We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ingrid Yeh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ingrid, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I’m thrilled to be my own boss. I could never go back to working a 9-5 after having worked as a freelance business owner for most of my professional life. I’m not at all knocking that lifestyle, I’ve just tried it and know that it’s not for me. Creating my own schedule, having freedom over my time, flexibility of location, and never having to submit a time-off request (which is huge to me, as travel is my motivation)—all significantly outweigh the stability and steady paycheck of a full-time job. Though wedding planning is a very seasonal business and it can be dicey at times during slower months, I’m fortunate to have always had other side hustles to lean on—and more importantly, the trust and belief that slower times are merely transitional periods and opportunities to prepare for when things pick back up, as they always do.

Ingrid, 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?

Unlike many other wedding planners, I didn’t grow up always knowing I wanted to end up in this line of work. I had actually never considered event planning as a potential career choice (I wanted to be a vet!). I just naturally fell into it.

In my second year of college, I kind of got thrown into the mix of event planning by unexpectedly becoming in charge of planning my sorority chapter’s 10-Year anniversary banquet. Shoutout to my sisters of Chi Delta Theta, and my undergrad alma mater, Cal State Long Beach! Having absolutely zero experience at that point, I was under So much pressure (mainly that I put on myself) to throw a phenomenal event for hundreds of my sorority sisters to enjoy—from our founding mothers all the way to our current pledge class. For months, I poured my heart and soul into meticulously planning every detail of this event, big or small—knowing that failure was Not an option. On the day of the event, things could not have gone any better and everybody had a wonderful time celebrating together—many alumnae sisters having not seen each other in several years since their college days. I had founding mothers and other alumnae approaching me, addressing me by first name (IYKYK), acknowledging and thanking me for all my hard work putting together such a great event for everyone to come together and celebrate our sisterhood. I was completely awestruck, and from then on I was hooked. Not only did I discover a hidden talent for event planning, it was a newfound skill I was genuinely impassioned by and knew I wanted to keep developing and pursuing. And the rest is history!

Fast forward to 17 years later (14 of having my own business), I continue to pour the same level of heart, soul, and passion into every wedding/event and every client who trusts me with the honor of planning their special celebration. I’m a people person and an empath to the core, so I very much value the personal connection and energy exchange I get to make with everyone I encounter—whether it’s my clients, their families and friends, my team, and fellow colleagues/’friendors’—as aside from experience, talent, and skill, this business is built on the quality of the relationships you build.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like everybody else in the wedding and events industry, I had to pivot during COVID when events were one of the first things to go under. I had to get creative and figure out what else to do in the meantime until things (hopefully) returned to normal. I was not above any grind—dog walking, delivery driving, and copywriting/editing to name a few. Even with these temporary gigs, my entrepreneurial spirit never left me and I even managed to start my own side hustles out of the dog walking and copywriting/editing to keep me afloat. As luck would have it, both gigs led me to other opportunities that served as stepping stones to where I am today—which just goes to show the importance of staying humble and open to whatever unexpected blessings in disguise life has to offer you.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

For the first several years since starting Grand Entrance Affairs (GEA), it was very much my side hustle as I worked on growing the business while pursuing other endeavors. For most of my 20s, I worked as a federal court reporter while also signing on subcontractors from all over California, Arizona, and Nevada to work with me under my contract. When I started grad school, I mostly managed my subcontractors for the court reporting business and planned only a couple weddings a year while focusing on school. Even while in school, I was very much still building on my events experience—spending my final year planning and coordinating a 5-day Academic Convention for the Western State Communication Association (WSCA), while also serving as the event coordinator for my grad student organization. Upon graduating, I landed a dream job as an event manager—traveling all over the country planning and coordinating real estate investment seminars on the weekends, while also building on my own business back home. Over the years, as I grew and scaled GEA, it has slowly but surely grown from being my side hustle to my main hustle today. I’m beyond grateful and humbled by the journey it’s been and continues to be!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.grandentranceaffairs.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grand.entrance.affairs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GEAspecialevents
• Other: 
  • The Knot: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/grand-entrance-affairs-pasadena-ca-2075784
  • Wedding Wire: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/grand-entrance-affairs/f0704cf821376d28.html
  • Zola: https://www.zola.com/wedding-vendors/wedding-planners/grand-entrance-affairs
  • Shoutout LA feature: https://shoutoutla.com/meet-ingrid-yeh-wedding-event-planner-officiant/

Image Credits

Photo 1: Curtis Kuo
Photo 2: Curtis Kuo
Photo 3: J. Perryman Photography
Photo 4: Mycoal Dee’s Photon Emporium
Photo 5: Fun Lovin’ Camera
Photo 6: Wedding Photo Bliss
Photo 7: KLV Photography
Photo 8: SDLR Media