I could not be more excited to feature one of the most inspiring and authentic women in wedding planning – Linnyette Richardson-Hall!

Linnyette has been a professional wedding planner since 1993 with her company Premiere Event Management. Linnyette is one of the featured wedding consultants on the hit reality television series “Who’s Wedding Is It Anyway”. She also produces the increasingly popular I DO Brunch for wedding planners.

Linnyette teaches classes around the country and speaks nationally at many wedding and event conferences including the Wedding MBA, Backstage Bridal and the NACE Experience for 2012. Linnyette is currently working on a gourmet food and lifestyle line called The Diva’s Kitchen.

How did you get started in wedding planning?

I have a very corporate background. I worked on Wall Street doing investments and financial management. When I talk to people about money, I’m speaking from experience.

I fell into weddings by accident. I was always the go-to person for planning corporate events. When my sister wanted to get married, I planned the whole thing and received a lot of compliments on the wedding. It wasn’t until I planned my own wedding in less than 3 months in 1993 when I really considered becoming a wedding planner. After that, I started getting requests to plan events for other people.

Around that time, my corporate industry was going through many mergers and acquisitions. Luckily I was able to cash in on stock options and get out of my corporate job in 1997 with a nice chunk of savings. Around this time, I had my daughter and was on a lengthy maternity leave (partly because of required bed rest) which gave me time to really “work” on my planning business.

My business background allowed me to build my own little empire. I love what I do but am realistic about it which has contributed to my success. Working for yourself is very hard. My advice to new planners is not to quit your day job until you have a decent financial cushion. I walked away from my corporate life with a solid savings account which is important for anyone starting a business.

How did you start your gourmet food company?

The gourmet food line was kind of an accident. One day I posted a picture of my Sunday dinner on Twitter and that’s what started it. I’ve always loved to cook and try to take my cooking to the next level. Between my love of cooking and my experience of working with chefs and event menus, the DIVA’S Kitchen just kind of happened.

I am currently working on a lifestyle entertaining book. I realize that most people fail at home entertaining because they fail to plan. My book will help with planning and ideas for successful home entertaining…with a few delicious menus and roomscapes to boot!

What inspired you to start the “I DO Brunch”?

I thought it would be a nice way for wedding planners to get together and talk about what we do and have a support group. It started off as a simple lunch with local planners on a Saturday afternoon. Now it is a two day national event with 120+ attendees from across the country. The brunch is a chance to be with a group of people who are doing the same thing as you. It celebrates the craft of wedding planning which is sorta kinda like witchcraft. We make stuff come out of nowhere then poof! It magically disappears – but with incredible memories that last a lifetime. Aside from celebrating our career in wedding planning, the best parts of the brunch is that planners forge strong friendships and have the opportunity to be pampered for a few days.

How do you juggle all of these projects and businesses?

I just dig in and get it done. I do what I need to do. It’s difficult at times but I love what I do.

What is the key to long term success in this industry?

The most important one is not wearing rose colored glasses. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. Being a wedding planner isn’t for everyone. People think it is fun but it isn’t. It’s hard work and takes a certain level of something to do it. Not everyone has that something. You will just know when you start if this career is for you. If you can’t do it, you need to be honest with yourself. As a wedding planner, you are responsible for someone’s very important day that they can’t get back.

Wedding planners need to approach planning like a business from the very beginning. Do not hand out business cards until you have your foundational ducks in a row – have your LLC done, professional contract in place, bank accounts set up, and legal/financial/advisory team secured.

A mistake that many new planners make is that they don’t understand the value of their work. It’s about how you value your art form and what you are doing. If you don’t value it, no one else will. Don’t let others define your business or walk all over you. Don’t let others call the shots on your money or pricing. Nobody messes with my money. My price is my price. If you don’t like it, too bad.

As planners, we have to remember that every client is not our client and that every wedding is not our ideal wedding. Then we have to be okay with that, be willing to say “no” and most importantly – be willing to walk away.

Where do you see yourself and business in the next few years?

I am working on this right now! I am grooming my team to take over so that I can walk away from the day to day business tasks in the future.

In five years from now, my daughter will graduate from college with her undergrad degree which is phase one of my retirement plan. When she receives her degree, I will be ready to walk away from the day to day part of the business. I have worked hard in my business and really want to enjoy the fruits of my labor as I retire.

Retirement is also why I am building my food business. I LOVE my planning career but at 51, I am not the same as a 31 year old planner. I’m looking forward to getting out of the game gracefully. I want to go out at the top of my career.

The next 5-10 years are also about honing and crafting my status as the industry expert that you can learn from. I love weddings but I am smart enough to know that weddings are the stepping stone to my next career. Weddings shouldn’t be the end-all or be-all for anyone.

Linnyette, thank you so much for being an inspiration and for sharing your advice and wisdom with us. We all truly appreciate you being such a great teacher and mentor in our industry.