Welcome to our “Day in the Life” series! We feature wedding and event planners from around the world with many different levels of experience. If you would like to be featured, download our questionnaire here and email your responses and photos to info@plannerslounge.com. We are excited to feature Tampa wedding planner Kristen Hansen today!

Name: Kristen Hansen

Business Name & Location: Flawless Fetes, Tampa, FL

Years Working in the Event Industry: 4 

Years Owning Your Event Planning Business: 4

Website: www.flawlessfetes.com

Business Facebook Page: Facebook.com/flawlessfetes

Instagram: flawlessfetes

What is your typical day like?

In addition to being a wedding planner, I’m a mom to a busy two-year-old boy so I’m extra lucky to be able to work from home most days. Since I serve such a large area, it’s generally more convenient for me to come to my clients and have our preliminary meetings either at the venue or over coffee somewhere. It’s dually beneficial because I get to pass on the savings I incur from not having to unnecessarily lease office space on to my clients!

I usually wake up fairly early, grab a cup of coffee, check and answer emails, and work on upcoming wedding planning timelines and checklists. When there’s an event coming up soon, I go through my emergency kits to make sure all of the staples are accounted for and add anything that I feel will be necessary to that specific wedding day. I make any pertinent phone calls mid afternoon and use naptime to tie up loose ends.

Wedding weekends are a totally different animal. I typically run the wedding rehearsal the evening before and then get home to enjoy some family time before I’m gone for a big chunk of the next day. On wedding days I’m arriving no less than three hours before the ceremony, overseeing vendors, setup, the bridal party, and then keeping everything running smoothly throughout the celebration!

It’s a long day, between eight and twelve hours on site, but it’s so worth it when you make so many moving pieces come together seamlessly for someone’s big day and let them just enjoy such a special occasion with those nearest and dearest to them! (A long bubble bath the day AFTER the wedding is vital though!)

How did you get started in the industry?

After planning my own wedding, I realized how crucial coordination is to the planning process. I’m very Type-A personality wise so planning comes naturally for me. It wasn’t until my own wedding that I came to see how important handing over the reigns the day of the wedding is. You need to have someone who is in the loop and that you trust there to execute everything you’ve worked so hard on. I always tell inquiring brides, if you don’t hire ME, hire SOMEONE. It’s the one thing I would change about my own wedding.

Once I had that revelation, I decided I wanted to be the person filling that coordination gap on couples’ wedding days. I was fortunate to have a close friend that is an amazing photographer who helped me out with some styled photo shoots to get the ball rolling. I launched my company website with the photos she took and started taking on some brides free of charge to get my feet wet and build a portfolio. From there, it’s just taken off!

Where do you find design inspiration?

I find my biggest inspiration is absolutely from my clients’ personalities. Every wedding is so different and it’s been incredible working with such creative and unique people. I try not to pigeonhole my company too much by driving home a certain aesthetic.

I’ve worked on all types of weddings from very soft and romantic, to sexy and glamorous, to quirky and fun, and everything in between. While resources like Pinterest are great, nobody wants to have a cookie cutter wedding that isn’t indicative of their personality or their relationship with their partner.

What are your favorite online resources for your business?

I couldn’t keep my head above water without Google Calendar. It’s  crucial for me to be able to lay out everything I have going on with my clients, events, vendors, and my personal life. Google lets me break everything down into their own stackable schedule. It’s a lifesaver!

Another resource I use is WeddingWire’s Review Collector. There are so many places for clients to give their feedback so having one easy-to-use hub for reviews has been fantastic. From there, I take what they’ve written and distribute it to various social media sites and to the business website. The Review Collector is a helpful catch-all and one of the first places prospective clients look when searching for their vendor team!

Kristen, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and a day in your life. If you are an event planner and would like to be featured, download our questionnaire today and email it to us along with a photo. If you aren’t sure about being featured, take a few minutes to read how it can help your business.