We were lucky to catch up with Kellie Heinen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kellie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I started Rustic Elegance after getting let go from a few jobs… lol. I hated working so hard for someone else and then feeling in-disposable. The last company I worked for totally closed and went under. I just couldn’t see working for another company again. It was my moms idea for me to start my own business (she had her own hair salon). So she was very supportive in me doing my own thing. I worked at fancy golf clubs in the banquet department all though high school and college and remembered loving events. I worked a ton of weddings and always loved the magic of the happy occasion. I had a backyard wedding and felt like there was an element missing.. someone to tie all the vendors together and someone to be the “project coordinator” of the wedding that wasn’t me. So after feeling I couldn’t go back to another company and be happy, I started my own Wedding Planning company in 2012 that specializes in backyard, tent and barn type weddings. This utilizes my love for the outdoors, my past experience with working fancy weddings and also my graphic design degree. My team and I work so hard to create the perfect wedding days for couples and I couldn’t be happier!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Rustic Elegance has shined in the wedding industry since 2012 by specializing in backyard, tent and barn wedding coordinating. In addition to coordinating, we offer an extensive rental decor collection which includes: furniture pieces, tabletop decor, dessert stands, etc. We happily worry about all the logistics and details of the day so our couples can concentrate on getting married and their family and friends can be fully present to enjoy every minute too.

I am most proud of our outstanding team of coordinators. We work SO hard!! Wedding days are long (10-16 hours) and are so much work (we normally each walk 10-13 miles per wedding)-which is crazy! I feel proud seeing them generally care about our couples and watching them go the extra mile at every single wedding to make sure everything runs smoothly and is just perfect.

It’s kind of crazy how life’s path has directed me right where I was meant to be. I worked weddings and at Lafayette Club in high school and after, I went to college at the U of MN for graphic design and worked at Interlachen and the Minneapolis Club. I always loved working weddings, they were so fancy and grand and there was always so much joy and excitement in the air. Who knew this life experience would come in so handy down the road! I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and worked in the design industry for ten years but hated workin in the office for someone else. My real life experience of working weddings and events has played a huge role in knowing what is needed to make the day a success and also how to prepare/anticipate (and handle with grace) the unexpected things that come up. It has also helped me in being confident in the flow of the weddings/events. My design degree has also been a huge asset while designing and creating the overall look of the wedding space.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Covid definitely tested our resilience as a company. Couple’s were forced with the hard decision to go forward with a small wedding, cancel their wedding completely or postpone their wedding entirely. We along with the wedding industry took a hard hit during 2020 and wondered if we would make it through. We were faced with hard decisions and had to get creative to be able to help couples host their wedding (and stay in business). We were also faced with the challenge of how to safely host weddings and stay within the guidelines. We created new packages, offered new services, revised our cancelation policies, added a postponement clause and also added safety measures. We knew Covid would pass and weddings would be allowed to happen again, but had no idea of when. We pushed through and stayed positive that we would make it through these hard times, and now we are busier then ever helping couples have the best day! We went from 15 weddings in 2020 to 40 in 2021!

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

Always providing great services and working hard has helped us create a good reputation! We network with the venues/vendors we want to work with, show up with positive attitudes and always work hard and go above and beyond. We have a good on-line presence and ask past couples to write us reviews after their wedding which adds to our reputation as well!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rusticeleganceweddings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rusticeleganceweddings/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rusticelegancemn
• Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/rustic-elegance-wedding-coordination-and-rustic-rental-plymouth-mn-663318

Image Credits
Jeannine Marie Photography