We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Jimenez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.

Katie, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

Let’s start off with a little backstory. It was my Senior year of college at the University of Central Florida. I was attending the Rosen College of Hospitality where I was focusing on event and hospitality management. During the Fall semester, I toyed around with the idea of starting my own wedding planning business because it had always been something that I had dreamed of doing. I wasn’t quite sure how to go about it or how to run a business, but decided to go ahead and take the plunge anyways! Fast-forward a bit and I had my business established with the State, had a website up and was ready to see where it would lead. I was in the last semester of school and Rosen had a job posted from a local bride. She was looking for a day-of coordinator for her wedding that Summer and wanted to get someone from the school. I saw it and immediately reached out. The pay wasn’t much, but I knew it would be great for my portfolio (which didn’t really exist at that time). We met up for coffee one day and it went very well! I was so excited for the opportunity! I didn’t hear back from her after our meeting, so I followed up again and sure enough, she had just gotten busy with work, but wanted to hire me! I can remember standing in the parking lot at the college pacing around with a huge grin on my face. I did it. I booked my first client! It was the best feeling in the entire world!

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

Ever since I can remember, I have always loved weddings. I was that girl in the 6th grade eating cereal and watching “Say Yes to the Dress” every morning before school. I always thought it would be so much fun to be a wedding planner, but I never really knew how to make it happen. It’s just something you see on TV, right?

During my Junior year of college at the University of Central Florida in Orlando (GO KNIGHTS!) I remember talking to one of my friends who was in school for hospitality and event management. It was at that very moment I knew I had to switch majors (yet again) and fulfill my dreams. Goodbye forensics and hello weddings!

By my Senior year, I had established Big Day Celebrations – shoutout to my dad for coming up with the name and surprising me with the domain for Christmas! I started by coordinating weddings for my friends and family to gain some experience and get my feet wet. I had no idea what would happen with Big Day Celebrations, but I was ready for the adventure!

Immediately after college, I landed an amazing job working for a gorgeous golf resort in Central Florida as their wedding coordinator. I learned so much during those three years and am so incredibly thankful for my time there. I made so many connections and really learned the inner-workings of weddings and events. It was the best first job an event-minded girl could ask for in my opinion.

A few years later, I left the resort to pursue Big Day Celebrations on a full-time basis. It was incredibly scary, but oh-so exciting at the same time. Can I just say, I LOVE being my own boss? Watching my company grow each and every year, meeting amazing couples that become friends and celebrating one of the biggest days in a person’s life is so fun and rewarding!

Fast-forward to today and I’ve planned and coordinated over 450 weddings and close to 2,000 events. I live in the adorable little town of Kalispell, Montana with my hubby, Joe. Big Day Celebrations has exploded too! Most days I think to myself – “Is this real life?” And then I remember it is and I’m living my 6th grade dream.

I love to think that I am more than just your “typical” wedding planner. I’m more like your friend, with a wedding brain, who is there to help guide you along every step of the way! I get very close my couples and I always feel like my best friend is moving away when I give them a hug and say goodbye at the end of their reception. It’s always bittersweet. I want my couples to feel like they’re on a silver platter; like they’re in the best hands possible. I pride myself in excellent customer service and quick communication as those are two things I was taught early-on in my career and I have carried them from Orlando to Montana with me. You are relying on me to be your person, your planner, your go-to gal and I am here for it!

Planning should be FUN!! I cannot stress that enough. Yes, there will be some stressful circumstances here and there, but overall, with a gal like me on your side, it’s going to simply be fun and stress-free. I can guarantee it!

I am so proud of where Big Day Celebrations is today. We are doing better than ever as a company and I couldn’t be happier. Moving to Montana was a huge step in the growth of BDC and I always like to look back at our first season here. It grounds me. It makes me think about how incredibly grateful for those first 4 weddings we had because through them, I met so many amazing vendors in the Valley and I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for that! The wedding professionals here feel like family and we all have each other’s backs! I cannot wait to see what the future has in store!

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

PIVOT. Pivot was the word for 2019 – 2021 for myself, my husband and my business.

2019 was going to be the year of back and forth. We were going to finish up our Florida weddings, come to Montana for the Summer to coordinate our currently booked weddings (4 at the time) and then head back down to Florida in the Fall to wrap up wedding season there before making the move to Montana on a full-time basis. My husband’s sister unexpectedly passed away that August and that was very hard. It really got us thinking if making a big move across the country was the right thing to do. We ended up pushing the move back so we could be there with family.

2020 was the year of COVID as we all know. On top of 2019 being a tough year for our family, we dealt with lockdowns, sickness, depression and all of the other emotions that came along with COVID during that very uncertain time. Because I had started to stop booking weddings in Florida because we thought we were moving, I luckily wasn’t very affected business wise. I had two weddings that ended up postponing, but all others were able to be held before the world went on lockdown! I was truly uncertain what this would mean for my business and weddings. And it was during this time I decided to dig our sister company, An Epic Elopement, out of the ground and see what it could do! I figured if you weren’t allowed to have big gatherings, maybe marketing to smaller weddings and elopements would be the way to go…and boy was I right! My goodness – An Epic Elopement took off like crazy going into the Summer of 2020 and I haven’t looked back since.

I learned how to put together amazing all-inclusive packages so all my couples have to do is show up and get married! We offer elopements and micro weddings and these two types of events have become my new favorite thing to plan. It’s like a breath of fresh air coming from huge ballroom weddings in Orlando (not that there was ever anything wrong with those, but it has been nice to change things up a bit). Our elopement packages are designed for 10 people or less and include everything you need: photographer, officiant, hair and makeup and a bouquet and boutonniere. We hold many of them in and around Glacier National Park, where the scenery is truly epic and one of the reasons why people travel here to get married! Our micro wedding packages are perfect for couples who want all of the elements of a traditional wedding, but on a smaller scale. They include: venue, photographer, officiant, hair and makeup, floral, catering, rentals, cake and a bar. They are so much fun to plan! It’s like getting married and then having a gorgeous dinner party afterwards. I love planning these micro weddings so very much!

2021 was our biggest year yet! We made the official move to Montana, said goodbye to Florida and successfully planned 40 weddings that Summer alone! It was a blast! Elopements and micro weddings continued to be ever-so popular and I was truly grateful for that! It was a pivot that stuck and was making my businesses thrive!

By 2022, we were settled into our new town, purchased our first home and really started to felt that sense of belonging. Montana was now our home and it sure felt like the perfect fit! We have really found our groove in our daily life and in our businesses and are pumped up for what the future holds!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

GOOGLE. 100% Google. I have worked so hard over the years learning about SEO, digging into blogs, articles, videos on how to get noticed. What little tricks you can do to name your photo correctly or putting words in a certain order. I’ve dived deep, especially in the early years and that has paid off. Blogging is a huge part of that as well! While it is not my most favorite thing in the world, I kept at it until I just didn’t have it in me anymore. This year, I hired a social media manager, Jessica Hetu, and she has taken on the role of my blogger and social media guru! I am so incredibly thankful for her and her talent! Being able to take that task off my plate and focus on things I am better at and enjoy more has been huge. Never did I think I’d ever be able to hire someone for those simple tasks, but I made it happen! Because of Jessica and her hard work, I continue to rank high on Google searches and every time I see the word Google in the “How did you year about us?” box on my contact form, a huge smile always comes across my face. :)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bigdaycelebrations.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bdcelebrations
• Facebook: facebook.com/bdcelebrations

Image Credits
Kelly Kirksey Photography Amber Lynn Photography Studio KH