We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Seligman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.

Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

When I started Island Life Events 10 years ago, I looked at as an opportunity to do something I love. I had always done weddings as a banquet captain but not as a wedding planner. For years I observed planners and as I got older (49) I thought I need to do this, so I did and it was terrifying!

I started by researching wedding planners all over the country, their services, pricing, reviews, websites, any information I could find. I started speaking with local planners and vendors to gain information and put the word out that I was going on this venture.

I started getting small planning jobs barely charging anything, I didn’t mind because I needed to gain experience as a wedding planner. I started working in the hotels and they loved me because Coming from a banquet/ hotel background, i understood the behind the scenes unlike other wedding planners. This alone has been a secret to my success!

Now, 10 years later we are a very successful luxury wedding planning company. Our team all come from the same background as I, working in events and hospitality for several years.

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?

Island Life Events is a curator of luxury weddings and events. We are very proud of our excellent reputation and the team we have created. All of us have been in the event world for several years, so we have a deep understanding of logistics and details that stem from our banquet backgrounds.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I treat my team with gratitude and the upmost respect. I am always open to the their input and have learned new ways of doing things by just remaining open minded. I also pay very well because my team is worth it and it is a great motivator as well.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I worked three jobs and started with very little money allocated money a step at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://islandlifeevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/islandlifeevents/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-seligman-b3b4bb94/

Image Credits
Evan Rich Photography