Private Event Manager

Private Events Manager

Full-Time, Exempt • On-Site, Armada, MI • Reports to Director of Food & Beverage • Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill

Who We Are & About This Role

Since 1946, Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill has been a cornerstone of Michigan agriculture and agritourism: an 80-year family operation with deep roots in Armada and a genuine growth ambition. Our mission is to cultivate growth in our people, our community, and our business. We host thousands of guests every year across a working farm property with multiple event venues, orchards, tasting rooms, and restaurants.

People choose Blake’s for the moments that matter most to them. A wedding in the orchard. A shower for a first baby. A company bringing its leadership team somewhere that actually feels like somewhere. The Farm is our setting, the Community is who gathers here, and Family is what a guest should feel on the biggest day of their life.

The Private Events Manager is first and foremost a sales role. You own the private events book: you fill the calendar, you grow the revenue, and you convert inquiries into signed contracts. Weddings and social celebrations are the heart of it. Corporate business, from management retreats to holiday parties, is where the real growth is. You are the person responsible for both.

You also see every event through. From first inquiry to final walkthrough to the last guest leaving, you are the point of contact and the one accountable for how it goes. Selling it and delivering it are the same job here.

If you can sell a venue, close a wedding, win corporate business, and then run the day flawlessly, we want to hear from you.

Your Role With Blake’s: Key Responsibilities

Weddings & Social Events Sales

Weddings and social celebrations are the foundation of the private events business. Achievement & Accountability: you own the pipeline, the conversion rate, and the revenue that comes with it.

• Own the full sales cycle for weddings, showers, rehearsal dinners, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, and family celebrations: inquiry, tour, proposal, contract, and close

• Respond to every inquiry quickly and personally; speed and warmth win bookings in this category

• Conduct onsite tours that sell the property, the orchard, the venues, and the experience of getting married or celebrating at a working farm

• Build custom proposals using Blake’s event packages, seasonal menus, orchard add-ons, and property experiences

• Guide couples and hosts through planning, tastings, walkthroughs, and final detail meetings with genuine care for what the day means to them

• Track pipeline, conversion, and booking pace against targets; know your numbers at all times

Corporate Events Sales & Business Development

Corporate is where this business grows. Learning & Innovation: this market needs building, and you are the one to build it.

• Actively pursue corporate business including management retreats, leadership offsites, team-building days, client appreciation events, holiday parties, and company celebrations

• Develop outbound relationships with local and regional businesses, corporate planners, chambers of commerce, and professional organizations rather than waiting for inquiries to arrive

• Build corporate-specific packages and proposals that speak to what companies actually need: meeting space, catering, timing, professionalism, and a setting that feels different from a hotel ballroom

• Cultivate repeat corporate accounts; a company that holds one great event here should book the next three

• Represent Blake’s at networking events, industry showcases, and venue tours to grow the corporate pipeline

Revenue Generation & Upselling

Every booking has room to grow. Passion & Positivity: the best upsells make the event better, which makes them easy to sell.

• Maximize per-guest revenue through enhancements such as coffee bar upgrades, signature cocktails, orchard photo opportunities, wedding arches, flower walls, and seasonal experiences

• Build and update event packages including wedding offerings, corporate menus, holiday party packages, and property upgrades

• Support leadership on dynamic pricing, event minimums, menu engineering, and optimizing food and beverage margins

• Partner with leadership on annual revenue goals, upsell targets, contract terms, pricing structures, and performance tracking as the business evolves

Event Planning & Property Coordination

A booking is only as good as the day it produces. Trust & Communication: clients trust you with something they cannot repeat, and the internal teams need to know exactly what is coming.

• Create detailed event timelines, floor plans, BEOs, and setup sheets tailored to Blake’s multi-venue layout

• Coordinate across departments and ensure every team is aligned well before event day

• Manage setup needs including ceremony chairs in the orchard, floor plans, wagon load signage, décor, and host arrivals

• Oversee day-of execution: ceremony timing, vendor coordination, food and beverage service, guest flow, and transitions between event spaces

• Schedule, assign, and lead event staff for setup, execution, and teardown; support property-wide festival staffing as needed

Operational Excellence

Good systems are what let you sell more without dropping anything. Integrity & Commitment: every contract honored, every detail delivered, every standard upheld.

• Own Tripleseat workflows and templates for proposals, contracts, BEOs, and cross-functional communication

• Develop and refine SOPs for event execution, guest communication, day-of roles, and interdepartmental processes

• Uphold Blake’s brand standards throughout: farm-forward hospitality, polished presentation, and guest-centered service

• Troubleshoot in real time, maintaining professionalism while solving operational challenges and guest or staff escalations across a working farm property

• Ensure compliance with insurance, legal, health, and safety obligations

• Identify and implement process improvement and cost savings measures while protecting service quality, including linen, labor, and food and beverage efficiencies

• Work closely with the Head Chef and tasting room beverage leadership on menus, dietary needs, cost-effective offerings, service flow, and annual menu and pricing updates

Marketing & Seasonal Initiatives

• Partner with Marketing on seasonal event promotions, cider cocktail photography, and content for social media and the website

• Support launches of new offerings including holiday cocktails, cider experiences, VIP events, and wedding packages

• Collaborate on farm-wide programming for peak season, slow season traffic drivers, and crossover restaurant experiences

• Build the Blake’s private events presence with wedding and corporate venue directories, review platforms, and referral partners

Team & Cross-Department Leadership

Private events touch nearly every department at Blake’s. Teamwork & Character: you succeed by making other teams want to work with you.

• Train, coach, and support event and kitchen staff on service expectations and communication standards

• Work with leadership on staffing plans, scheduling needs, and cross-department coordination

• Assist departments with event-related preparations including cocktail classes, ServSafe sessions, holiday programming, and VIP experiences

What Great Looks Like: Qualifications

This role needs a seller who can also execute. Backgrounds vary: venue sales, wedding and event management, hotel or catering sales, hospitality operations. What matters is that you have closed business and delivered on it.

Required

• Minimum 4 years in event sales, event coordination, venue sales, or a comparable hospitality management role

• Demonstrated success selling events and hitting revenue or booking targets

• Skilled in hospitality-driven communication and guest relationship management; you build trust quickly and keep it

• Highly organized with the ability to manage overlapping events and seasonal demands without losing a detail

• Creative thinker with strong sales instincts and a track record of successful upselling

• Exceptional attention to detail, problem-solving ability, and leadership presence

• Comfortable with outbound sales activity: prospecting, networking, and building relationships that produce bookings

• Ability to stand, walk, lift up to 30 lbs, and work extended event days as needed

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in hospitality, business administration, or a related discipline

• Proficiency in Tripleseat or a comparable event management platform

• Experience selling corporate events, retreats, or business functions

• Established relationships with wedding vendors, corporate planners, or regional business networks

• Background in agritourism, farm venue, winery, or other experience-led event properties

• Experience developing SOPs and optimizing event workflows

How This Role Works

• Full-time, exempt, on-site role based at Blake’s Armada campus

• Nights, weekends, and holidays are required based on the event schedule; this is the nature of events work

• Work takes place across indoor and outdoor event spaces on a working farm property, in all weather

• Extended event days are normal during peak booking periods

Busy season is part of the plan. Our Festival, Events, Fall and Holiday season runs from June through the end of the holidays, and weekend work across that stretch is core to how we operate, it’s when we create the experiences we are known for. Team’s participation is not an exception or an occasional ask, some, or all of the team will be a part of it. Your week stays at five days: the days shift to cover events, festivals, and weekends as the calendar requires. Standard Monday through Friday schedules apply during the quieter months. This is the Orchard career, arranged around the seasons that define this business.

The Fall Incentive Plan. For team members who want to take on more during our peak season, Blake’s offers an optional program: work six-day, sixty-hour weeks through fall and earn additional PTO plus a cash bonus. Participation is entirely voluntary and has no bearing on performance reviews or standing. It exists for people who want to go all in during the season that matters most, and want to be paid for it. Full program details are shared during onboarding.

How You’re Rewarded: Compensation & Benefits

Competitive base salary, performance-based incentive tied to event sales and revenue performance, 401(k) with match, full health/dental/vision benefits, PTO, and all the perks of working at one of Michigan’s most beloved farms. Full details shared during the interview process.

What’s Next: How to Apply

Don’t just send a resume into a void. Tell us about an event you sold and delivered that you are proud of. Visit a location, walk the orchard, try the cider, and show us you want in. We can’t wait to meet the right person.