People usually remember a great event because they enjoyed themselves. They remember the conversations they had, the people they met, or how smoothly everything seemed to run.
What they rarely see is the planning behind it all. For Leigh Tesar, that’s exactly how it should be.
Based in Miami, Florida, Leigh has built her career by making complex events feel simple for everyone involved. From her early days as an Event Assistant to her current role as a Senior Event Coordinator, she has learned that success isn’t about avoiding challenges. It’s about preparing for them before anyone else notices.
“Guests should be focused on enjoying the experience,” Leigh says. “If they’re thinking about logistics, something probably went wrong. My job is to make everything behind the scenes feel invisible.”
How Leigh Tesar Started Her Career in Event Planning
Leigh grew up in Miami, a city where festivals, business conferences, cultural celebrations, and community events are part of everyday life. Watching those events come together sparked an early curiosity about the planning that happened long before the doors opened.
That interest eventually led her to study Business Administration at Miami Dade College, where she focused on business communication, hospitality management, marketing, project coordination, and organizational leadership.
After graduating in 2019, she joined a Miami event planning company as an Event Assistant.
Her responsibilities covered everything from coordinating vendors and preparing event materials to organizing timelines and supporting on-site operations. The role exposed her to corporate gatherings, nonprofit events, networking functions, and private celebrations.
“It was the best place to start because I saw every piece of the process,” she says. “I learned that no detail is too small when you’re responsible for creating a good experience.”
Why Organization Is More Than Making Checklists
After two years in the industry, Leigh advanced into an Event Coordinator role, taking responsibility for projects from the first client meeting through the final event.
She worked closely with venues, caterers, production teams, decorators, and entertainment providers while managing schedules, budgets, and client communication.
While creativity often gets the attention in event planning, Leigh believes organization is what allows creativity to succeed.
“People sometimes think planning is just making lists,” she says. “Really, it’s about understanding how every decision affects everything else. When one detail changes, you need to know what comes next before it becomes a problem.”
That mindset helped her build a reputation for staying calm under pressure, even as events became larger and more complex.
What Makes a Successful Event?
Today, Leigh serves as a Senior Event Coordinator, overseeing corporate conferences, networking events, brand activations, fundraisers, award ceremonies, company gatherings, community events, and private celebrations.
Although every event has different goals, she believes successful projects usually have one thing in common.
“They start with listening,” she says. “Before you think about decorations, schedules, or entertainment, you need to understand why the event exists and what people should walk away remembering.”
She explains that clients often arrive with a general vision rather than a detailed plan. Part of her role is helping organize those ideas into something practical while keeping the overall experience at the center of every decision.
“The best compliment isn’t hearing that everything looked beautiful,” Leigh says. “It’s hearing someone say the event felt easy because that means all the planning worked.”
Lessons From Working in Miami’s Event Industry
Working in Miami has given Leigh experience with a wide variety of clients and event styles.
The city’s mix of cultures, industries, and communities means no two projects are exactly alike. That variety has taught her to stay adaptable while communicating clearly with clients, vendors, and event teams.
“Every event teaches you something,” she says. “You never stop learning because every client has different priorities and every venue presents new opportunities and challenges.”
She has continued expanding her knowledge through professional workshops covering event operations, client management, budgeting, vendor coordination, guest experience strategies, and event technology.
For Leigh, ongoing learning isn’t optional.
“The industry keeps changing,” she says. “Technology changes. Guest expectations change. If you stop learning, you’ll eventually stop improving.”
Looking Beyond the Event Itself
Outside of work, Leigh enjoys exploring Miami, traveling, photography, and hosting small gatherings with friends and family.
Those interests influence the way she approaches her career. Photography reminds her to notice small details. Traveling introduces her to new venues, cultures, and event styles. Hosting reinforces something she has believed since the beginning of her career.
“People don’t usually remember every decoration or every schedule,” she says. “They remember how they felt while they were there.”
Looking back, Leigh sees her career as a steady progression built through experience rather than shortcuts. From supporting events behind the scenes to leading projects from concept to completion, each step has reinforced the same lesson.
“The goal has never been to create the biggest event,” she says. “It’s to create an experience where people can focus on connecting instead of thinking about everything that had to happen to make it possible.”