We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caitlyn Kelly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caitlyn below.

Caitlyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

We are in the business of meaningful connection, we serve as the backdrop for some of life’s most beautiful moments from a 200 person wedding at The Simon to an intimate 20 year wedding anniversary date at Nora’s Cocktail Lounge. We believe that these moments matter because they set the stage for for love, connection, beauty and meaning and what else is there if not these things. We believe that by being transparent, genuine and industry experts we can build an experience for our couples and guests that frees them up to enjoy their sacred moments.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Caitlyn, I am a mid thirties single mom of two and I was certainly born an entrepreneur. The journey of entrepreneurship started as a path to build the life I wanted, I could have never dreamed up the beauty I’ve gotten to see in holding the client experience from start to finish. The golden rule of treat others how you want to be treated has always held great weight for me and I didn’t know how many opportunities there would be to carry that forward as a business owner. I spend most of my time running our Wedding Venue and Speakeasy Bar my dad and I opened in 2023 with more focus on our Wedding business. The joy in sharing my industry knowledge and guiding couples to a day that truly reflects the two of them has been very rewarding. In an industry that often capitalizes on nickel and diming people after contracts are signed I am very proud that we have built our business on transparency and really learning how we can best serve our couples.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I signed the lease for our Wedding Venue from a hospital bed while I was dealing with pregnancy complications, my daughter was unexpectedly born the next day at 30 weeks and we began a two month NICU journey, juggling this with tenant finish venue construction took a lot of grit and resilience. I grew in ways I didn’t realize I could and I am so proud of that season.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I brought my dad out of retirement to start The Simon and Nora’s with me. My dad was very content in his retirement but after a few years of me pestering that this dream was worth pursuing we took the leap of faith and there have been so many highs and so many lows but it’s been really special to be in it together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesimonevents.com
• Instagram: @itsmecaitlyn

Image Credits

The Cavern Photography: https://thecavernphoto.com