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

Alright, Elise thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

During the pandemic we saw couples turning to at home, backyard weddings. As the world reopened, couples had saved up their money and were ready to celebrate – weddings were back and getting bigger and more fun than ever. Fast forward a few more years, and as the cost of events has increased, we’re seeing more people return to smaller and more intimate weddings. Wedding vendors are resilient and more than capable of pivoting and being flexible, but it’s a challenge to continuously be changing your business as the industry ebbs and flows.

Elise, 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?

Keen Events is a Portland, Oregon based wedding planning service that was founded in 2017. When we first started working weddings, we were appalled by the amount of waste that was produced (mostly that we were seeing behind the scenes). From the amount of food and bar waste to floral waste, it was really unsettling to see how much waste one single event could produce, and to think about how many weddings are happening on a global scale and their impact. From this, we pursued further education and proudly became Oregon’s first certified sustainable wedding planner. We have helped plan, design, and coordinate over 100 weddings, and love to educate our couples on eco practices to whatever degree they are interested. We have also mentored a handful of folks who have gone on to start their own successful planning companies.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is building rapport with clients and knowing they fully trust you to execute their dream day. When we pull rentals for our clients and present them with their mood board or design deck we help them see their vision come to life and it all starts to click and become real.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Our biggest source of new clients has been from social media, vendor partnerships and past client referrals. We focus our time and attention towards creating a seamless experience that is stress free and easy for all parties involved. By keeping communications respectful, timely and effective, we’ve been able to grow our business to where it is today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.keeneventspdx.com
• Instagram: @keenevents