My summer in NYC & Kleinfeld Bridal Internship.

Hi loves! Happy Tuesday! Today I’m going to talk about my internship with Kleinfeld Bridal in NYC. I get so many questions about how I landed the internship, what I did, and if I got to try on dresses all day. This is a long one, so grab a snack 😉

How I landed the Internship: I have always had a passion for Bridal and special occasion gowns. So, since the day I started college, I had dreamed of interning with Kleinfeld Bridal and living in New York City. I never thought my dream would actually come true, but I wanted to chase after it anyways. Kleinfeld was the first, and only internship I applied to. I applied in early Fall 2014, and I heard back from Kleinfeld within two days asking me to fly out to NYC for an interview. I had never been so excited/nervous in my entire life. Early January of 2015, I flew to New York with my dad for my interview! I interviewed on a Wednesday with the sweetest woman on earth (Joan Roberts). Walking into Kleinfeld to interview was like a dream. I was shaking, and felt sick to my stomach I was so nervous! As soon as the interview started I calmed down, it was so laid back and comfortable. Later that night, I sent Joan and thank you letter, and she responded back offering me the job! They get thousands and thousands of applicants and I got chosen! AHHHHH.

Living in the big apple: Moving to New York City was an absolute dream come true for me. I’ve always loved the city and the fast paced lifestyle that comes along with it. If you know me, you know that I am a huge home body and I hate being away from my family. All four years all college, I would go home every chance I got. My parents started telling me to stay at school and not to come home haha oops. Any who, while I was in New York, I had no urge to go home at all. It wasn’t that I didn’t miss my family, I just fell in love with the city and didn’t want to go a day without hearing those cabs honking all night long or walking to work while dodging people on the crowded sidewalks. I loved every single second of walking around that concrete jungle. There is ALWAYS something to do and there is inspiration on every corner. I lived on 8th ave and 34th street. Smack in the middle of Herald Square, right next to Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. At times the crazy, touristy part of where I lived got on my nerves, BUT how could I complain when Starbucks, Zara, H&M, and Forever21 were across the street from my apartment? UM I COULDN’T! (This resulted in WAY too much money spent… sorry dad!) Want to hang at the beach for the day? Hop on the train to Coney Island, or Long Island. Want to enjoy the nature? Walk up to Central Park. It’s the best of both worlds and I miss it every single day. I can’t wait to live there for good.

Kleinfeld Bridal: Every single day at Kleinfeld was different. No day at work was the same. Each day, we came in and had a morning meeting. We would discuss the appointments of the day, the comebacks, and new dresses in stock. After the meeting was over, the interns would get paired with a consultant for the day. We would work closely with the consultant, styling brides, helping them find their perfect gown and writing up the contracts after they said YES to the dress. It is such a rewarding job. At Kleinfeld, there is always a trunk show going on. I got to develop personal relationships with designers such as Mark Zunino and Hayley Paige (just to name a few). TLC was also in the store everyday filming the hit show, Say Yes to the Dress.  Keep an eye out for me next season ;). No, I didn’t get to try on dresses all day long, although I wish I could have! They’re all so beautiful. My days were actually very long, and very tiring. I would be on my feet for 10-11 hours at a time. It was 100% worth it though. On some Fridays, we did get to try on as many dresses as we wanted and play dress up, which was SO much fun.

On top of this internship being the BEST learning experience, the owner, Ronnie, took us interns to multiple dinners, took us to his home in the Hamptons, to the beach, and planned awesome field trips for us as well. While working at Kleinfeld, I made best friends with some of the other interns. I never dreamed I would develop such friendships at my internship! I cannot express how thankful I am for the opportunity I was given at Kleinfeld Bridal, the friendships, and the connections I made. I will forever be thankful. If you’re a fashion major, I highly recommend this internship! You will learn so much about the bridal industry, yourself, and make amazing friends & memories.

It gets better! Just when I thought this summer couldn’t get any better, my boyfriend came to the city and SURPRISED me on my last weekend in NYC, which just so happened to be my birthday weekend as well. He asked me to marry him with the most breathtaking view in the background! Of course I said YES. Later that day, he told me that he has made me an appointment AT KLEINFELD to try on dresses with my Mom and Aunt who would be coming the next day! Did I score a winner? I think so! Two days after my last day at Kleinfeld, I got to go in on the other side of things! I had an appointment and had an amazing experience. Although, it was still too early and fresh for me to pick a dress, I will return to Kleinfeld to get my dress in the near future. Thanks for the best summer of my life <3

 

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading!

xoxo Hillary