the restaurant industry, working for tips as a server. I am also LOVING my college classes and freedom!

It was not until an introduction to planning class that I was introduced to the event industry. We were tasked to a business/non profit to plan an event for them. My group took on American Red Cross and we planned a blood drive. This blood drive was developed into so much more, and became a health and wellness fair. We had a goal to get 15 blood donations, we received 80 plus, we aimed to get 1-5 people to swab for Be the Match (bone marrow matching company), we received 23 swabs, a record for Be the Match! We had 10 wellness clubs on campus out there presenting on there ideas, there was Yoga and a photo booth with accessories. The health and wellness fair was more successful than any of us could have imagined. This is a HUGE turning point for my career goals.

I am a sophomore in college looking for resume opportunities, I come across an event position to plan a TEDxCalPoly, and not sure exactly what that meant, but I applied.

THIS WAS HUGE! I had no idea at the time but TEDxCalPoly would define the next three and a half years of college. A group of students decided one day to apply for a license to hold a TEDx Event and I was going to help design it!

This starts my adventure as a TEDx volunteer and leader. The first ever TEDxCalPoly, was in the planning phases, I was the Experience coordinator on the Production team, and I was in charge of planning the experience outside of the auditorium/speakers. This was the check in experience, the ticketing, the art, the vendors, the interactive activities, the swag bags, the printed material, intermission, catering and more I am probably forgetting. I found myself more excited about this than almost any endeavor in my life. I was learning how to plan and manage conference planning parallel to planning this event. I was actually learning by doing! Creating budgets, designing the program, planning parking and venue details, I was really doing what a real event planner would do. I had so much control of the experience, I mean I had a real budget of $35,000 and I was deciding how that $35,000 was going to be presented to the audience. Excitement was an understatement.

After what felt like zillions of hours, we pulled off a sold out show for 1,200 people, 10 speakers, 2 performers, food and swag bags. WHAT A FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT!

The next year, I took over the production team, which I was previously on and managed a team of 8 people. We planned everything for the day of the event. This meant all of the front of house stuff previously mentioned but also included; stage design/building, venue organization, rentals, emcee selection, performer selection, showcase items, art exhibits, and VIP experience. We also had decided at this point to rebrand into TEDxSanLuisObispo to be more of a community event. Managing a team was a new learning curve, but it was such a great experience to lead interviews, hire a team, run meetings, and be on the executive board with the other team managers. Then again we were able to watch all our hard work culminate into another successful event!

The third year, TEDxSanLuisObispo is ready to carry on its legacy, and I have been handed over the throne. I could not be more excited and nervous to take on the entirety of this event! I am now in charge, top dog, managing a board of executives that manage their own teams. We had the production team (my fav), the finance team, the sponsorship team, marketing team, speaker team, design team and media team. I was now dealing with larger problems like the money and the content, basically everything that went into planning another successful event, I was apart of. The third TEDxSanLuisObispo, although it had its hiccups, went off without a hitch! We had 10 speakers, 3 performers and 1,200 people in the audience.

I have never felt more proud of myself than I did after each of those events. We didn’t get paid for all those hours of work, we were students, yet we planned a real event, that people paid to attend. It was like we were real working professionals, yet we were still learning, still understanding the world as it operates, and we still were able to be as successful as we were. I really found a love for conference planning.

During my time with TEDxSanLuisObispo, I was still working. I had a job as an event concierge, which was a fancy way of saying the girl who helps on the day of event. I liked doing this, except I was missing the planning piece of the event, which I loved! I was also able to get some catering jobs which opened me up more to wine events, these are the most fun! I ultimately ended up back in the restaurant, this time working my way up to being a bartender and then manager.

Now, I am a banquet manager and restaurant manager at a hotel/restaurant in Shell Beach, CA. I coordinate our venue details with clients, I set up the space with general tables, chairs, linens and serveware. I love to organize decor and set up’s - but in my current position I am more of food, beverage and venue coordinator.

I would love to plan your next event! I can plan weddings, food/wine events, social distancing celebrations and really anything you can think of, I am willing to dream with you! I am super passionate about this industry, in particular creating really memorable experiences. I would love to hear about your vision and how I can help!

Let’s talk!

Best Ashley White