We love learning about the ingredients that make something into perfection. Whether it’s a secret recipe to the icing on our cupcakes or the wedding team that turn a couple’s love into the perfect wedding day – great ingredients are literally what transform the finished product into something special. As it turns out, the lovely Alina of Glenview Hotel, Co. Wicklow, is one such secret ingredient. We sat down with Alina to get a first hand look at a day in the life of her role at Glenview Hotel & Leisure Club.
“Firstly, there is no such thing as a typical day in my job that is one of the things I love about it, each day brings something new and different. I feel excited coming to work, especially when we have a wedding on. It is just magical to see all the planning, ideas and work become a reality!”
“I normally start my day at 8.45am with a nice cup of coffee brought by my colleague Alena, if she is doing the morning run in our office and I tell you, that is the best coffee of the day! Now I am ready to rock ‘n’ roll. Communication is the key in my job, there are a lot of phone calls, emails and meetings involved in the process. The clients need to know and feel that you are always there for them.”
“I start with checking my voicemails, emails, new enquiries and my to-do list and work through the tasks. When possible, I like to do all the admin, marketing, social media work in the mornings and keep the afternoons for meetings, followups and show-arounds.”
“Normally when a couple comes in for a show-around, this is arranged by appointment and you would have some idea of the couple’s requirements beforehand, however we do get couples popping in when they are passing by, so you need to be always ready. I find the show-arounds very exciting as it is the first time you meet the couple, and in some cases their families too. Firstly we sit down, I ask a few questions, listen and try to get a better idea of their vision for their Wedding day, then I go through the details and options and how we could help them turn their vision to life and even more. This is followed by a tour of our hotel and our grounds.”
“Each couple is so unique, and I think their wedding day should reflect their story and their personalities. It also happens that sometimes couples won’t even know where to start or what they would like for their big day. This is normal, as it is all new to them, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the job, getting to know the couple and their visions, which in turn I can then inspire, give suggestions and guide them.”
“The day of a wedding really is all-go, but if the preparation work is done well in advance, everything should run smoothly on the day and you will get to enjoy it that little bit more. It is a very emotional day, it is thrilling to see all the work that becomes a reality and even more, the satisfaction of the Bride & Groom and the feedback from the guests! As expected, there is always a last minute change and you have to be ready for it, keep your cool and get it done. We have a very strong and experienced wedding team here at the Glenview Hotel, managed by Sabine and there is nothing that she can’t do or fix!”
“Apart from the team and the support I get here at the Glenview Hotel, the venue itself from the room, the gardens, the views to the unique location are what I love most about our wedding venue. I fell in love with it, and straight away I appreciated the potential and could visualize the many different style of weddings you can have here. It is the perfect canvas! More and more these days couples are looking for something different, an alternative and it is great to be able to offer the options.”
“I have always worked in hospitality, and always had a passion for food, wine events, décor, design, photography and a great attention to detail. I am a bit of a perfectionist and also love a challenge – this is the perfect job to combine all of these aspects. It all started as a hobby, when a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to help them organize their wedding abroad, I was very familiar with the location and the language. Of course I said yes straight away and I really enjoyed every little step of the way. Everything, all my experience and my passions finally met. I knew then and there this is what I was my ideal job!”
“I love my job with a passion and I know I’m very lucky for this reason alone. There can be so many great pleasures to life here in Glenview, you have the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people and make life-long friends along the way. But for me, the best of it all is to see the outcome of all the hard work and most of all the faces and reactions of our couples when all their dreams have come true. This is so inspiring and motivates me even more! I would like to thank all my colleagues for the support they give me, in particular to Vivienne & Brian for giving me the chance to make dreams come true at the Glenview Hotel!”
Many thanks Alina for sharing your story with us. Find out more about weddings with Alina and the rest of her team at Glenview Hotel here!
