Saying Yes to “I Do”: Meet Rebecca Stebbins '99
In 2017, a study published by the Gaming Gender Equality Index found that the majority of casino and gaming companies were seriously lacking in female leadership; in fact, 19 of 21 companies had executive boards comprised of mostly men. Rebecca Stebbins is slowly but surely helping to break her industry’s glass ceiling.
After graduating from Bay Path with a degree in Business Administration, Rebecca worked for the Bushnell in Hartford, CT, helping to open its new theater. She then moved to Hawaii to complete a year-long internship with the Hawaii Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association, which gave her invaluable experience planning and executing special events. Rebecca then came home to Connecticut, where she worked at the Water’s Edge Resort and Spa, starting as a restaurant manager, and then moving into corporate and special events. It was at the Water’s Edge where Rebecca first discovered her love of wedding planning.
In 2006, Rebecca moved to Las Vegas, where she started as a catering conference manager for the Las Vegas Sands resort and casino group. She started as a catering conference manager, where she helped execute events for groups ranging from 30 to 1500 people, and assisted with events for groups as large as 15,000. No matter the size of the event, Rebecca found the greatest challenge to be learning the resort itself — the Venetian is a “beast of a hotel,” and a big jump from the small, historic hotels where Rebecca first learned the ins and outs of her field. The Venetian has 7,000 hotel rooms, and it took her over six months just to learn her way around the property.
In 2009, Rebecca started working more full-time at the International School of Hospitality, and at the same time, assumed more responsibilities in the Celebrations Department at the Venetian. Rebecca is now the Director of Celebrations for the Venetian, coordinating all weddings, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and other special events for the hotel.
“For me, what I enjoy most is that every day is a blank canvas — you’ll never know how colorful your day is going to be. Every day is different; you’ll never know the questions you’ll get, the situations that you’ll handle, and being a part of our guests’ day is for me the best part. At the end of the day, it’s the little things that are incredibly meaningful.”
Planning your own wedding? Rebecca has some advice: Enjoy the moment, and don’t sweat the small things, because every detail pales in comparison to marrying your best friend, or celebrating a milestone. Who cares if the ribbon color isn’t the exact shade you saw on Pinterest: the most important thing is the big picture. Focus on the celebration at hand, and enjoy the moment. It goes by so quickly!”