We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin Davies a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I spent the bulk of my wedding planning career working with a full service planning agency where clients had to spend a minimum of 30k for a planner. From there I went to work for a high-end venue where I met, for the first time, wedding clients who were NOT working with planners. These clients were literally spending hundreds of hours searching every crevasse of the internet to pull their wedding details together, feeling like they had second full time jobs, and often just saying that they couldn’t wait for the wedding to be over. This always made me feel sad and I realized that the only option for quality guidance for this process (that is supposed to be fun!) were either cost-prohibitive full service planners or day-of/month-of planning services. While a great service, it is typically the beginning of the process when clients need the most help. When my entire company was furloughed at the onset of the pandemic, I finally got to spend some time to work on this idea I had been noodling on for so long. A wedding consulting service that offers full service support for the first phase of planning: venue search, vendor matchmaking, budget, and planning timeline. Once the blue print has been created, I send my clients on their way, offering continued guidance via email and regular status update calls, and even provide day-of coordination via my network of freelance planners.

Erin, 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?

I’ve always been a planner. I make lists in my sleep. I love the process of pulling together events- the definitive end result when the actual event is executed is such a satisfying bookend to every project. Weddings in particular became my jam, as I just love building the relationships, working with young people with lots of great energy, and getting to be a part of one of the happiest days in people’s lives- I feel so lucky to have found this passion. I recognize the value in having a good plan, and see it as the only way to be able to enjoy the process. I think the realization that everyone deserves access to this good plan made me want to rethink the options that are available to people. There are tons of brides and grooms happy to be involved in the process- they just don’t know where to start. Taking my experience as a full-service planner and flipping it to a consulting service was (in my opinion!) a game changer to make wedding expertise and guidance more accessible.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Absolutely. The covid pandemic was unkind to so many businesses including, obviously, hospitality. When the restrictions on gatherings seemed to have no end in sight, I had no idea how long I would be out of work. I had always sort of wondered if it was possible to successfully “age” within the wedding industry, so I thought maybe I’d use this time with no events to try other fields. I started consulting for small businesses to help with time management and organizational processes, etc- anything to utilize my skill set. What I learned, after a year of this hustle, was that I really missed events. And that I am good at them. And that when events came back, I needed to be a part of them. So I got to work on a new idea. Consulting within the wedding industry, directly for clients. It’s been so well-received and I’ve never felt so professionally satisfied.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve had to unlearn that this isn’t just one “right” way to do things. Offering a more accessible service, I’m often working with a lower wedding budget than I was accustomed to when I was a full-service planner. I really had to put myself out there to learn more cost-effective means of accomplishing the same end goal. I’ve been DELIGHTED to have met a whole slew of other amazing creatives and small business owners (from florists to calligraphers to musicians, etc) who are offering amazing talents at price points I never knew were possible in my previous world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erindavies.com
• Instagram: @erindaviesconsultancy

Image Credits
Leah Haydock Photography Matt Teuten Photograpy Henry+ Mac Photography Janelle Carmela Photography