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 Idaho wedding planner Robyn Bruns today!

Name: Robyn Bruns, Accredited Wedding Planner

Business Name & Location: Red Letter Event Planning, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Years Working in the Event Industry: 20

Years Owning Your Event Planning Business: 11 Years 

Website: www.RedLetterEventPlanning.com

Business Facebook Page: RedLetterEventPlanning

Instagram: Redletterevent

What is your typical day like?

An event planner really doesn’t have a “typical day” but I always start my day going through email on my phone, with a cup of coffee and breakfast, then bulleting out the day’s checklist. I still use a paper planner and love being able to write down a task and then take a colored pen and cross it off when it is done. Around 10-10:30 AM if I don’t have any meetings, I take a walk with my dog – it is a great break during the day! If it is wedding season, it can be a whirlwind of vendor meetings, client calls, timeline and checklist development, and event design.

There are days when all I do is work on my business (marketing, social media, accounting, etc). Those days are less creative but are very important to running a business.

As the Association of Bridal Consultants state manager for Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Alaska, I set aside a few hours each week to work on association business.  Also I try to do networking meetings 2-3 times a month with new vendors or with vendors who I love to sit down with for a cup of coffee!

Once a month I contribute a lifestyle segment on a local morning TV show.  I am always looking for ideas and spend about 2-3 hours a month coming up with the topic and the segment materials.

If it is not wedding season, most of my focus is on the 2 major corporate events I do each year. I plan a gala in January and a golf outing in June. This includes running committee meetings, getting sponsorships, and planning every aspect from A to Z.

How did you get started in the industry?

I have always been the one to plan things in my family and in college. In my first job out of college, one of my duties was to plan conferences, and I loved it. I thought my path was in politics (I have my undergrad degree in Political Science and a Masters in Public Administration), but I found myself drawn to events.

I worked at a PR firm where I planned internal employee events and even did an international conference. I just love the planning and organization of events. In 2005, I went out on my own and started Red Letter Event Planning. I thought I would do corporate events but in the end, I fell in love with the wedding industry. While I still do corporate events, weddings will always be the bulk of my business and where my passion lies.

Where do you find design inspiration?

I read Martha Stewart Weddings cover to cover. I love a luxurious magazine and paging through it on a Sunday afternoon. I look quite a bit at home fashion for inspiration. If I wasn’t a wedding planner, I think my other calling would be interior design as I love colors and textures and how they relate to one another. Also living in the Inland Northwest, you have to be inspired by the outdoors. Just outside my office window I have a view of lake and mountains. These natural elements are wonderful to play with in design.

What are your favorite online resources for your business?

I faithfully read the following blogs:

Weddingiq.com

themiddlefingerproject.org/blog (warning: not for those easily offended)

I love the articles on plannerslounge.com

I also belong to a Facebook group called the Refine for Wedding Planners which is made up of wedding planners. It is a great place to ask questions, offer advice, and vent

I have also moved all of my proposals and contracts to HoneyBook which has been great. It really streamlines the proposal and contract process, leaving me more time to do other things.

I use Toggl to track my time on clients.

Robyn, 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.