Let The Planning Commence!

As a born and bred Cape Town (Hout Bay) girl who now finds herself settled in the land of Red, White and Blue, it was only natural for me to have my wedding in Cape Town. Yes, this does in a sense mean a destination wedding and it also means dragging a large portion of the guest list across the globe to have them celebrate with me.

This thought excites and terrifies me at the same time; but Cape Town is a city so close to my heart and is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in the world and so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share it with my new friends and family.

When it comes to planning a Cape Town wedding you really have two options for your back-drop. Wine lands or Sea Side. Once you have made this decision the planning may commence…

I opted for sea side. I have always been a beach girl and would not want to venture too far away from my mountain on my special day. Having decided this I now had to find the perfect venue.

For a town with so much natural beauty you would be surprised at how difficult it was to find that special venue. There are so many to choose from but being a wedding planner by trade I was probably a little pickier than the rest. Ugly chairs and blue carpets being my pet peeve.

Luckily for me I have my Super Team in Cape Town consisting of my mother and sister who did plenty leg work for me, visiting multiple sea side venues from Noordhoek to Blouberg, getting photographs and details so that when my fiancé and I took a trip home over Christmas we could hit the hot spots and choose from a much narrowed down list.

I am happy to say that I have found my venue (not giving away the surprise just yet) and I am so happy about it (gorgeous chairs and no carpet!). I know that it will showcase the best of what Cape Town has to offer and will blow the socks off my American guests.

Stay tuned for more updates on just exactly what goes into planning a destination wedding on the sunny shores of the Mother City.

It's all about Hospitality

Through no fault of my own, I now find myself in the hospitality industry…this is in fact an area that I have always been somewhat curious of – and that’s not just because of my love for luxurious hotel beds, silver spoon service and people being at my beck and call 24/7.

And so Madam Fate happened to stick her beautifully manicured fingers into my life and after a few tedious and mind numbing temping assignments I find myself in the sales and catering department of a luxury hotel in DuPont Circle, Washington DC.

Little did my unknowing future employees know; that this “temp” actually has what she likes to think of as a little bit of experience in the event planning/marketing/sales/ promotion arena and actually does know what she is talking about.

So 6 weeks of proving myself (no one here has ever asked to see my resume) and I turned from “temp” to Sales administrator, another few weeks of doing what I do best and Voila – I am now catering coordinator. I have my own desk, computer, phone and get this – business cards!

I have learnt a lot about this new professional home of mine.

1. Hospitality is surprisingly the art of be hospitable – making people feel welcome and happy. It requires that you have a smiling happy and shiny disposition, know how to talk to people, be friendly and polite. Surprisingly – not everyone seems to know this.

2. A hotel is a conglomeration of many different departments. It is essential that these departments work seamlessly together to achieve the common goal. Communication between these departments is key. Again – not always the case…

3. There is no such thing as a 9 – 5 hotel job…

4. Possibly the most interesting thing about this job is the people. Colleagues and clients, this place is overflowing with different personality types. Some great, some testing, but nevertheless there is always something going on. There are flamboyant flairs, girly sparkles, catty conflicts and lots of peacock tail fluffing but the thing that I think is the common bond is that we all have a little bit of crazy…

So although I do not yet know if this is a permanent home for me I am enjoying it and we all sure know that I do indeed posses that little bit of crazy.

Honey I'm Home!!

Hello Folks,

Yes I'm still alive and somewhat kicking.

I have made a conscious decision to get back to my adoring fans (or at least I like to think that…) and make somewhat of an effort to keep up with my thoughts and put pen to paper a little more often.

So just a brief catch-up:

• The tempting thing landed me a permanent thing – I am now
Catering Coordinator at a hotel in Washington DC’s DuPont Circle
(more to come on that later)

• I very briefly touched on this a very long while back but I was
assisting some Amazing Wedding People with planning weddings. Well
I am now one of those Amazing Wedding People (again more to come
later)

• The Ikea Experience became somewhat of a hobby and I can now say
that my house is officially decorated and Mr. Ikea is a very rich
man.

• The Administrative nightmare known as a Greencard has been brought
back into my life and is just as annoying the second time round.
(You know there will be more to come on this one!)

So that’s the brief version. I promise to elaborate on all this in time to come.

I have missed you all and hope you missed me more!

PT

The Temping Experience Part 1

Assignment 1: Receptionist

As part one to a hopefully short lived topic, this will be the intro into what I embark on along my road to finding success. As someone who, like so many people, is fighting the daily employment battle, I have signed up with a temp agency. Basically they offer me various short term assignments which generally involve filling in for people who are taking a much deserved vacation. Obviously, this is not something that I wish to be doing for very long but I figure that while I am taking the time to find my dream job and get on a career path that will actually lead me somewhere I want to go, I figure I might as well share my experiences. I also hope to learn a little something about the places I’m not so keen on visiting, or staying for an extensive period of time.

Please bare in mind that I write this from a temp point of view and actually have very little insight into what really happens in the places that I visit.

My first assignment was for 4 days and I found myself at the reception desk of a not very busy property management firm.

So property management – what I learnt from my very short visit seems to be full of very full inboxes with very little motivation to go through them. Tenants call you at every opportunity and at any time of day or night because it is your unfortunate duty to care that the ceiling caved in because of rain. Bills, bills, and more bills are on your daily to-do list and those don’t even include the ones you have to pay to keep your own household running.

On to the reception part of this position, and please remember that I say this from a very uneducated point of view and the fact that this generally was a very quiet office. But in saying that, I have the utmost respect for people who take this position on as a full time profession. Not because it is challenging by any means but because it is mind-numbingly boring. OK, so maybe if you are more than just a temp you probably have more day to day responsibilities and you could eventually build up a to-do-list.

For someone in my position, a temp, there are periods of maybe ten minutes when you have to take a call or stuff an envelope but then that’s about it. I find myself sitting there, begging for a box of filing or a storage room to organize, or even for the stupid phone to ring. I was told by various people in the office that this was extremely rare and that the regular lady who works there is constantly busy and the phone is ringing off the hook. I guess I should count myself “lucky” that for those four days that I was standing in all the clients/tenants/suppliers or anyone else who had any vested interest in the company all decided to go on vacation.

People

Now as I may or may not have mentioned before, I am at a critical stage in my career as a wine broker – finding clients. I go on a daily quest to seek out wine drinking, money spending, life living individuals, for me, this means cold calling and turning on the charm and using my genuine love for our products to entice people into my world.

My excitement and love for our wine is not hard to miss and that has proven to be a huge drawing point for most. I mean if this wine is the best thing that I have ever put my lips to the glass for then certainly you need to try it right? Well for some yes, for some it takes a little more persuasion.

The thing is though, that by speaking to an uncountable number of people on a daily basis I am learning a lot about the different types of people out there.

1. The closed-minded Mr. Routine:
This guy knows what he likes and likes what he knows. He is very happy buying his el- cheapo wine from the little guy at the little wine shop down the street. No, the guy behind the counter probably doesn’t know red from white but hell, if he says it’s good it must be. For this guy, no matter how good I make my wine sound he is just not going to budge, even though I know I can get him better juice at a better price.

2. The Mr. I think I know it All:
I kind of like these people because they put up a bit of a fight. They think they know what they like and more importantly what is good. Here’s a tip to you – just because the restaurants charge you $150 per bottle does not mean it’s the best wine in the world. It just means that the restaurant knows that you can afford that price and don’t know any better to rather bring your own wine and pay $50 corkage.

3. The Mrs. I really want to buy but need to ask my husband:
Come on ladies, get it together! Do you ask your husband every time you want to buy a new pair of shoes? A gorgeous handbag? A new dress? I mean how many times do you call him from the mall when on a shopping spree? I’m gonna take a guess…none? You know that you can afford the wine and you know that he’s gonna drink the wine. So why do you need approval to buy the wine? Besides, did he ask your permission when he bought that Mercedes?

4. Mr. I know what I like, Like what I know but am also open to suggestion:
Now these are my favorites. These people know their stuff, they know what they like and where to get it. But they are also willing to try new things. They are always looking for new avenues to get their hands on the juice and they are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. They will listen to you and trust your recommendations as long as you talk their language.

5. Mr. I don’t know what you’re saying but I like the way it sounds:
I love this guy. He loves wine; he just doesn’t know anything about it. This scares him but excites him when you call because he has not found a way to learn and he knows that by trusting you he will get the good stuff that he is going to love. He has the money to try new things and is not afraid to jump in the deep end with you.

6. Mr. I don’t really know what you’re saying but I think I like the way it sounds, I’m just not sure:
This guy is similar to the one prior. He doesn’t know what you’re saying but he likes the way it sounds. He knows he wants to jump in the deep end but he’s a little bit scared. By having the initial conversation you have coaxed him into putting his toe in the water. I like dealing with these people because a little bit of hesitation is always good. After all, if you can hold his hand and lead him into the wonderful world of wine then he will follow you for like and trust your judgment. He just needs some guidance and a soft little push in the right direction.

Of course I just scratched the tip of the ice berg here and there are copious amounts of all sorts of personalities out there. This also doesn’t only apply to my job but to so many out there. Think of the people that you deal with on a daily basis, no matter in what capacity.

The trick with all these people is letting your personality shine through. No one is that set in their ways that a little smile and friendliness cannot bring them out of the darkness and into the light of your world. You need to make them love you and then they will fall in love with what you have to offer.

Life as a Wine Broker

So this is long over due and I’m sorry!

I am finally able to give myself the hard earned title of personal wine consultant! I started my new job about a month ago and have been trying to build my client file and find people who love and appreciate amazing wines.

All the while doing this I have been experiencing the beautiful juice I have been tasked with selling – yes tough job I know.

So the thing about being a wine broker is about loving what you are getting to your clients, and also making sure that you recommend something that you know your client is going to love! And that’s not really hard when you are working with the quality of wines that I am.

I am able to sell (and drink) the top 5% of hand crafted boutique wines in the world. All of our wines are 500 case production or less and have absolutely no extra crap added to them – so that means no more headaches! I am so happy to report that I can officially drink white wine again! Well some at least the ones that come from our wineries as they have no added sulphar! Yay!

The hard part however is getting people to trust you and trust your judgment. It is a daunting thing, buying wine over the phone. Especially when you don’t really know that much about wine. But that is the beauty of working with someone like me. I take the guess work out of wine buying for people. I am literally putting my liver on the line to make sure that I recommend the perfect wines for m clients – again, tough job I know.

So that folks is my first post abut my new life as a wine broker… I hope to update again soon with more happenings and maybe some wine nerd knowledge.

Cheers!

Another Step on the Path to Greatness

So on Monday I start my new career as a wine broker. Is this the path I want to be on for a long time (a fast track route to alcoholism) no not really. Without really knowing too much, I don’t think that this is going to be creative enough for me. I do however think that it is something I can do, without trying too hard. I have always prided myself in being a people person and believe that I can pretty much talk to anyone, so I think that this skill will come in handy with this new job. I hope to be able to sell the socks off these people and make a statement.

I also however am not closing the other doors behind me as this new one opens. I am still focusing my attention on getting myself to where I believe I should be. In the creative world – doing magical things. So I see this simply as a stepping stone – something to fund the path of the future.

I also hope to use this as a tool to meet people and hopefully extend my somewhat male dominated social circle. Adding some estrogen to the situation may be scary but may also quite refreshing.

I read an article the other day that said that, “Even though you need to get connected with others, WHO you choose to connect with can either make or break you.”

So although I don’t yet know my future colleagues I hope that they will be the kind of people that will help keep me on my desired path.

I hope to learn from these new people in my life and grow in a personal and professional capacity. I believe that you learn from everything in life and I see this as yet another learning platform along my way to greatness. I will take whatever I can away from this position and these people. I will take their ideas and their methods and hopefully out them to use in my own way. It takes a certain type of person to excel at sales and assuming my future colleagues are good at what they do, I hope to learn from them.

It is said, you are the sum of the 5 people you hang around with the most. I hope to extend my 5 and differentiate, making me a complex and interesting person. I hope to surround myself with people who share the same values and excitement levels as I do. They may not be excited as the same things as I am but who cares. Excitement feeds of excitement.

I feel that my 5 back home were amazing and made me who I am so I guess I hope to find another 5 who will keep me on that path. I had a little bit of crazy, a little bit of class, a lot of professionalism, mounds of creative genius, so much passion, more than enough love, sometimes too much fun but above all I was constantly surrounded by amazing people who had so much to do with everything that I am.

I need other people around me to inspire me to be hugely successful no matter what I do. And although this new job was not something I saw on my path, it has been put there and I plan to excel. It’s a job – it’s not a life sentence, and everything only builds on what you already have right?