Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lily Hansen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later
I founded HappiLily Events at the start of 2021, and it was a long time coming! But, I’d say I started my company at the perfect time! It’s kind of a whirlwind how it all happened.
Opening my business when I did, I had a little over 5 collective years of experience working in the hospitality and events industry. I had worked for several catering companies, served as an Event Coordinator for a venue in Madison and I also managed the entire events department for a venue in Minneapolis. In those roles, I learned so much about event production and how to manage a team. I gained an appreciation for couples’ expectations and all that vendors have to do to pull off a great event. Those are experiences I look back on when navigating things in my business now.
What pushed me to open my own business was when a client at the former venue I managed asked me if I would plan her wedding. It was the most flattering and unexpected thing! I asked for the day to think about it, and seriously I cannot believe myself, but I almost said NO! As nervous as I was about not having enough experience or what if I “ruined” her wedding, I called her up the next day and said YES, LET’S GET PLANNING!
Starting my business definitely happened sooner than I would have expected. Before I even had a business name, I was hired to plan someone’s wedding! There’s never really a “right” time, but I think it worked out for me! I am so glad that I can look back and say I took that leap.
Lily, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
HappiLily Events is a wedding planning and design company for couples who love a good party as much as they love each other.
What’s different about HappiLily Events is that we are your party people; we’re not the traditional, lovey-dovey, all-about-the-frills planners. Our couples are down-to-earth and they want their wedding to be the most memorable party they ever throw! Organizing the details and personalizing your day matters to us, but it’s also about creating a great experience — making sure your guests are comfortable and entertained, and that the two of you are living in the moment!
Our name is a play on the words “happily” and Lily, my name, which I hope is reflective of the fun experience you get when working with me! As the owner and lead planner, I work directly with each couple throughout their planning process. It’s super important to me that we actually get to know each other so I can better support you and personalize the process. I show up for my clients like I’d show up for my friends.
Something I love to share is that I am a professionally trained wedding planner, certified in Wedding Planning and Event Design through the Certified Wedding Planner Society (formerly known as The Bridal Society, the world’s leading wedding planner certification program). I actually just completed the Master Wedding Planner certification, too! It’s always interesting in initial conversations with couples when they realize that not all wedding planners are professionally trained. If you’re going to put your trust in someone to plan such an important day, you’ve got to make sure they’re qualified to do so! Working with me, you can be reassured that I’m going to execute your day exactly as you’ve envisioned.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Post-grad, I actually worked for an advertising agency and stayed there for almost 3 years (I graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in strategic communications/advertising). It was what I thought I wanted to do, and it really was so much fun, but it wasn’t very fulfilling.
When I was struggling to determine what it was that I actually wanted to do, it just clicked that when I was working events and helping create memorable experiences for people, I felt like my job had purpose. Wanting to get back into that, I started reaching out to literally hundreds of planning companies and venues, and that was a long year. It was difficult to get offered a job in any other position than catering or as part-time event staff. I ended up accepting a job working events at a local brewery. I was going from my day job to working several nights a week and weekend events at the brewery. It was exhausting but proved to me that working in events was definitely what I was meant to do!
After a lot more outreach and difficult conversations, I was offered a job as the Director of Event Operations at the Nicollet Island Inn in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was an incredible opportunity and one that I knew was really a “make-it-or-break-it” moment in my life. It was a lot of long hours and late nights and re-learning the process of event sales and how to manage catering. I was also on-site for almost every event, somtimes 16 hour days. I was so dedicated to putting in my all and I actually loved it. It was such a defining moment in my career, like yes, I really can do this.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Being authentic and having professional training!
Right when I decided to start a business, I enrolled in a program I completed the coursework to become a Certified Wedding Planner. Even though I already had event planning experience, I wanted to convey to people right away that this is my full-time job and one I take seriously; I want my couples to have the best possible support, so I’ve invested in education and resources to make sure I’m doing my job the best I can.
I’m a professional at what I do, but I’m also a playful and lively person. Whether I’m working events, chatting with my couples, networking, or posting on Instagram, it’s really important to me that I’m being genuine to myself and showing people my personality. I think it stands out to couples that I provide a more personalized and high-energy vibe to the traditional planning experience. Love is important, and that’s what we’re celebrating, but so is throwing a good party and having FUN planning it! I try to convey that on social media and in my emails to couples reaching out, and so far, it’s working. My ideal clients are finding me and I get to work with people that I click with! I’m fortunate that with each couple I work with, I end up working with a lot of their friends, too! It makes so proud that couples appreciate my planning style, and I think it just keeps building my reputation with the more people who share my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: happililyevents.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/happililyevents
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappiLilyEvents
Image Credits
Grace Byron Photography https://gracebyronphotography.
Heather Lynn (HL Photo) https://hlphoto.org/
Kendra Lauck Photography https://kendralauck.com/
Erin Rae Photography https://www.