My friends and loved ones had been telling me ever since I worked at Buckingham Palace that I should start a wedding planning business. I had no idea where to start. One day I listened to a podcast with one of the world’s top planners which inspired me. I learned that planning at the top of the industry is about two things: you need the inspiration, creativity, and logistical rigor to conceptualize and deliver a world-class event, but you also need exceptional client management skills to surface what really matters to your customer and navigate a complex set of stakeholders to deliver. It suddenly clicked that my seemingly disparate background, from the Royal Household to McKinsey and private equity, seemed to be tailor-made for this work. Once that clicked, I became obsessed with learning everything I could about the profession and embarked on a listening tour of over 100 customers and industry partners to deeply understand what it takes to build a world-leading event planning company.

I plan weddings and events for influential people seeking a historic celebration – that means getting to know you and your story in minute detail, and then weaving all of those details into a deeply personalized, bespoke celebration which brings your history, and your chosen setting to life. Sometimes my clients are surprised how far-ranging my intake interviews are, but I’m looking for clues and gems in your history which will inspire me to develop the colors, motifs, flavors, scents, stories, and design references for your celebration. Then we assemble a custom-selected dream team of vendors and partners to deliver on your vision. Finally, we oversee all execution and production, bringing a maniacal eye for detail and focus on making the logistics absolutely seamless.

This is a very crowded space, and so you have to be comfortable leaning into the characteristics that make you different if you’re going to stand out. I haven’t always worked in the US, I haven’t always worked in the events industry – initially I felt vulnerable because those felt like disadvantages relative to my peers who came up through pure New York hospitality and events. But actually what I learned from a royal wedding in the UK, or from advising a CEO at McKinsey, is just as relevant to my work now and it all contributes to the quality of event that I can deliver. I am also a very private person and have always been required professionally to be utterly discreet and maintain strict confidentiality. That can make it hard to engage an audience through social media or posting a portfolio, so I rely heavily on word of mouth and referrals from clients who know me and the quality of my work.

Referrals! What I do is so personal and, at times, intimate, that my clients have to deeply trust me for us to create something spectacular together. Word of mouth and trusted recommendations are invaluable to me. So I really invest time and effort in getting to know people that I meet, always doing what I say I’m going to do, and making people around me feel good. I believe that creating positive energy and impressions will always result in positive outcomes, sometimes in ways that you least expect.