We recently connected with Rachel Fitzgerald and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

I started my business in August 2022, two years after my second cross-country move, days after my fiancé proposed, and a week before my 30th birthday. The process of planning my own wedding reawakened my passion for event planning that had lay dormant since I last explored the idea during my college years studying Public Relations. I had already moved from a full-time accountant to a contracted bookkeeper the year prior when the company I worked for was aquired, and I was finding that I actually hated it. In retrospect, I see so many opportunities where I could have hustled in a different direction and ended up as an event planner long before I turned 30. In a way, my career path has always been leading up to this, but part of me wishes that it hadn’t taken quite so long! Looking back, I can see how each one of my previous jobs bumped up against event planning – planning supply runs for summer camps, coordinating event marketing for a senior living community, planning company-wide events as a bookkeeper – and those were the parts of each position that excited me and kept me showing up each day. At the same time, the way that it did work out gave me a fearlessness that came with having a safety net, so I was able to jump in with both feet and never look back. If I had started sooner, I might be a little farther along with my business now – I might have more events under my belt, a bigger team, more social media followers – but I would have navigated this process without the life experience, self-awareness, and rock-solid support system that I have now. My advice today is always to start as soon as you can, but also – it’s never too late!

Rachel, 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?

My name is Rachel, I am a leo sun/sagittarius rising/aquarius moon, and I am a wedding and event planner and coordinator. I am here to not only guide my clients through the minutiae of the planning process, but also to support your vision and bring your dream experiences to life while crafting memories that will last a lifetime. I am a best friend, a confidante, a secret-keeper, and a hand to hold. I am a reminder to breathe, to hydrate, and to soak in the moment. Give me a problem and I will come up with 30 ways to solve it in a moment. Give me a creative vision and I will give you a custom curated event design.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Strangely enough, Facebook groups have been the number one source of clientele for Happily Ever Adventure Co. Before I started working as an event planner, I was convinced that Facebook was a dying platform and there was no merit in maintaining a presence there, let alone putting in time and effort to use it in marketing strategy. Well, as it turns out, the wedding groups on Facebook are alive and well! I have received more leads that convert to clients from Facebook groups for free and with little effort than from any other platform combined, even including live events like expos and the ultra-popular platforms that charge vendors to list. Results don’t lie, and I’m putting much more attention into Facebook marketing these days than I would have ever imagined!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have lots of small goals that are driving me right now – venues I want to work at, clients I want to work with, styled shoots I want to bring to life, and themes I want to explore. My core mission with my business is to support others with bringing the events of their dreams to life. But at the heart of it all, my creative journey has always been spurred by the desire to enjoy what I do each day with this one life I have to live. If I have no choice but to live in a society, I might as well do something that truly lights me up!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.happilyeveradventureco.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/happilyeveradventureco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happilyeveradventureco/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelann802/
• Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/happily-ever-adventure-co-hemet-ca-2070395

Image Credits
Cristina & Co. Visuals, Savannah Rose Photography, Ryan Johnson Photography, Megan Faith Photo, Milk and Honey Film Co