Today we’d like to introduce you to Elisabeth “Beth” Kramer

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I began planning weddings in 2016 after two friends asked me to be their “day-of wedding coordinator.” I had no idea what that was (I was a magazine editor at the time) but they were friends getting married. Of course I’d help!

During their reception, two of the wedding vendors came up to me and asked for my business card. “You’re really good at this. We’d like to refer you,” they said. I was like, “Um, what?! I’m not a wedding planner.”

It took a few months but eventually I connected the dots that people had told me I was good at something that other people would pay me for, and it was a time in my life where the extra income was particularly helpful. So, I decided to try. I count the first day of my business as the day I published my Squarespace website: December 11, 2016.

Over the course of the next two years, I fell in love with the work while also growing increasingly disgusted with the wedding industry at large. In November 2018, I quit my job as an editor; moved to Portland, Oregon; and went full-time with the wedding business. A big reason why was because I wanted more time to help change the wedding industry.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Running my business is the hardest professional thing I’ve ever done. I’ve spent most of the last eight years trying to unlearn many of the things I absorbed about entrepreneurship in the U.S. In my experience, it’s very much NOT the sunshine and rainbows I was shown.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on my industry. I saw my income evaporate overnight. If not for unemployment and other government relief programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), I would have had to close my business and potentially make even more drastic changes to my personal life.

As for my industry at large, I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that a lot of what I do isn’t interesting to most people. I like to talk about the “why” of weddings, and to dig into the mushy-gushy parts of a wedding day. Unfortunately, I rarely see those elements celebrated. I mean, honestly, have you seen wedding Instagram lately?

Thankfully, I’ve been able to help create a community of wedding vendors through an organization called Altared (www.altaredpdx.com) where I can connect with coworkers who also like the less talked about but, I think, most interesting part of our work. That really helps me feel less alone.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

My mission is to help change the wedding industry because I believe we deserve better. I fight the wedding industrial complex through:

a gallery of free resources (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/free-wedding-planning-resources)

regular original writing (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/writing)

my monthly newsletter (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/newsletter)

my book (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/book)

renting my Virgo wedding planner brain by the hour (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/how-plan-wedding)

hiring me to coordinate a wedding (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/what-is-day-of-coordinator)

a space I co-founded for vendors who change the wedding industry (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/event)

I also maintain a code of conduct (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/code-of-conduct) and center diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging in my work (https://www.elisabethkramer.com/value).

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

Empathy.

It’s very easy to default to toxic behavior in the hustle and bustle of wedding planning and particularly on a busy wedding day but to be successful in my work, I have to let empathy guide me. It’s crucial to understanding and working alongside the clients, their loved ones, and the wedding vendor team.

Pricing:

• Consulting: $195 for an hour
• Coordinating: $4,000 to $4,500

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elisabethkramer.com
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elisabeth-kramer-portland
• Other: www.elisabethkramer.com/newsletter; https://www.google.com/maps/place//data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x5495098e5fae33f1:0x482c192ce8063b39?source=g.page.share

Image Credits

Headshot: Marissa Solini Photography (https://marissasolini.com)

Kramer1_KyleCarnesPhotography.jpeg (https://kylecarnesphotography.com)

Kramer2_NateMeedsPhotography.jpg (https://www.natemeedsphoto.com)

Kramer3_AaronMarineauPhotography.jpg (https://www.aaronmarineau.com)

Kramer4_AaronMarineauPhotography.jpeg (https://www.aaronmarineau.com)

Kramer5_VentureEverAfter.jpeg (https://ventureeverafter.com)

Kramer6_VentureEverAfter.jpeg (https://ventureeverafter.com)