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

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I started in the wedding industry in 2009 at a small wedding chapel at the south end of the strip. I knew even that early on in my career that I would someday have my own operation – what that was going to be or look like I didn’t quite know, but what I did know was that deep in my bones I was an entrepreneur.

A couple of years into my new career I thought I was ready to launch a wedding planning business; however, I quickly realized I wasn’t where I needed to be so I continued on the path of working with various venues in town. In 2012 I again looked into the idea of flying solo, but just like a couple of years prior it just wasn’t panning out. It felt forced so I put it to rest for another 7 years until in 2019 I finally began taking the steps to launching a business – a chapel booking service called “My Vegas Vows”. I knew the chapels in this town like the back of my hand so I was confident and ready to start, but I had this nagging feeling that I was settling. This wasn’t going to allow me to do what I truly wanted to do which was full scale weddings and design. After launching My Vegas Vows I wasn’t receiving inquiries from couples for chapel services, instead I was receiving inquiries for planning services. Local vendors were also reaching out wanting to meet and discuss the possibility of working together. After a ton of push from my husband and closest friends I switched my business model and launched Siello Weddings and Events in the spring of 2020. I jumped very quickly into full service planning – things happened so fast as if this was how it was supposed to be the previous summer.

Do I wish I had started my business sooner? To be honest, I don’t. The path it took to get me here was supposed to happen the way that it did. I say with full confidence that I started when I was truly meant to. Yes, launching a business and going public with your services is scary as hell, but you have to feel deep in your soul that this is the right time to do it. If I had tried to start my business in 2012 it would have been a complete failure. I was no where in my life professionally or personally to have that kind of responsibility and I am forever grateful that something in my gut told me to just back off from it. It has to logically and personally make sense. From the time I started in the industry to when I launched Siello W&E it was eleven years and that is okay because for me and my journey that was how it was supposed to happen.

Ashley, 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?

My name is Ashley Torsiello and I am the owner and lead planner of Siello Weddings & Events. Originally from Nashville, I moved to Las Vegas in the summer of 2008, beginning my wedding journey the following spring. After a decade working with various venues in the valley I broke away as a solo planner in 2020 and launched Siello Weddings & Events. I offer full service and wedding management services for mid-luxury clients as well as virtual planning for anyone, anywhere planning a wedding. My clients tend to lean more traditional; however, I will have an occasional wild card such as a luxury micro wedding with a boho picnic in the middle of the desert. No matter the venue they all have the same vision – timeless and classic with purposeful design and sentimental touches.

I am your typical type A personality, a very logistical person who loves spending hours holed up in my office putting together wedding day timelines. I am not the emotional or overly bubbly type wedding planner that I feel society thinks wedding planners are supposed to be. I truthfully do not know a single planner who is like that – skipping into your suite the morning of your wedding with bubble hearts coming from their ears. Being the one in charge of a production such as a wedding is not for the faint of heart; however, saying good bye to my couples after working so closely with them for sometimes up to two years does throw me into post wedding blues. As they depart in their getaway car, disappearing out of my site, I begin to break into tiny little pieces. They no longer need me and that is hard to sometimes accept.

My planning style is also a little different then some. I am very aware that many creatives have lines that are very harshly drawn to prevent clients from overstepping boundaries, but I have no issue stepping in to take care of a situation that may not be in my contractual duties in order to quickly resolve it. I am in this with my clients so if they are having a problem with something that involves anything with the wedding, no matter how minuscule it may be, it becomes my problem too. I am their biggest supporter so if anything should arise I want them to have the confidence to come to me for help or guidance. Nothing gives me more joy then when on the wedding day, even someone such as the little tike of a ring bearer, comes to me for something. He knows I’m the one in charge and can help him. I love serving others and coordinating someone’s wedding day is quite a service to provide!

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

My kindness and willingness to actually work WITH my fellow wedding day vendors. Wedding planners do occasionally get a bad wrap. Not many vendors like us and that is because a good bit of us are bossy and expect everyone to do as they say. To an extent yes, we are supposed to be a little direct and yes we do expect our vendors to do their job; however, our vendors are ALSO business professionals and they should 100% be whole-heartedly trusted to do that said job they are hired to do. I cannot begin to count how many times, mainly from photographers, tell me at the end of the night how refreshing it was to work with me. Do you need 10 or 15 more minutes with the couple for sunset portraits before we line them up for the grand entrance into reception? Absolutely, we can make it up later in the night. Do you need to take a break because you’ve been shooting since 6 AM, please go sit down and I will bring you water and a snack. We are all in this together and need to be a team to ensure that our couple receives the best service and/or product from their wedding day. I will occasionally assist with a local company here in Las Vegas with their desert elopement weddings and do you want to know how happy it makes my heart when vendors arrive onsite and see I’m the planner scheduled to do the elopement with them? It’s the best feeling in the world.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I heavily follow Renee Dalo – her podcasts, in person conferences, anything and everything she touches I read, am doing or listening to. It’s important to have relationships with professionals within your industry in your market, but it is equally important to soak in what you can from other professionals outside of your market. Everyone has a different way of doing things – one region manages weddings differently then another and for someone like myself who is based in Las Vegas I see couples from ALL over the world so picking up on little nuggets of information that could potentially help me with a future client is priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sielloweddingsandevents.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sielloevents
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sielloevents

Image Credits
Amber and Co. Photography, the Combs Creative, Cactus Collective Weddings, Elizabeth Le Photography, Gin & Sake Productions, Taylored Photo Memories, Mario Ramirez Photography