Vital experience as a wedding planner for Bewbush man

WHILE most of his friends are facing the harsh realities of finding a job once out of university, Sam Bristow is learning about the working world, getting paid for it and meeting some rather colourful characters in the process.

The 21-year-old from Bewbush is on a business administration apprenticeship at Central Sussex College.

This requires him to spend one day a week in college and the rest of the time working at Crawley Register Office.

His duties include helping organise every aspect of weddings and civil partnership ceremonies.

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Sometimes he is even called in to be an usher.

He said: "People don't always provide their own ushers and because there can be two weddings taking place at once, with the potential for a third couple arriving early, I am sometimes called down as an usher.

"There can be a lot of different guests around at one time so it helps to keep everything organised and the people happy."

His job is certainly never boring.

Sam added: "We have had couples who don't speak any English between them so they have a translator throughout the whole ceremony. That is a surreal experience.

"And the other week we had a guy moonwalk down the aisle – I won't be forgetting that one.

"The amount of work involved in organising a wedding is astounding.

"You get people call up with their plans for their wedding set out in their mind so at times we can be more of an information service explaining what can be done."

Sam shared his experience to mark the fact that this week is National Apprentice Week.

He said: "Many of my friends have finished college or university and are struggling to get a job, having no real experience of the world of work.

"Not only am I earning a wage but I am also gaining qualifications and skills that I can take anywhere with me.

"One of the best things about doing an apprenticeship is the chance to benefit from everyone else's experience too – I am getting expert advice every day from my colleagues without even thinking about it."

Sam hopes to eventually land a management position through the skills he has learned through his course.