We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Lopez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
Weddings have changed a lot over the years. 10 years ago weddings were done with a lot of traditions and now you are seeing less and less of that. Couples have taken the art of weddings the next level by prioritizing the guest experience and doing more meaningful things versus traditional things. Couples over the years have changed how they want to spend this one day with their guests, especially seeing the value in spending time with their guests after a global pandemic. Before the traditional things (dances/cake cutting/bouquet & garter toss/toasts) all these things would take up a majority of the time that they had left to spend with guests. Now you rarely ever see these formalities. The Couples want to spend time with guests and do meaningful things. A few new trends we are seeing our couples do are: prioritize photos (booking photographers for longer hours), doing a first look (this is where the bride and groom see one another before walking down the aisle). This allows for more time for photos as well as couples getting to join in on cocktail hour, couples being the only ones to be introduced versus the entire wedding party and if the wedding party is introduced they are introduced as a group versus individually! These are just a few of the new trends we are starting to see with our couple.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jennifer Lopez and I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. I was always a creative and always knew I wanted to do something creative for a living. Growing up I watched endless amounts of TV shows on HGTV and was just hopeful one day that I would become an interior designer (In a small city it just wasn’t common). After years of dreaming and hoping I went to collage to become an interior designer which then lead me to becoming a wedding planner oddly enough (I planned my own wedding and designed it as well) I never thought becoming a wedding planner would be something I would do given growing up in a small town which planners did not exist, nor do they still to this day. What I loved about planning was that it allowed me to create and design someones special day but I also got to help organize it all. I have always been a very organized and detailed oriented person so after planning my own wedding I realized I could do this for a living.
So I learned and did research and I FELL IN LOVE with the wedding industry. I took classes and learned everything I needed to learn in order to become a wedding planner and with that I started my own business in February of 2016 and what a blessing that was! Today my team consists of 9 strong lead wedding planners and 9 assistants (Y’ALL MY TEAM IS AMAZING, I AM BLESSED) The last two years we have broken records and done almost 600 weddings. I love what I do, my team loves what they do and the goal is to ALWAYS to ensure each and every one of our clients walks away from there wedding day LOVING everything that took place. Sure there are things that come up and things that aren’t always planned (hello rain, welcome to Florida…..) but it is up to us to ensure it is perfect no matter what obstacles arise.
Bella Sposa Events is a Full Service wedding planning company that plans a few months before the wedding to years before. Every client is different in regards to wants and needs but we are always there to help no matter how big or small!
How did you build your audience on social media?
Being present and showing ALL types of clients. Social media is a beast in itself but I have hired professionals to help us along the way. I remember when social media wasn’t a thing and now if you don’t have it I would say it would be pretty hard to start a business without it. Being consistant and keeping up trends is important. Showing clients what they are looking to see is what is going to set you apart from others. But don’t forget to Be Unique and Be You. Clients like seeing the people behind the business and brand and there is something unique and fun about it!
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Referrals and Instagram have both single handedly helped us significantly with our bookings, Instagram is a beast in its self and I feel as we are constantly playing catch up with the new trends and what current and future couples are gravitating towards. I truly believe if you don’t invest with where the world is going (social media wise) your business won’t grow and will run into the ground.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://bellasposaevents.com
- Instagram: @bellasposaevents.com
- Facebook: Bella Sposa Events
- Other: TikTok-@bellasposaevents
Image Credits
@kartsiephotography @bystephvelez @snapshotsbygabriela @rachelfosbenner