We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brooke Simmons. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brooke below.
Brooke, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?
I always have been blessed with that creative ‘bug’ throughout adolescence and adulthood. Planning and coordinating anything from a simple birthday party, a yearly family ‘SURVIVOR’ themed extravaganza with challenges & prices, to elegant weddings and bridal showers. The more complex or crazier the idea was, the more I was intrigued! I pursued a ‘secure’ career throughout college and thereafter in the medical field, always keeping that creative ‘bug’ at bay & doing it on the side for friends and family while getting a grasp on the ‘real world’ and keeping that steady & reliable income. Fast forward to 26 year old me fantasizing about how I want my future to look as I begin to settle down and start a family. It was important to me to be home to raise my family, but still have something for myself to earn as extra income. I think the reality of starting a family of my own and wanting to show my kids that if you have a passion for something… pursue it, was the true desire that steered me to take the plunge. I made my first leap of faith in the Spring of 2022 by starting my first ever website. Many swear words later, it was complete! I had started my business. Next step was to make it legally official and turn my business into an LLC. Before I took any steps into reaching out to clientele, I wanted ALL the boxes checked! Fast forward to July 2022.. my first wedding! Within a month of advertising my name on local Facebook wedding pages in the spring, I landed my first gig! She was a last minute bride who needed extra help for the day of her wedding. It was the perfect opportunity & as luck would have it, she picked me out of the multiple comments and consultations she had from other planners. I popped the champagne to celebrate my first booking and man oh man did it feel GOOD! The wedding was a true success & it gave me the craving to book more. Not too long after that July wedding, I found another bride looking for a day of wedding coordinator on Facebook… and BOOM, another was booked for Sept 2022. I blinked and as I approach my one year mark, I have booked over 35 weddings & have started a ‘rental shed’ where clients can rent décor for their events. It’s been a busy but successful first year if you ask me! I continue to expand my name in as many places as possible between bridal shows, local expos, & the referrals from my past clients. This has truly been an amazing and rewarding journey that I cannot wait to continue to explore!.. and to my future baby due this July of 2023… Your momma did it & one day I will tell you all about how I turned my idea of ‘maybe one day’ into a reality!
Brooke, 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?
My name is Brooke & I am the owner & event planner for ‘Forever & Always Event Planning LLC’. I have that ‘go getter’ attitude & I jump into planning the most perfect day for you right from the start. I was once a bride starting from scratch too… and I promise, it DOES eventually all come together!.. especially with the help of a wedding sidekick like myself putting all of the little pieces together behind the scenes! I pulled out all the stops for my big day and you should expect nothing less for yours. From a personalized outdoor Jenga guest book, specialty hot dogs as a late night snack for my dancing guests, to coordinating our dog to be at an off-site location for pictures (his tie even matched the color of all the groomsmen…yeah I thought of that too!), I did it all, start to finish! I help to manage stress beforehand and organize the entire day so you can have the same opportunity I did. And better yet, have that opportunity stress free! When you can look back and see the smiles and memories you created, I can wholeheartedly tell you that it’s all worth it! Not only do I specialize in weddings, but I also help coordinate or plan corporate events, birthday parties, bridal showers, and so much more! My door is always open to opportunity! Each one of my packages are individually catered to all of my clients because not one event is the same for all! From the moment you sign the contract, I am sending you helpful resources, ‘homework’ documents that we work on together to help keep our process on track & the big day organized, as well as setting up in-person or virtual meetings based on your schedule availability.
And to think I only offered planning services!?.. no way!.. I also offer my ‘rental shed’. This shed includes décor items that clients can rent as an entire package, or individually. I am a one-stop-shop who wears many hats and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I want to be your ‘go getter girl’ right from the start! Taking experience from my own wedding has shown me how important that one day can be for someone. With each client, I truly put my heart and soul into every ounce of planning, down to the last little detail. In the world of event planning, every detail truly does matter and will be someone’s best memories for years to come!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Word of mouth is key. Get a base audience, even if it starts with close friends and family. Those friends and family members tell coworkers, who tell their families, who tell their friends, etc. The list goes on and on! Being active on social media can be tasking at first. You want to get your name out there, but not quite sure where to start. For event planning, especially in the wedding industry, having local Facebook bridal/wedding pages has been a HUGE blessing in my startup. Local brides/couples sign up to this page looking for specific services or recommendations for their events. This is where you can utilize the audience & post your services, offer discounts to the first clients to book with you, so on and so forth.
When you have your social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, post creative or fun material to engage your audience! I always like to do ‘collab’ videos of little pieces of my day coordinating a wedding & add some fun music to the background. This shows my audience the work I am capable of, the happiness that surrounded the bride & groom that day, and all the little details I helped piece together to creare the most perfect day!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Word. Of. Mouth. In my business, I work with a lot of other vendors such as photographers, DJs, caterers, etc. so when they are talking with clients, if they mention my name as a planning resource, that sparks an idea for that couple to look at my social media pages or check out my website. The same goes with my past clients & their referrals to other friends and family. People are always getting married and all it takes is someone to mention to one of my current or past clients, “oh my gosh, planning this wedding has been so stressful”, for them to plant the seed of, “hey, I had the most amazing planner help me with my wedding and it was flawless! You should look into her, here is her contact information.” Never underestimate the power of word of mouth! Especially as a start up business, you don’t have the extra money to spend on expensive advertisements. Utilize those free resources!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foreverandalwaysplan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foreverandalwayseventplanning/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foreverandalwaysplan