We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lacey Larsen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lacey below.
Lacey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?
What’s that Bob Ross quote? “There are no mistakes, only happy little accidents.”
How can we not agree with that?! Especially in the entrepreneurial world. Which is why my initial gut response to the question of “What would I do differently if I were to start over?” is “Nothing! Every little step I took has led me to this place of success, happiness, and freedom that I would have never known had I stuck it out in my corporate job.”
But as I sit in my thoughts more and more, I start to uncover some uncomfortable truths surrounding the beliefs I had (and have) about myself. I have always lived in this weird limbo between confidence (or maybe pride?) and self doubt. Sandwiched between “I can absolutely do this, that’s easy” and “What the heck was I thinking? I’m not cut out for this.” Balancing on the tightrope of being meant for something great and feeling so unworthy, so incapable of getting there.
Mindset is EVERYTHING.
So if I were to start over completely, I would approach this venture with a completely different mindset. I would adopt a slow and steady, more goal oriented, focused mindset, with longevity in mind. I would remove the chip on my shoulder that caused me to be so prideful it blinded me to the reality of needing help much earlier on (no really, it wasn’t until I suffered an upper back injury, stress fracture in my foot, and tendinitis in my knee last season that I finally admitted I NEED HELP). But not just physical help on wedding days, mentorship help – finding someone who would hold me accountable. I would dig deep for the necessary belief and confidence in myself to propel me forward rather than using the bitterness and resentment towards my old workplace, that would eventually heal and wear off, to motivate me. I would do it with more defined reasoning and long term goals. And while I’m so proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time, I have come to recognize my business would be EVEN more than what it is today had I had a different mindset when I started. It’s nothing I regret, of course, but it sure is serving as a motivator for the here and now.
Oh, and I would have picked a better URL for my website. Little old me didn’t know Domain Authority was a thing, and that changing your URL five years into the game is a bad move. So here I am, stuck with a URL I really don’t like anymore haha!
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?
I’m a born and raised Skagit Valley, Washington girly – a tried and true PNW lover to my core. If I’m not working, you’ll find me hiking, camping, gardening, fishing, attempting to Joanna-Gaines my home, and spending time with friends and family. I’m a big people person and a Type 2 on the Enneagram, which might be all you need to know about me. I took a four year hiatus from the PNW when I went to college in Michigan and never intended on moving home for good, but life has a funny way of working out.
I landed an incredible job as an Executive Administrator with our local select soccer club I used to play for and happily immersed myself in that work for 3 years before they had to let me go due to budget cuts. My husband and I had just gotten engaged, our wedding wasn’t for another 9 months, and I was about to turn 26 which meant I was about to get booted off my parent’s health insurance. A local insurance brokerage was highly recommended to me as a lot of people in my in-laws’ community worked there and raved about it. I hated the idea of a Monday through Friday desk job, but I needed something, so I figured why not!
I’ll never forget coming home after my first day of work and telling my then fiancé “I’m really not going to like this.” And that feeling held true for the almost 3 years I worked there. To say it was the most horrible, toxic, soul-sucking work environment imaginable is an understatement. My saving grace was the three women I worked with in my “work pod” for my last year there. Unfortunately, my mental health took a huge nosedive. I suffered from near crippling anxiety and masked my depression with all the wrong things.
After my husband and I got married in the Spring of 2018, the idea sparked in my head to take a stab at the whole wedding coordinating and planning thing (who’s heard that storyline before?!). We didn’t hire a wedding coordinator, nor did we hire a DJ, and we were 1000% that couple that tried to DIY most everything. The wedding industry was wildly different in 2018 compared to how it is nowadays so it didn’t seem too farfetched to go that route. My experiences in not hiring a coordinator, however, were enough to motivate me to “never let another bride experience that, too.” And so in the Fall of 2018 I offered to coordinate my friend’s wedding that I had been invited to, and the amount of affirmation I received from guests, family, and the couple alike was enough to keep me going.
I spent all of 2019 building my website and piecing together my packages, offering free day of coordinating to six couples in my area, I shadowed other planners, I networked with local industry pros, I took courses and self educated, I joined the Skagit Wedding Society and participated in two wedding shows. I officially launched and made Evergreen Weddings Public on August 4, 2019 and proceeded to book 13 weddings for my first official season which would be…
Yup, 2020.
But it didn’t stop me! I ended up quitting my insurance job for good in June 2020 with full hope and confidence that I could make it through the pandemic.
Since then, Evergreen Weddings has become largely known for the “going-against-the-grain-and-do-it-your-way” approach, alongside all of the non-standard educational content I put out on social media. I’m a huge proponent of educating my clients and all engaged couples on the realities of wedding planning – what to do first, what affects what, to-dos you may not think about, and so on. I desired to grow this image and “name” for Evergreen Weddings largely based on a specific experience I had as a bride myself.
Like most, the moment you get engaged and begin wedding planning, you’ll probably go to The Knot, Wedding Wire or Pinterest to research first steps. I’ll never forget making my account on The Knot and looking at their pre-filled “wedding planning to do list.” I was appalled at some of the items on there. Granted, you can edit it to fit your own plans but I didn’t KNOW my own plans so I was heavily relying on these large industry names to tell me. And one of the pre-filled items was “Rent your doves to be released at your ceremony.” WHAT?! DOVES? IN WHAT WORLD DOES THIS STILL HAPPEN? I had similar run-ins with so called “wedding advice” on these big name sites.
Cue: Wedding planning guilt and doubt. “Am I doing this right? What happens if I don’t do this? Will people expect me to do this? Am I a bad bride if I skip x, y or z?”
And it is because of this exact experience that I built my partial planning package, known as The Juniper, to be what it has become. It is, hands down, my FAVORITE service I offer. It is so personalized, so hands on, and everything I needed and wished I had had when I was a bride.
I also offer three additional services:
– Wedding Coordination, known as The Spruce.
– Full Service Planning, known as The Grand Fir.
– and Virtual Wedding Planning, originally known as Wedding Coaching.
I believe ALL couples should hire a Wedding Coordinator before anything else. There is a perspective unique to a professional Wedding Coordinator that simply can’t be replicated by a friend or family member. I could get on my soapbox and talk about this all day long, but I’ll refrain this time. I understand, however, that for some it’s simply not in the cards for one reason or another – which is why I launched Virtual Wedding Planning. This is a great service for those on the fence about hiring a coordinator, aren’t ready to hire a coordinator, and/or could just really use the help of a professional without hiring them for the full meal deal. These consultations can be used to discuss ANYTHING a couple needs help with – budget establishment, timeline creation, design details, contract review, you name it. They are one-off, 90 minute consultations with a thorough write up and 2-weeks of email support post-consult.
The characteristics that set me apart are what I am constantly complimented on, so I feel confident in staking my claim here:
– I am incredibly thorough in my consultations, down to the initial discovery call. I go through your plans with a fine tooth comb and ensure you understand the realities, the necessities, and the expectations that come with the wedding of your dreams.
– I educate. I’m not here to push an agenda or force couples to do it “my” way or “the industry’s” way. I’m here to educate couples so they can make the very best decisions that support them, as a couple.
– I communicate really well. I pride myself on quick response times – I aim for no more than 36 hours. I believe it’s so important to have quick communication, even if it’s just a “Hey I received your email – I’m going to respond for thoroughly by _____.” Letting people know that they’ve been heard and paid attention to is so important in such a high stress, highly sensitive time.
– My timelines! I use an incredible timeline-specific software that helps me create an incredible overview of the day for my couples and vendors alike. They are detailed, down to the very last minute, but I always lead with the assurance that I will first and foremost read the room, execute with an organic feel, and prioritize my couple’s happiness over ensuring everything is strictly on time (except for the ceremony…we want that to start on time).
– I say it like it is. If an idea simply won’t work, I’m going to tell you – but never without an alternative option! If you need some tough love to help bring you back down to sanity, you’ll get it. If you need a hype woman to remind you that you’re crushing the wedding planning and everything is going to turn out okay, I will be there.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Thankfully, starting a service-based business didn’t have a lot of costs associated with it. I spent about $400 on Honeybook, $300 on Timeline Genius, and another several hundred on miscellaneous items such as business licensing, insurance, an office printer, proper wedding day work attire, and so on. I did my best to utilize connections I had to source any other items I needed for cheap such as business cards, a poster and flyers for the wedding shows. I already had a laptop which was a huge blessing! It wasn’t until my second year in business that I was able to invest a little bit more into building my home office – like purchasing a desk and an iMac.
What we did do, however, was something I’d recommend to anyone looking to quit their 9-5 to pursue their own business and has the support of a partner. For 6 months leading up to the time I knew I would be quitting my job, my husband and I chose to put my entire salary into savings and towards paying my car off. Not only was this a smart financial move for so many reasons, but it also allowed us to “practice” living on my husband’s salary in case my business completely tanked for one reason or another, especially since we weren’t sure what the future of COVID would look like.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The BEST source has 100% been word of mouth. The next best source has been Instagram.
While my inquiries come pretty evenly from both of these sources, I say word of mouth is the best because it often means I get to work with some of my favorite vendors and/or I’m more likely to receive inquiries from my ideal clients.
Building relationships within the industry and taking networking seriously is so incredibly important in my book. By getting to know your “co-workers” and allowing them to get to know you, you can both serve each other well when referring clients in each other’s direction. These people will know right off the bat if a certain client is a good fit for you or not, and will likely be recommending those that ARE.
However, I also really appreciate the leads that have come from Instagram because my IG is such a heavy reflection of what Evergreen Weddings is about and who I am as a person. If couples come across my page and spend a little time on it, they’ll either come to the conclusion that I’m a good fit or I’m not. Those that inquire often are good fits for me, so it’s a win-win!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.anevergreenwedding.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evergreenweddingplanning/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnEvergreenWedding
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/EvergreenWeddingsPNW/
Image Credits
Photographers: Alder and Pine Photography – McKenna Ross Sarah Crouter Photoraphy – Sarah Crouter Venues: The Vine Creative Space The Lady Florence The Finery on Camano Island Florals: Moonflower Design Co. Three Brothers Blooms Tangled Roots Floral Rentals: Grand Event Rentals Calligraphy and Signage: Courting Calligraphy