Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Lange. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Heather, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned in school and why that lesson is important to you?
I majored in Theatre Performance in college. I have a bachelor of arts in Theatre Performance. And for all of my college years and a 2 years after that, I thought that I would pursue a career in theatre! However, I realized that I actually strongly disliked auditioning and the process for getting into theatre as a performer seemed daunting and I soon realized that it may not be the career I had hoped it would be. After about a year of trying to figure out what I love and what I should be doing, I stumbled upon wedding planning! At first glance, the two careers seem to be quite different, however the more I dug into wedding planning, the more I realized it was exactly like stage management! Something I had actually quite enjoyed in my college years! Our couples were the stars of the show, the guests our audience, and of course the plot of the evening was the couple’s love story! As I started planning weddings, I realized that I had already been equipped with many of the skills necessary to be a successful wedding planner! Both theatre and wedding planning require you to be kind and professional, good with deadlines, excellent at communicating with multiple vendors, and of course great at time management! I distinctly recall one professor in particular who would intentionally bring tea and hot chocolate to every class. She claimed it was to teach us how to attend meetings where food and drinks would be present. Little did I know that would be one of the most important lessons I learned!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
One of the practices that we at For the Love of Events pride ourselves on is our accessibility to our clients! We like to call ourselves our client’s “professional best friends.” We understand that most people have never planned a wedding before and have no idea where to start when it comes to first steps, how to book vendors, who to contact, and so many other things! We are there from the moment they book to the end of the wedding and even beyond if there are any loose ends that need to be tied up! We want our clients to have a peaceful and easy wedding planning experience! Regardless of the planning package the couple chooses, we start the journey with them from the moment they sign on! We are there to help them find professional and quality vendors, design mood boards, talk through any issues or conflicts, or even just offer ourselves as a listening ear! We love our couples and want them to have the most incredible and magical day! On top of that, we absolutely love being able to follow our couple’s lives through social media post wedding! Seeing the joy and love lived out after wedding day is such a joy! We love to celebrate their accomplishments, new steps, or even sometimes the growth of their family! It’s an honor to be part of people’s most wonderful day of their lives! And to watch that continue to play out is a special treat!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My very first solo wedding with FTLE was quite the fiasco! After stumbling through my first rehearsal (which was quite rough, I will admit, and I’m proud to say I have done a LOT of growth since then!), I went into the wedding day thinking nothing could go wrong. I was in great spirits until I arrived at the venue and realized that overnight it had flooded. There were giant pools of water all over the floor, water seeping down the walls, and surrounding all of the couple’s vintage furniture (that they had brought the night before the wedding). Carpets were soaked, seats were wet, and I had no choice but to stay calm and problem solve. Thanks to the great help of my assistant and the venue manager, we were able to shove, sweep, vacuum, and dry the floor until no one could tell it had ever been flooded. We were blessed that no furniture or personal property of the couple was damaged. We were able to clean everything up and have everything ceremony ready in 3 hours. It was a huge collaborative effort, but the guests and the bride were none the wiser! After that event, I knew I should have been turned off to doing another wedding ever again, but I actually felt the opposite. The team work, the problem solving, those were my favorite things to do! I knew I was absolutely hooked on weddings after that!
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
I met Amanda in high school. We attended the same church and youth group but didn’t ever talk. We stayed cordial throughout the years and once I moved back to Florida after college we struck up a friendship. I worked for Disney World as a costumer for about a year and a half before COVID shut everything down and I was laid off along with thousands of other Disney employees. At that time Amanda was looking to train someone in the receptionist job she currently had part time at a counseling center run by our church. As it happened, I was in need of a job! She trained me and we became good friends.
About six months later, my cousin asked me to coordinate her wedding. “I just need someone to set everything up how I want it and to make sure everything goes smoothly! I just need you to be the point person who knows what’s going on!” I thought that sounded like fun and how hard could it be and accepted the roll!
When it came time for the wedding, my cousins future aunt in law was a wedding coordinator and ran the rehearsal while I watched and took notes on how to do it on the wedding day. She educated me on lining everyone up and getting everyone down the aisle (and then she bowed out because she wanted to enjoy the wedding as a guest)! Wedding day came and as I watched my cousin walk down the aisle with her father to meet the love of her life, something inside of me sparked and I took a moment to savor the scene. My interest in wedding planning was sparked.
Once I arrived home I told Amanda about my experience and said I would be very interested in shadowing her or assisting to find out if wedding planning was a career I would be interested in! To my surprise Amanda allowed me to assist her with several weddings, and by the 3rd or 4th one, I was completely hooked. About three months later she had given me my first wedding as a lead planner, and I have been working with her as a lead planner for the past two years!
I am so thankful to Amanda for trusting me and encouraging me to find my passion! I am honored and honestly blown away every time I am able to be a part of someones special day. It is the dream job I never could have imagined having in my wildest dreams!
Contact Info:
- Website: fortheloveofeventsfl.com
- Instagram: @fortheloveofeventsfl
- Facebook: For the Love of Events
Image Credits
Casey Marie Photography Rudy and Marta Photography Between the Moon and Sun (Hailey Malmedal) That First Moment (Claire and Rob) Galina Reschikovets (FTLE assistant)