We were lucky to catch up with Laura from Back Patio Event Design recently and have shared our conversation below.
Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
When the pandemic hit, Kayla and I took that initial time to really focus on what we were building. Was the business enough? Were our clients truly getting what they deserved? Were we offering the experience that we really wanted to provide? These types of questions helped us shape our new look and updated packages. Day of coordination and even month of coordination wasn’t fulfilling our goals while trying to be successful and driven in this business. Yes, our clients were happy and the wedding weekends were memorable. But something was missing. While taking a step back to reevaluate our business goals, personal goals and the reviews from our previous clients, we were able to rebuild and take a risk to market ourselves differently.
Nervous doesn’t even begin to explain how we felt. Were we moving ourselves out of the market that embraced us? Who are these clients we are speaking to? We may have done the demo and psychographics of who we WANTED, but will they actually inquire was our biggest question. This lasted about a month until we started seeing new, hard leads coming in. These weren’t from our paid advertising channel either. They were coming straight to our site from Instagram or from venue and other vendor referrals. Over this last year of adjustments, our new ‘voice’ and a new approach has proven the risk to be successful. What started as a lot of ‘Are we sure about this?’ has turned into continuous, ‘Let’s make this even better.’ conversations between Kayla and myself.
Taking the risk of ultimately rebranding ourselves into another market was worth every moment of planning. We learned to not take the step too soon, and to plan it out appropriately. Makes sense with us being planners! This included, talking to those in our inner circle, personally and professionally, for advice and keeping the planning conversation going between the two of us. Every hesitation was discussed as well as every motivation. This is the same approach we had when building the business five years ago and it continues to prove as our strongest quality as a business.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
At Back Patio Event Design, we pride ourselves on the professionalism, attention to detail and passion that we bring to wedding planning. Imagine your big day created with a classic, polished and clean design. We want every couple to enjoy their planning process, wedding weekend and the warm memories created with friends and family.
Laura Harrelson and Kayla Portillo created Back Patio Event Design, LLC in 2017 with the vision of giving couples the best day of their life, stress-free! Growing up, we learned one very important lesson from our families. Surrounding yourself with the love of family and friends is irreplaceable. Where we’re from, gatherings and celebrations always took place on the back patio. Here everyone felt welcomed, loved and never wanted the day to end. We bring that same spirit to every one of our events here at Back Patio Event Design.
We have the expertise and experience in hospitality and attention to detail, making sure our couples’ wedding weekends go off without a hitch. This means working closely with them to understand their vision and working tirelessly to make sure it’s executed to perfection. They put a tremendous amount of time, effort and emotions into building their dream day. We make ourselves available every step of the way, regardless of the package booked, from the moment they book us to the day of the wedding.
Together, our career experience from the east coast, to the south, to here on the west coast with combined education focused on hospitality, marketing and business and event management has helped us bring our dream come true within this industry.
A little bit about Laura…
With a passion for live music, fashion, design and organization, I love bringing together creative outings and fun event ideas. Whether I’m planning a night out with my husband and friends to see a live band, or back on the East Coast helping my parents with family gatherings, planning is always at the forefront.
A little bit about Kayla…
A childhood full of BBQ’s at my grandparents farm, church socials, and regular gatherings with family + friends are some of my fondest memories growing up. Be it an intimate tea party for my daughter or a three day wedding event, all gatherings are dear to my heart. Nothing brings me more joy than bringing people together to celebrate.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Kayla and I met while working at a private membership club here in San Diego. We grew close shortly after I joined the team and realized we had a passion for planning nights out to see live country music in Chula Vista and checking out new spots around downtown to wind down after the work day. Moonshine Flats to be exact! When we both separately had decided to move on from that location, we were also in the same planning phase of our weddings. After our honeymoons we both made a mention to one another that maybe this was something we wanted to do for other couples and to officially transition out of corporate events. Six months later, and after building a business plan, Back Patio Event Design, LLC was born!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Instagram, vendor referrals and previous client relationships have been our most effective tools for hard leads and signed clients. Initially, it was our paid advertising outlets, however since the pandemic there’s been a major shift for us. Word of mouth is tried and true, so maintaining great relationships with our clients and vendors has been very beneficial for us!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.backpatioeventdesign.com
- Instagram: @backpatioeventdesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/backpatioeventdesign/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/backpatioeventdesign/about/
- Twitter: @backpatioevents
- Other: www.theknot.com/marketplace/back-patio-event-design-san-diego-ca-2007363
Image Credits
Allison Davis Photography Brett Charles Rose Photography Cate Batchelor Photography Khoa Photography