Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Cook. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

What I love about our business is the people. As wedding planners, we stand beside our clients on one of the most important days of their lives. We relieve the stress and take on any burdens they would have that day. In order for our clients to trust us in this way, we need to make sure they are more of a friend than a client. To gain trust with our clients we keep our communication open with them, we don’t limit how much they can ask because we really want to be able to get to know them and understand where they are in the planning process and what’s stressing them out. We provide so many resources up front for them so they feel supported and prepared from start to finish. It’s more work on our end but so worth it on the day of!

I think a lot of people get to a point in this business where they see clients as dollar signs instead of relationships and that really takes away from opportunities to get to know your clients on a deeper level and find ways to serve them even better.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ashley Skeie Events launched in 2014 after realizing that this was my actual dream job. We provide wedding planning and day of coordination services, floral and event design, and rental items! My degree in Event Management along with my background in the hospitality industry has helped build my organizational skills and adaptability. I enjoy the challenge and collaboration that weddings bring and will stop at nothing to provide an exceptional planning experience. Nothing makes me happier than spending one of the most intimate days with our clients. Whatever your needs are, I’ve got you.

I make sure our clients have what they need, feel supported, and that our events run smoothly and efficiently. Watching the wedding day come together seamlessly and our client’s vision come to life brings me the most joy.

We at Ashley Skeie | Wedding & Event Planning have been in the events management services and wedding coordination business for more than 10 years. We will bring your wedding visions to life. Let us be a part of your anticipated celebration of life, love, hope, and happiness. You can be sure that we will make your day the best it can possibly be.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Being reliable and showing up! This industry is intimidating and grows more so the more elaborate weddings get. When I first started there were some really strong business owners who I admired. It would have been really easy to give up and pick something else but I knew I loved this career and could bring my talents to the table. I showed up constantly for my clients and other vendors – I chose to do the hard jobs, the jobs nobody wants to do so that I could stand out amongst my peers. I wanted people to know that I was committed and able to do anything. I went to networking events to get my name out there and with every wedding, we executed I would get more business because of the experience that our clients and vendors had working with us. Even to this day, word of mouth is our biggest source of revenue.

When thinking about being a wedding planner it’s really easy to think that this job is “so fun, I can do that!” and it is so fun, but it’s also really hard. It’s long nights, long weekends, and saying yes when you really just want to say no.

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

I think everyone can say that Covid changed the way they did business and for me, that’s very true but not in a business model kind of way – more of a personal kind of way. What I learned during covid is that at the end of the day, to some people, we are just a transaction. It got really ugly there for a while with people threatening to sue over contracts and deposits and that’s not at all why I started this business. It made me step back and really evaluate the type of clients we took on – Quality over quantity as they say! Not every client is your ideal client, so now we ask deeper questions and make sure that their values align with ours. This is, after all, a partnership so we need to make sure that we are both on the same page when it comes to expectations and end goals!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashleyskeie.com
• Instagram: ashleyskeieevents
• Facebook: facebook.com/ashleyskeieevents

Image Credits
Shane Long Photography Rachel Lynn Photography Sophisticated Grace Photography Ali Leigh Photography Katherine Chapman Photography