We were lucky to catch up with Jaffe Wojcik recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jaffe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

We believe that every bridal couple deserves to enjoy their wedding planning process and be present to enjoy their wedding day.
On a wedding day, there are so many moving parts that need to come together just right to create a beautiful and successful wedding day. The obstacles that so many bridal couples face on their wedding day are all the questions coming at them, all the set up that needs to take place in a limited amount of time, coordinating with vendors and directing bridal parties, family and guests to be in the right places at the right time, all while being on stage and making the single most important decision of their life- committing to their life partner. With all this going on for a bridal couple on the day of their wedding, that not only can it steal their joy, but it could also keep them from being present in the important role they have that day. Getting to marry the love of their life, being a gracious host/hostess to all the people showing up for them and getting to be present and mindful of the fleeting moments of the day.
When I got married 16 years ago, wedding coordinators and planners didn’t really exist in our area. So the day of my wedding, my Mom took on the role of the wedding coordinator. She was running around coordinating vendors, setting up items, putting out fires and guiding guests to where they needed to be. She wasn’t able to be the Mother of the Bride the way she wanted to be that day. So after my wedding, I realized what a void in the market there was for this service. And since then, I started a wedding planning company called Graceful Events, and we have been able to serve almost 1,000 bridal couples to allow them (and their Mothers) to get to be present and enjoy their wedding day!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Here is my Bio on my website, I think I answered a few of these questions in the previous question:

Jaffe Wojcik, owner of Graceful Events
fuels her successful wedding and events business with passion. Located in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Jaffe has a deep history in the local wedding industry that only grew as she started her own firm.

Named after her first child Grace, who was her inspiration for Graceful Events, Jaffe grew the business with other experienced, passionate industry professionals who had the ambition to plan weddings while still being a mom.

Bridal couples appreciate Graceful Events for their innovation – together, the team starts industry trends, paving the way to overdeliver spectacular events. Through strong relationship building and industry connections, Jaffe curates the perfect team for each unique couple based on their personalities and needs.

Even after all of these years, Jaffe still gets goosebumps every time she sees a wedding come together. It’s no surprise that if she won the lottery today, Graceful Events would live on – nothing would stop her team from doing what they love to do best.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

At the very beginning of 2020, we had 70 weddings already booked for the 2020 year, never anticipating what was about to unfold. Enter Covid-19, a world-wide pandemic and somewhere in the mix of that news, I found out that I was expecting our third child. There was so much uncertainty in the world, in the area and in my head of how we would move forward with all of these unexpected and unprecedented situations. I mean, try running an event company (of large scale events, I might add) in the midst of a total shut down of the world, where people in groups of 10 or more are prohibited from gathering. I turned into a counselor for so many distraught bridal couples, an advisor for my team in uncharted waters and a very terrified expecting mother. I had no idea how everything would pan out, but fortunately most of the weddings were able to reschedule for the following year, which means I took a considerable financial hit in 2020, but made it up in 2021 and in subsequent years, when our business more than doubled. In 2021 we did 120 weddings and in 2022 we did 140 weddings. We learned so many things as we navigated these challenges, so many companies in our area went out of business, and fortunately with the resilience of our team, our clients and our collaborative partners, we were able to make an incredible come back, that I am incredibly proud of.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In 2018 I started an industry group called the Lake Geneva Wedding Society, inspired by the old adage ” A rising Tide lifts all shifts” . I wanted to create a consistent event that takes place twice a year in an environment where local wedding vendors could come together to support each other, to connect over business ideas, values, share perspectives and continue to rise and build their businesses together.
My hope for this society is that it will always be the place where wedding vendors unite, where strangers leave as friends and where everyone feels supported. This is an event that survives off of generosity, with a great group of sponsors, it is free to attend and we typically select a local charity to raise money for at the event. This event has brought visibility to so many new business owners in the area and helped them get plugged into the local wedding scene and help their business thrive off of other vendor referrals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gracefulevents.net/
• Instagram: graceful_events_weddings
• Facebook: Graceful Events
• Linkedin: Jaffe Wojcik

Image Credits

Headshots and portraits please credit Kristina Lorraine Photography
Last picture setting up a proposal please credit C.MAE Photography