We recently connected with Haley Simon and have shared our conversation below.

Haley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a customer success story with us?

Rewind back to 2018 when the Woolsey Fire hit Los Angeles County. I was conducting a wedding rehearsal for Markie and Blake at a venue in Agoura Hills, CA. The winds were increasing and small spot fires were erupting in the area but there wasn’t too much concern being that they were on the other side of the freeway miles and miles away. The bride and groom headed to their rehearsal dinner at a local restaurant and hotel where they also were staying at for the wedding weekend. It’s 1:00am and I get frantic texts from the Maid of Honor saying “The fire is on the front lawn of our hotel, we are all being forced to evacuate, the wedding is cancelled!!!!!”

We had planned this wedding for months and months, had everything perfected (and paid for) and now it was going to be cancelled just like that?! The couple was devastated. We quickly learned their venue was on fire and there was no chance of a wedding. The Woolsey fire eventually burned some 96,000 acres and burnt down 1600 structures, including many wedding venues.

This isn’t the end of their wedding story. Myself, along with family and friends of the bride and groom, rallied together to find a new location to relocate their wedding ceremony and reception to. Yes, on the exact same day. After many calls and attempts, we found a hotel that opened their doors to us on the compete opposite area of the fire. Everyone loaded up and headed to the hotel including the vendors who graciously agreed to pivot and drive much further to make sure Markie and Blake received the services they promised.

Believe it or not, at 4pm on November 9, 2018, Markie walked down the aisle and got married at the exact time she was supposed to. I have never had so many tears running down my face for a bridal procession. It was not the hoped location, but with the same decor, people, and vendors. Her dreams came true. We could have easily said there’s no way to have a wedding on the same day in an entirely different place, stay on schedule, get everyone moved, and communicate the changes but we did it.

People always say “you’re job must be SO fun!” And yes, I do truly enjoy wedding planning. But my job is also SO stressful. A couples wedding day is one of the most important days in their lives and they have high expectations of the day and of their investment in it. Mix those emotions, with a natural disaster and the pressure and stress is even higher. I walked away from that experience with one heck of a story, but also a new level of resilience. After this wedding, I feel like I am capable of putting out any “fire” that arises on a wedding day.

Haley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began event planning as a college student and majored in Organizational Communication in order to dive into event planning after I graduated. I became an Event Manager for a University and planned non-profit and student events for several years before I had my first baby. Once I had my baby, I realized I needed a better work-life balance and thats when Haley Simon Events was born.

I didn’t want to say goodbye to my event planning career, but I also didn’t want to sacrifice my time with my daughter. I am blessed to say I get the best of both worlds by owning my own business. 11 years later, and my business is stronger and more profitable than its ever been. I have had two more babies since my daughter and have planning and coordinated hundreds of weddings to date.

Haley Simon Events provides three levels of wedding services – Day of Coordination, Partial Planning and Full Planning. In every level of service, couples get my top notch customer service and caring, kind, and thoughtful planning experience. I take the stress out of the planning and the stress out of the wedding day allowing my couples, along with their friends and family to be truly present. My go to phrase is “Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered” because I truly do.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients is word of mouth! A family hired me to plan their daughters wedding three years ago, and since, I have done their two other daughters weddings, plus they’ve referred me to two other couples who hired me for their wedding. You can scroll reviews online searching for the best wedding planner, but when someone raves about the wonderful experience they’ve had with you to others, that’s the biggest selling point!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I agreed to design and coordinate a styled shoot last year. I had never done one, but I will say its a sacrifice. You don’t make any money doing it, but you donate your time to get other vendors to donate their time, services or products for the shoot. A style shoot is like a pretend wedding. You set up and decorate everything as it is a real wedding. The benefit of participating in this, is that the photos and videos from it get shared on social media and marketing material. This has helped me grow my audience greatly!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.haleysimon.com
• Instagram: @haleysimonevents
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/haleysimonevents
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/haley-simon-events-temecula
• Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/haley-simon-events-temecula/5a0ebb9229c8b845.html

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Image Credits

1. Anna Delores
2. Jospeh Barber photography
3. Astray Photography
4. Bryte Moments