We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Dorosh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

In 2017 a close family friend learned the heartbreaking news that her then 2 year old son needed a liver transplant. I so badly wanted to help however after having a brain aneurysm the year prior and an infant child, I did not have the funds. I then asked a friend how they did at a fundraiser garage sale they put on for their softball team. I then started posting on social media about my plan for a garage sale to fund his transplant expenses and the response was amazing. We raised $2,000 from a garage sale of donated items. After that, I just kept thinking, ‘what can I do next?’

From there another friend & I put on about 5 or 6 raffle event, dining out with proceeds contributing etc. We had over a dozen events going. I enjoyed it so much. I love creating events and bringing people together. I previously worked in a children’s hospital so working with sick children was hard. I could never charge for fundraising. After a lot of encouragement I gave the idea of being an event planner some thought. I was a legal assistant at the time and decided to coordinate weddings. I have always loved weddings (Who doesn’t!?) I never intended it to grow as big as it has, I started off as something fun to do on the side & help cover the cost of daycare.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a mom of 3 amazing kids. When I developed the idea of Janova Events, I didn’t know I was pregnant with my youngest. I had combined my 2 older children’s names together ‘Novalee & Jacob’ making Janova. I have another company idea that I want to launch soon that reflects my youngest daughter’s name but it’s not quite ready yet.

I am a native Floridian, I come from a large family with 9 siblings. After I had my son (Jacob) in 2016, shortly after I was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Thankfully it was found in time but I had my share of struggles of getting back to work afterwards. I have had a wide variety of jobs and have been working since I was 14. It’s taken me a long time to figure out what I love. I truly enjoy learning all kinds of trades and skills. Shortly after covid I considered going into marketing & business consulting rather than weddings but it was very short lived. I currently volunteer with the rec league kids play baseball/softball at and enjoy being apart of the community & being involved with something my kids will be apart of for the coming years.

I love my clients & all things events. I enjoy helping others and bringing their vision to life or simply helping with a task at hand. I love talking goals with others and conversing ideas of how to put those goals into play. I am a very goal oriented person so I am always creating and reaching for new goals. I have a hard time saying no sometimes so I tend to do more than I should for my clients and others.

When starting this business it was simply day of coordination. I had trouble working on a timeline. Then eventually I added decor, got a storage, and then an office & have continued moving through ever since. I have been learning floral work & now can design a full event.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have the goal of one day owning a venue, creating florals & being able to travel & do weddings near & far. As I mentioned previously, I want to do it all and learn about it all. My goal is to ensure my clients can trust me to bring their vision to life, whether I am their planner or not. If I am unable to achieve the task, I make sure to steer the client in the right direction.

I love to see many others in the industry work their creativity. Whether it be with photo/video, florals, lighting etc. The amount of creativity in this industry is amazing. I am surrounded by a lot of vendors that have a community over competition mindset & it is so refreshing to know I can touch base with a fellow wedding planner & ask questions without them thinking I am trying to copy them or steal business. We’re growing together to make each other better. We all have the same end game & there’s plenty of business to keep us all successful

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The plain & simple gratitude. When we complete the wedding set up & just before guests come in, I like to ensure the client can enter and see everything exactly how their guests will see it. Whether it’s a wedding, corporate event, holiday party etc, giving the client those 5 minutes to see it set up & ready to go, and hearing their thank yous and their happiness for how it turns out is such a high. Seeing the photos & video of the set up afterwards is almost as good also. Talking with clients & giving them (what I think )simple reminders and hearing them say ‘Oh my goodness I never would’ve thought of that’ and it adds so much relief for them. It’s what makes me love this job.

Contact Info:

• Website: Janoveevents.com
• Instagram: @janovaevents
• Facebook: @janovaevents
• Linkedin: @Jenniferdorosh

Image Credits
Headshot by Oosterling Productions Coronado Photography Limelight Photography Sabrina Autumn Photography Created Four Southern City Photography Reagaan Photography