We recently connected with Laura Fling and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I love being a business owner. I’ll try to put what it’s like in words the best way I can. I think, at least for me, being a business owner is in my blood. And no, I don’t mean genetic wise, I mean I would be lost without it. I simply thrive knowing I’m in control and I’m creating something by me and ultimately for me. I remember watching “Selling Sunset” and hearing the words “serial entrepreneur”, and thinking “uh that’s me!” and I really think it is. If I had all the time in the world, I would want more businesses I could imagine. I’m always looking for opportunities, big and small. Laura Louise Events isn’t my first business, nor is it my only successful business, however starting this business was definitely a leap of faith and one of the hardest things I have done. Being a business owner, there is no such thing as 9-5, at least not for me. I work late into the night, usually into the early morning hours, weekends, holidays, vacations, everything but when you book that ideal client that makes you jump up for joy, sometimes this is what you have to do to achieve it. All the back-end work nobody sees, the not so glorified stuff; social media, marketing, taxes, it’s all me. Now, you may think this might make me question going back into the workforce with a regular job but the answer is no. Absolutely not. I was in the regular job category for two years before I started my first business. I haven’t looked back since. I love being my own boss, making my own schedule, and doing something I truly love. I march very well to the beat of my own drum and I truly do not thrive in an environment that is basically the same day in and day out. Frankly it’s boring. Some might find that consistency reassuring, knowing what your job is daily, but for me, if there is no challenge, no excitement, consistent change, I lose interest. It’s just not for me and I’m really okay knowing that is just who I am.

Laura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Laura, born and raised in Maryland, now residing in Northern Virginia. I’ve been a dancer my entire life, it’s a passion of mine and always will be. I always wanted to have a dance studio but that never came to fruition. I love sports, hockey is my favorite (go CAPS). I am an animal lover and flowers make me happy. I’m a wife and a mother to two perfect little humans. Our little boy just turned three and out little girl is 17 months. We also have one on the way. Being a mother is something I have always wanted in my life, and everything I do, I do for my family. I hope to leave a legacy for them. I jumped into the wedding industry on a whim. This all started after I planned my wedding. My husband and I got married in January of 2020 and I just fell in love with planning. I never dreamt of what my wedding would be like, never looked at bridal magazines. I loved flowers and thought about being a wedding florist once or twice but nothing more. But after our wedding I was hit with the wedding blues, and hard. We had a coordinator for our wedding, I adored her, and I reached out to her sometime in February asking if I could shadow her. She told me she was stopping because of her little boy and put me in contact with another planner in the area to shadow. I went to one final walkthrough and nothing more. COVID took over and the entire wedding industry came to a standstill. So, what did I do? I created a website on Wix.com, signed up for marketing through The Knot and WeddingWire, had a friend create a logo for me, and the rest was history. I used my wedding photos as my portfolio and just hoped for the best. Once restrictions started letting up, I reached out to my photographer that we used for our wedding and asked if she would be interested in doing a styled shoot. We did, and it was published three days later. I used those photos for my brand and website and somehow, I began to receive inquires. I reached out to people via social media, email etc. to network and introduce myself. Looking back, I really put myself out there, more than I had ever done before. I had two weddings in 2020 and thirty the following year. I literally faked it till I made it and now we are on many preferred vendor lists, published and thriving. I used to be embarrassed to tell my story. The “how long have you been planning weddings?” question would scare me to no end. Now, I’m so proud of how I started, the team I have built behind me and my brand.
Making genuine connections and not just with my couples but other vendors in this industry is insanely important. I am the first to tell anyone I am still learning and still so eager to learn from the best of the best. I have idols, too.
When it comes to my couples, I am there to be their new best friend, as cliche as that sounds. I am there to be a voice of reason, transparency, honesty and that’s exactly what I am. All my weddings are a collaborative approach. I never just plan their wedding and they show up, crossing my fingers they love it. I want each wedding to represent them; who they are as people and who they are as a couple. This isn’t a copy and paste of a Pinterest board. I thrive on getting to know my couples and making the planning experience as fun as possible. It’s stressful! Even with a wedding planner it can most definitely feel stressful and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. We try our very best to make the experience fun and one that you enjoy! And on the wedding day, an absolutely seamless event for not just the couple but the vendor team and their guests. Everyone notices when I wedding isn’t running like a well oiled machine. There are too many moving parts to hide a mistake.
We offer full and partial planning, as well as design and event management. I do customize my packages for certain circumstances like an all weekend event however, majority of our couples fall into one of these categories. Full planning is of course, my favorite because I get to work alongside my couples from the start, create that trust and helping select the entire vendor team, ensuring everyone is set up for success. On wedding days, I have a team with me onsite for the entirety of the event. Every single member of my team has gone through a shadow period. It is vital that not only do we mesh well together but they can handle stress, problem solving, charismatic, and work hard. Wedding days are long, often with no breaks. Sometimes, I forget to use the bathroom. Things change in a split second. We can have everything planned to a T, which we do, however, the unforeseen can and does happen. I don’t expect anyone to hold my business to the standard in which I do, however, I do however, expect my team to represent me and my brand with professionalism at all times. I think for me, having a background in competitive dance has taught me how to manage my nerves, emotions, and stress.
It has taught me teamwork and how to truly be a team player. Also, creativity! Being a choreographer for years after high school is another creative outlet for me and I find myself attacking wedding planning and design in a very similar way.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I adore my clients. There is really no other way to put it. They are entrusting myself and my team with one of the most important days of their lives. It’s no small task! I can truly say, I get attached to my clients. I spend so much time talking with them, usually daily, getting to know them as people, their family, their friends, how do you not feel as though they become a part of your life? Many clients I still talk to even years after their wedding. One of my brides was the first person to meet my first born (minus my husband) because she was a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital. I remember texting her to see if she was working when he was born. I’m very transparent about my life, and who I am as a person and I think people appreciate that. I’m genuine and what you see is what you get. Usually, we keep up with each other on social media. Sometimes we get lunch, some brides have met my children, and I theirs. Nothing makes us happier than a couple who is ecstatic about their wedding day, who takes the time to either write a review or recommend us to family and friends. The best way to share their experience with others is a review. It’s free and it works wonders for a small business in an extremely tough industry. There are so many talented wedding planners out there and we know that, however, it truly means so much to us when we receive inquires from couples who have either attended a wedding we have planned or word of mouth from a client or even vendor.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is hard. It’s another full time job. I honestly have a love hate relationship with social media. I used to post daily but coming up with captions isn’t my strong suit. I don’t like posting just to post, I want there to be substance and something worth reading. I want my followers to be engaged and engaging with me! When I first started out, I followed people who I aspired to be like and watched what they posted, their captions and hashtags It gave me inspiration to put my own twist on things. I started commenting on other accounts, reached out via messenger, answered story polls and questions, just to create engagement and hopefully, build a new relationship! It seemed to work for me. People seemed to relate to me on a deeper level when I posted about my personal life and children. Not everyone feels comfortable or wants to use their business account for that type of content and I understand, it just worked for me. I know I need to be better in regards to posting more, creating reels and using hashtags. I won’t deny it but my best advice to anyone struggling with social media is first and foremost, I get it, I really do. It’s not easy to always have content or interesting content to say the least. It’s hard to be seen when there are tons of other accounts just like you out there trying to do the same thing you are. Just continue to find ways to engage with people, whether it be your stories, posting little things about your personal life, anything. Remember, there is a real person behind these accounts, with a life outside of their business and social media. I love getting to know the person and not just their work. A person makes the account, not the other way around.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lauralouiseeventsanddesign.com
• Instagram: lauralouiseevents_design
• Linkedin: Laura Fling- Makarevich

Image Credits
Kyla Jeanette Meredith Campbell Photography Megen Bennett Photography Erin Keller Photography Birds of A Feather Ann-Marie VanTassell Kir2ben Photography