We were lucky to catch up with Kate Petach recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kate, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I never dreamed that I would be an entrepreneur growing up or even when I graduated college. I started my career in more “normal” 9-5 type jobs. So, I’ve had the benefit of getting to experience both. Even having been on both “sides” of working, I think it’s normal to fantasize about having a normal 9-5 job when you’re working late nights or you are getting demanding emails from clients at all hours. At the end of every wedding season, I take time to evaluate how things went for the previous wedding season, how we can improve, and whether what I am doing serves me, my family, and my clients best. Ultimately, the reflection leads me down the path of, “is this where I’m meant to be?” And, even when things are hard, this is what I feel like is best! I appreciate the flexibility of schedule, autonomy on how I spend my days, and creating a company that can positively impact (and celebrate) our clients. Owning a business has created the platform for me to create lasting impressions on those around me and allows me to excel at the areas that I’m best at.

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

I am Kate and I own Blue Dahlia Events. While our organization has been around for over 13 years, I took over ownership in 2019 when the former owners decided they were ready to step away from owning their own business in the wedding industry and were gracious enough to hand the reins over to me. Blue Dahlia Events offers wedding coordination services for clients who have largely planned their weddings themselves but need help the last 2 to 12 weeks before their wedding, tying up loose ends, connecting with vendors, and running their wedding day so they can enjoy themselves as much as possible. This allows our clients’ friends, family, wedding party, and other guests to fully enjoy themselves without the added stress and responsibility of running the wedding timeline, setting up, and tearing down. Our team prides itself on being very detail-oriented and organized, with a laid-back, fun, and bubbly vibe to help alleviate any stress on the wedding day. I think the aspect that I am most proud of in our business is how our team helps our clients and their families celebrate on the day of the wedding. We tried to be quick to respond to any, and all needs and help put out any figurative fires before the client even knew about them. We want everyone to feel as though they can rely on our team to make their day the best possible celebration I can be.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think that consistent and reliable service with a smile goes a long way. Our team strives to not only meet our clients and vendors’ expectations but exceed them. Being in an industry that is high emotion, being present, attentive, and calm goes a long way to help ensure that the day runs smoothly. Within any industry, there are people who are not good at their jobs, and can sour the taste in the future for working with someone in that field. Earning trust takes time and consistency. Over the last 13+ years of doing business, we have tried to serve our clients, their families, and our other vendors well. Being referred by another vendor is the highest compliment for us as they see the good, the bad, and the ugly of everything so when they trust us to do our jobs and do them well, we know that we have built a solid reputation.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Other vendor referrals! As mentioned before, we are so grateful when other vendors refer us to their clients. It goes a long way to build the client’s trust quickly. With weddings, we (hopefully) only get to do it once for a couple–but our continuing business lies with the other vendors that we work with. Networking and communicating with the other vendors well goes such a long way–even more than traditional marketing for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bluedahliaevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluedahliaevents/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluedahliaevents
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-petach-4763b456/

Image Credits

Main Image: MKF Photo
Cropped Images of Binders: Native Iris Photography
Photo on Bed: Megan Noll Photography