Tell us a little bit about yourself…
Who/ what inspired you to go into event planning?
Really not a specific thing or person, just my natural personality. I instinctively plan things out to hopefully create the best possible time. Whether it’s for me, me & my husband, friend & family or clients. I guess you could say, I got it from my momma lol. She would plan our routes in Disneyworld to maximize our time and make sure we all got to go on all the rides we wanted and have time to make it to the other resorts like Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Islands of Adventure...I digress.
Tell us one thing we might not learn about you right away?
In my youth I used to be a synchronized ice skater.
What do you love the most about what you do?
I love the feeling of all the aspects of a great event team coming together to create an amazing event story. I love when we get to be creative and collaborative.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Crystal Lake, IL.
What's your event gone wrong horror story?
Once when I was doing Day Of Event Coordination, the client didn’t double check the printing proof of the seating chart and the company doing the printing did print the most up to date version. Seating guests and working with catering to get the meals distributed correctly was a challenge and took more time then I would have wanted causing dinner and the band to start late. Oh and then there was a drunk wedding crasher, so there’s that! In the end, the bride and groom walked out happily married through a tunnel of sparklers and I learned more questions to ask of my clients even if there are processes of the planning I’m not involved in.
What made you interested in participating in ILEA?
I was looking for a network of like-minded individuals that I could learn from and grow with. Being a one-woman business owner, I wanted a sense of community in an industry that is so large here in Chicago but has a way of feeling small and supportive as well.