We were lucky to catch up with Caitlin Dobbins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Caitlin, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Social media is another outlet that revolves around design and the story behind it, so I personally have always enjoyed sharing our content myself versus outsourcing our social content. Of course this commitment can oftentimes become time-consuming, but connecting with our clients and other vendors in the social spheres is extremely beneficial when growing and maintaining a small business. I believe the heart behind what we do is so vital to our mission and can be told through our events so naturally social media becomes our platform to share all the nitty gritty details!

The constant urgency to share curated images, entertaining behind-the-scenes moments, and trending audios can feel heavy at times, but I’ve leaned into a more timeless perspective to it all. Sure, we always want to keep our finger on the pulse of trends in such a visual industry, however, we consistently want to show up as ourselves and weave that common thread throughout our content from year to year. We want our followers to know us and truly understand our brand. Ultimately our clients are hiring us to manage and produce a milestone event, so they have to know, like and trust us as their guide in this process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For over 10 years I have found myself constantly in awe of the wedding and event industry. From writing articles for a wedding magazine in college to managing seven venues, I knew my heart was in it. I didn’t want to stop at sales and realized I wanted to guide the couples I was meeting through the journey of event planning. The process I had been witnessing at the venues felt a little stale and I was eager to truly elevate their wedding day – feeling more like an experience than a staged room.

Growing up I was always interested in interior design, traveling to new spaces, trying new foods, and the adventure of it all. When I found out that I could combine all my passions into one it was such an exciting discovery. When creating Honey + Thyme I knew I wouldn’t stop until we created a brand that stood out from the rest. I didn’t want our couples to feel stuck or stressed but instead inspired for what’s to come as they enter a new chapter!

I am extremely proud of the events we produce and the team we have built. It is so refreshing that I can now run with design as my main focus while our Senior Planner, Mikayla, manages the logistics that are equally if not more vital to a successful wedding weekend. We have also committed to a set amount of weddings annually to ensure we produce only the highest quality events, that our clients are deserving of. It has allowed us to create with more depth as we take the time to connect with our clients, dream up new designs, mock up visions, collaborate with new vendors and expand into a refreshing new space.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Our Senior Planner, Mikayla, actually slid into our DM’s on a whim and the stars aligned after a few attempts leading to an interview and newly-created position within Honey + Thyme. I had taken a leap of faith after running the show solo for a few years and I am so thankful I did. Cannot imagine the workload I personally would be facing if she hadn’t reached out when she did. As any good partnership should do, we balance each other out. This is useful when working with such a variety of personalities in the industry and demanding moments on site. We have experienced a long list of “heated” moments on a wedding day from extreme temperatures shutting down DJ equipment to vendors who do not show altogether, and there hasn’t been a time where one wasn’t able to solve the problem with a creative solution.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I first started Honey + Thyme I committed to showing my face on a daily basis. I wanted to grow an audience fairly quickly and at the time it felt almost necessary as a new brand. People had no idea who I was and I knew this would expedite the process. I drove to countless venues to tour their spaces, capturing phone content along the way. I would then recap my visits in reels that couples found useful, venues appreciated the exposure and this content usually led to new connections. It was my go-to strategy for the first few years and I would recommend this approach to all new businesses. Get out there, make your brand known and know why you started in the first place!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.honeyandthymeevents.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeythymeevents/

Image Credits

Ellie McKinney (first photo)
Erica Serrano (2 + 3)
Emily Magers (final 3)