Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Carpey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
Spring weddings in Colorado often come with unpredictable weather. Most of the time, it’s just a 20 minute afternoon shower, we wipe chairs down and move on with the day. One wedding was a bit different. It was an April wedding in the mountains, which also adds a component of altitude and high winds. The day started normally and setup was going off without a hitch. We had just hung these stunning glass light fixtures over the head table and stage, when out of nowhere the winds picked up to over 50mph, the sky went dark and began hailing incessantly. Linens and lounge spaces were soaked through and we lost several of the glassware and light fixtures. Meanwhile, guests were expected to arrive in a matter of hours.
In true Colorado form, the storm passed quickly and the sky went back to blue. Ultimately, we had to pivot, and the rental team was able to bring all new linens, glassware, and furniture. The grounds crew from the venue came out to fix what had been damaged, and guests never had a clue what unfolded a few hours earlier.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a Colorado wedding and events planner who has dedicated my career to helping couples plan their perfect wedding. I’ve been doing events for as long as I can remember. I’ve done everything from university recruitment events to music festivals. While studying abroad in Madrid, I decided to explore the wedding industry. I remember walking past a bridal shop on my way to class one afternoon and spent the entire class period emailing every wedding planner I could find in the Denver area. That summer was my first wedding season in the industry, and I was immediately hooked.
When COVID hit and changed the whole world, the wedding industry along with it changed dramatically. Not only did I realize the need to help couples navigate canceling, postponing and replanning their weddings- on the other side of it there was an even bigger need to celebrate being together. Now, I help my clients plan and design their dream wedding while making sure they feel the least amount of stress as possible. The goal is to allow them to focus on starting their new life together. I think that part gets lost in the excitement of a wedding, but it really is the start of a marriage, and I pride myself on making sure my clients get to enjoy that part, too.
We, as your vendors, want you to know how much time and energy we spend thinking about your wedding. We want you to know what you actually get when you hire a wedding planner:
When hiring a wedding planner you not only get your go to person to help you navigate planning your big day, you also get a design expert, contract reviewer, project manager, timeline and floor plan pro, cheerleader, therapist, family manager and lifelong friend. Most of all, we are there to celebrate with you — because we love what we do and we love making sure our clients feel that.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
You are taught in business school that there is a right way and a wrong way to be successful. It’s black and white.
I went to school to study business because I always knew I wanted to own my own company. My college years were challenging. I struggled to keep up with my peers, particularly when math was involved. I felt like I couldn’t hack the system, so I must not be cut out for it. While many of my peers excelled and by senior year they had accepted jobs in the “big four” accounting firms, I felt like never fit in with that crowd.
By my senior year I had found my way into weddings. I loved that it was the perfect way to combine my goal of owning a business with my passion for design and creativity. Finally, I was building my career around a life I wanted for me —yet I didn’t take the conventional path that most of classmates had taken. My college education was incredibly valuable, albeit difficult at times. I networked and drew insight from small business owners and entrepreneurs who talked about starting their own companies. I learned how to fall, and pick myself right back up. And I learned that business is not as black and white as it is made out to be. As someone who has to combine hard decision making with artistic creativity I prove that every day.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
When I first started my wedding planning business it was just me, I was the chief cook and bottle washer. When my wedding planning business started to grow, I hired more support staff. It was then that I had to learn to stop micromanaging. That was a big step. However, learning to delegate to my team freed me up to do what was most important for the business.
The best advice I have for managing a team is to clearly communicate what’s needed to get the job done. Then trust your team, and don’t be averse to learning from them. That helps to build a cohesive unit, which is what is needed most during the stressful moments of a wedding. On big project days, there is so much to get done and a finite amount of time to do it. As the business owner, it’s my responsibility to make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch, but it’s also my job to be there for our client. Making sure I have a well communicated plan to get everything accomplished on time allows me, and my team, to be fully present for my client. Two additional points that have helped to keep morale high: After each wedding I conduct a “post project review.” We go over what went well, and what we could have improved upon. The whole team gets a voice. Second, I overpay. I want to make sure my employees feel appreciated for their hard work, and that they want to continue to do so.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ramblinroseweddings.com
- Instagram: @ramblinroseweddings
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ramblinroseweddings
Image Credits
Kari Geha Photography