We were lucky to catch up with Ryann Doria recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ryann, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

I recently was working with a couple for their wedding, and they were getting married at a new space. It was an awesome little coffee shop, and I had thought about it being a fun space to have a wedding, but they didn’t do events. The wedding I worked was the first wedding they would host, and very likely will be the last wedding also. During the planning process, we would talk through layout, and the logistics of the day. It was a very DIY space, which I think is both so fun and challenging. When you have a venue that isn’t usually used for weddings or large events (like this coffee shop, or someone’s backyard) there are a lot of things that get overlooked in the process. For example, one of the common last minute add-ons are trash cans. Are there enough? Who will be emptying them throughout the night?

Because this was a new space, we walked the reception space to measure it, draft it out, and upload the dimensions into our planning portal so we could create the layout.

On the day of the wedding, the couple forgot all of their mixers and garnishes for their full bar! All we had on site was beer, wine, and hard liquor. When the bar team arrived to set up, about 30 minutes before the ceremony started, we quickly realized we were missing a LOT. I checked in with the couple, about where they may have placed these items that we hadn’t found yet, and they said they left them at home. I let the couple know not to worry about it, and I that I would send my assistant to the store to buy everything they needed. We connected with the bar team, reviewed our specialty cocktails, and created our shopping list. I also added water bottles to our list. My assistant was back at the beginning of cocktail hour, and the evening continued as planned, with only a few people knowing what had happened.

The rest of the night continued as planned, with all the guests being so happy and dancing the night away.

Having an assistant on their wedding day made it so I was able to run the ceremony, guide the guests, and keep the day flowing as scheduled while being able to take care of the bar issue. My team was in two places at once, and the couple left us a raving review: https://g.co/kgs/6dDeTZ

Ryann, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Ryann, and I am a theatre kid turned wedding professional. I started out in stage management and lighting design, and I think those skills have carried over into the wedding world.

I am a wedding planner, I offer Event Management (also known as day-of coordination), Partial Planning, and Full Planning. With each of these services, our team is there on the day of the event and handles vendor communication leading up to the event. Each service varies in the amount of time you will spend with our team, depending on how much help you would need. Our event management is for couples who want to plan the bulk of the wedding themselves, but need someone to step in and run the event. Full Planning is for our busy couples, or the couples that aren’t really sure where to start. We help with finding a venue, sourcing all your vendors, rentals, layouts, communication, invitations, etc. We’re there for you from A to Z. Partial Planning is a happy middle – we’re there to assist and guide you.

I take pride in our timelines, and the logistics of our days. I always tell our couples, there are two things that need to be on time: our ceremony, and dinner. People know to get to weddings early, and when our ceremony runs late we can have guests who have been waiting for over an hour, and that’s not fair to your guests. Dinner is another important item, we want our guests to have hot food. On wedding days, you have to be flexible, and we’re the ones behind the scenes making sure everything runs smooth. We can make adjustments on the fly, connect with the vendor team, move things around, and keep the integrity of the event. I feel like our timelines are our “superpower”.

As we grow, and work on more events, we’ve found a love for dark and moody wedding. We love a good “till death do us part” theme. Give us a black wedding dress every day of the week!

We’re organized, professional, experienced, and fun. On your wedding day you will find us dancing around the edges of your reception, cleaning and organizing but still enjoying the music. If you have a photobooth, you can expect to see some photos of our team too! We love our job, I really do think we have the best couples, and I hope that comes across in the work we put out. At the end of each event, we take a selfie with the couple. About 90% of the time, these photos are blurry – I never said I was a photographer! They are perfectly imperfect, the couples huge grins at the end of their reception, and these are some of my favorite photos.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One moment that comes to mind is a time where I said no. I was speaking with a potential couple about their wedding, and they seemed very nice. We had a great discovery call. My discovery calls about about 15-20 minutes long, we chat a little bit about the overview of your wedding, and what you’re looking for. I tell you about the services I offer, which one I think would work best for you with how you respond to the questions I ask. I include pricing and all relevant information and ask if it’s ok to send you a proposal. This couple said yes, send it over.

I sent my proposal over for them to review. A day or so later they reached out and told me they found another planner who would do it for $500 cheaper.

I mulled it over, and ultimately decided I would not lower my price. I’m a small business, and I really do want to work with everyone. I have taken care with how I have structured my event management pricing. I know how much time my team and I put in to each couple, I know the value we provide, and the care we put in. I know that I am not the cheapest option you will find, I also know I am not the most expensive. I have gotten to a point where I feel comfortable with my pricing, and I can say with confidence that it’s right for my team and my business.

I let the couple know, that it sounded like a great deal that they were getting with the other planner. I let them know to make sure their planner had business insurance, but if they did then it was great! I gave them my best wishes for a wonderful wedding, and I truly wished them all the happiness in their upcoming wedding and life together.

About 5 hours later they reached back out to me and booked my services, and my price.

I think that this story is such an interesting one, because it was a time where I said no, but in a positive and supportive way to my couple. I think there are more than enough weddings for all the wedding vendors to have a place and a business. If one wedding books someone else, that’s ok. I was surprised when this couple came back around and booked me. They ended up being an absolutely amazing couple and they left me a five star review. It was reassurance to me, that staying positive, and being kind while staying firm is a good thing.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Vendor referrals have been a dream. My clients are all wonderful. Some clients may have family that is getting married and will refer you to them, some clients may hire you to plan their baby shower in the future. I have found, by taking care of my vendor team, they will take care of me also. Now what do I mean by that? I send out timelines with a months notice to get everyone’s input and make adjustments that work for everyone. I make sure that the photo/video team gets to eat when the bride and groom eat (most of the time). If it’s a venue, I’m there until the very end to make sure that there’s nothing left behind, no damage, and do a final walkthrough before leaving. I want to make the experience of working with me and my team a positive experience for everyone.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ryannkristenaevents.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ryannkristenaevents
• Other: Wedding Wire: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/ryann-kristena-events/cf15cec51ac07008.html

Image Credits
Sarah Block Photography, The Next Adventure Photography, Dearly Beloved Photography