BA Student Melissa Alas Cabigao on her experience interning with The Wedding Story Writer:

“When I realized my junior year had already reached me, I thought about my future after Florida State University. My goal was to be ready and experienced as a professional artist by the time I graduated and before I could land a career, so I thought it was most suitable for me to start searching for an internship. I did not know how to start my search, but I knew what would be right for me: an internship that matched of my greatest interests so I can constantly be motivated.

I was excited when I found a design internship with Michelle McMurray de Luces who was titled “The Wedding Story Writer,” because wedding design is top in my list after game art and fashion art. Immediately after submitting my resume and digital portfolio, she reviewed them and contacted me with interest. I knew this was the start of a new experience I would make. It ended up being a position greater than I was expecting after Michelle informed me that I would be helping her produce illustrations for a company that she had recently started herself.

My duties are to help my employer plan projects for custom wedding story books, submit ideas for feedback, and attend our weekly Skype meetings. The most important responsibility for me behind this new company is to create the illustrations that would become pages in the books. The process is not quick and simple, as any book being sold must go through several drafts before becoming one final piece. With close deadlines approaching us, Michelle and I constantly communicate back and forth about each drawing, figuring out if it fits the right style, follows the wedding color scheme, and ties the whole book together with all other designs. I am working towards the end of my first book with Michelle.

One of my favorite parts about this internship is that the teamwork required within The Wedding Story Writer’s staff is what I have dreamed of in my future as a professional artist.  The recent projects staff includes Michelle, the main writer and leader of the book, wedding photographers who attend clients’ weddings with Michelle, me as the artist, and calligraphers who design the text on the pages. We have to make sure that the material and space we use work for everyone and the book, then each person sends their work for another to add on to. It is exciting to know we must work together to make sure the new grooms and brides love exactly what they see when they open their wedding story books and that the work continues to attract attention around the world. I am looking forward to seeing where The Wedding Story Writer will turn and how big this company can grow.”