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

Chloe’ , appreciate you joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

In the wedding industry and honestly probably any industry there are unexpected problems on a daily basis. My biggest advance is to not let them get to you. The more stressed you seem it wears off on peers and effects you. Stay clam, take a deep breath and fix it. I tell my couples that inevitably there is going to be a “fire” on their day, and my goal is that they never know about it. There is nothing that I or you cant fix. It might not be exactly how it was planned but in the end its fixed to the best of your ability and ultimately no one will know except you and the person(s) involved in planning. I had a wedding cake get dropped on its way into the wedding venue a few hours before the reception was going to start. It was a 4 tier cake that was not salvageable. So, after a few moments of shock I make a few calls to some amazing vendors I works with and found someone that could make a “bride and groom” cake in the flavors the original cake was in. Then I got in my car and drive to Sam’s club and picked up sheet cakes for the guests to be cut in back. The bride and groom where the only ones that knew they ordered a big tiered cake. The new display with the bride and groom cake was simple and beautiful, and the guests loved their cake and never knew it wasn’t the original.
So, Stay calm, take a breath, have a good team of vendors you work with, and remember you CAN fix it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Chloe’ Loughridge and I am the founder and lead coordinator with Chloe’ and Company Events. I got my start in the wedding industry during my internship in collage and I was hooked from day one. I moved to a few companies to learn everything I could about the hospitality industry and events. I ended up leaving the event industry for a few years but ultimately it pulled me back in, and that is when I opened my own company as a part time side business. I worked my full time 60+ hour a week job and also started to grow Chloe’ & Company Events. Not long after I started my business Covid-19 hit and it put a stop to along of growth, or so I thought. When weddings and events shut down I was still working full time, however, brides were becoming stressed about the unknown of getting married in the world with COVID. My business grew and I became full time in September 2021.
Even before I was full time I had two part time coordinators that worked with me, they both helped in the process of growing Chloe’ and Company Events. We have grown from mainly “Day of Coordination” to now offering full and partial planning and in house decor rental. We have grown from 4 events in year one to over 150 in 2022.
I am proud of the reputation we have with vendors and with brides. I want to make the planning and day of execution as stress free for everyone as possible. I am always willing to help to get things done.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Starting a company is hard. You have to be resilient and keep pushing. I started Chloe’ and Company Events in December 2018 (so basically 2019). In 2019 I have 3 weddings, yes you read that right, I had only 3 weddings my first year and one of those was my sisters. The in 2020 COVID hit and I only had 6 weddings before everything was shut down everywhere. During that time I kept posting on social media and kept an eye out on anyone looking for a planner/coordinator on local Facebook groups. With all the postponed weddings there was a lot of people wanting help on the next step. During that time I was able to book more weddings and we ended 2021 with 54 weddings. Even though we grew more than I thought from 2020 to 2021 I kept posting and kept looking for any and all posts people looking for help with wedding planning. That persistence has lead us to having over 150 events in 2022 and we are still growing. Keep pushing on if its something you want to do. It might not come right away and you might not be able to go full time the first few years but keep going and as long as you treat your customers and vendors right you will grow!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was working a full time job and had my company as a part time “side hustle” from when I started in December 2019 until September 2021. With the big increase in wedding in 2021 I was working over 60+ hours a week with my full time job and then would work every evening and day “off” with my business. I wasn’t seeing my family and was working myself to death. I hired other coordinators to help with some weddings, and that helped open up some of time time. However, we were still growing and I handled all consults, initial planning meetings and training, along with all the weddings I was coordination. It got to the point I had a sit down with my husband and we had to figure something out. He mentioned me quitting my full time job and focusing on more growth. To be honest I thought about that but I didnt think it was time for that. But, after much thought and crunching numbers I agreed it was time. So, I made the decision to leave my steady job with benefits to work solely for myself with no guarantee of a paycheck. And….. it was the best decision I could have made. I get to spend more time with my family than I ever have. I was able to focus even more on growth and we have grown even more.

Contact Info:

• Website: Chloeandcompayevents.com
• Instagram: instragram.com/chloeandcoevents
• Facebook: facebook.com/chloeandcoevents
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
New Eden Studios