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

Olivia, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When I started my business, I was working full time in the Beshear Administration (KY Governor). I had recently graduated with a BA in Political Science and intended to have a career in politics. I had only worked for about seven weeks when the pandemic began in the US; COVID, as we all know, changed everything.

Our office (and others) became all hands on deck for the unemployment effort and I quickly switched jobs and trained to become an Unemployment Adjudicator. After months in that office, combined with happenings in state and national politics, and the stress of the pandemic itself, I realized this career path was not sustainable for me. As much as I enjoyed working for and with members of the Governor’s administration, I knew I could not move forward. I am extremely proud to have worked for Governor Beshear & Lt. Gov. Coleman, but it was simply, and ultimately, not for me.

While I was wrestling with the above issues and anxieties. I began to think, “What if I entered the creative space?” I grew up performing and attended a performing arts high school, but for the past four years, I hadn’t participated in much anything creative. I felt as though I’d been neglecting that part of myself.

I had some experience in event planning from prior jobs and internships and organizations with which I’d been involved in college; I liked event planning. It made sense to me-like putting together a puzzle. It was congruent with how my brain already works.

In Summer 2020 I reached out to Courtney Samuel of Courtney Samuel Events. We got coffee; I expressed interest in the wedding and event industry and picked her brain about all sorts of things. How did you get started? What’s your favorite thing about this industry? Is it worth giving up all your weekends?

She was so helpful and incredibly gracious, immediately taking me under her wing and mentoring me for several months before I took the plunge and officially launched my business. We went “live” in February of 2021 and had 12 weddings that year. The next year, I brought on two associates, then four more. We’re currently a team of six; five based in Louisville and one in Cincinnati (and yes, we can travel for you!)

There were a myriad of distressing thoughts in my head when I first started, primarily regarding cash flow, time management, budgeting, healthcare- the list goes on. I also had a nagging voice in my head that I needed to be doing something more “prestigious.” It felt like an expectation from those who knew and were around me, as well as an expectation I’d long had for myself. Leaving a job in Frankfort to working a job that doesn’t require a college degree? How would that feel? I was watching my peers start grad school, accept fellowships and awards, or travel the world. Was I shrinking myself and my potential by starting a business and leaving the path I’d been on for so long? I thought about it over and over again.

I’ve since discovered that being my own boss, getting to say where and when and who, being in a female-led industry; it was all worth it. I’ve found success in places I never pictured I would and am so looking forward to the future. We’re expanding all the time and it feels really damn good.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

See previous answer regarding how I got started!

While weddings are our bread and butter, we can plan and execute all sorts of events: private parties, corporate events, charity fundraisers, etc. We always tell clients that our number one priority is to take off their shoulders as much stress and work as possible. Events, and especially weddings, all come with some inherent stress and we try to minimize that. From the jump, we want our clients to be able to enjoy the event planning process- it really can be a lot of fun!

Every client and their needs are a little bit different. With some clients, we are very hands on; we recommend and work directly with all their vendors, assist in design, and coordinate details like timelines, floor plans, seating charts, etc. We do have some clients that really only need assistance with logistics and bringing their event day together, which is fine with us too. We really try to meet clients where they are and figure out how best we fit in to make their event seamless and beautiful.

Hannah Schiller of Brackish Creative is responsible for our website, logo, and much of our branding. I hope clients and vendors look at our brand as genuine and heartfelt. We want to curate a feeling of authenticity with each event and bring as much of the clients’ personalities into it as we’re able.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

This industry relies heavily on word of mouth; when I was first getting started, my initial batch of clients were people I’d gone to school with or referrals from other wedding planners with whom I’d become friends. Once I had a few weddings under my belt, we started receiving a lot of inquiries from people who’d found us on Instagram. Even now, I’d say about a third of our inquiries stem from Instagram. The rest is personal recommendations. It can be tricky first breaking into this industry, but once your name and reputation are out there, things fall into place.

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

I’ve stayed friends with a lot of former clients, especially former brides! Social media definitely makes keeping in touch with folks easier, but I also try to remind clients that we want, and are able, to be part of their whole lives-not just their wedding day. Some of our former wedding clients are just now starting their families and it’s really exciting to be part of that next chapter with them. Sure, there are some clients we don’t keep up with much after working together, but for the most part we’ve had the privilege of working with really awesome people. Myself and my team never tire of seeing people on their happiest days; it really is an honor to be a small part of life’s big moments.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oliviaeliseevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviaeliseevents/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliviaeliseevents

Image Credits
Erin Chapman Photo Soulful Film Sarah Katherine Davis Photography Katie McBroom Photography Cassidy Blue Photography Jenna Leigh Photog Emmalie Christine Photography