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

Samantha, appreciate you joining us today. Talk to us about building a team – did you hire quickly, how’d you recruit the first few team members? Any interesting lessons?

Simply Unforgettable Occasions got its start well before it became an established business on November 13, 2009. I started planning events and weddings for close friends after I planned my own wedding (2006) and vow renewal (2007).

After I officially established the business I slowly started to contract friends and family to help on event days. Throughout the years as the business has grown and branched out so has the team. What initially started out in 2010 as a team of three has grown into our now existing team of over 10 people. Overall even though the process of building Team SUO was unconventional and had some bumps along the way we are a close-knit team that works well together to execute our client’s vision come event day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into the wedding and event planning industry after planning my wedding in 2006 and then my vow renewal in 2007. On the day of my vow renewal, I did not get to enjoy the festivities like I wanted to. I woke up early in the morning to start setting up for the day with my bridal party and once we were done we then had to get dressed and ready. By the time the festivities were ending and it was time to tear down I couldn’t help the bridal party due to exhaustion.

I couldn’t relish the thought of any other bride feeling the way that I felt on the day of my vow renewal. Even though there were wonderful moments of joy and happiness they were drowned out by all of the mishaps of the day. It was after my vow renewal that I realized that I should have had someone else to handle the setup, coordination, and tear down on my special day.

Shortly after my vow renewal, I decided to pursue starting my own wedding and event planning business. I started out by helping a few friends plan their weddings and the events surrounding their weddings while taking a Professional Bridal Consulting course from Penn Foster.

Simply Unforgettable Occasions officially opened its doors on November 13, 2009. The business started out by offering wedding and event planning, design, and coordination, as well as, honeymoon and weddingmoon planning through Sandals and Beaches. As the business grew and gained clientele we added more services to meet the demands of our clients. We added stationery and wedding accessories in 2010. We added on wedding officiating and performed our first ceremony in August of 2011. Floral Design was officially added as a service in 2012 along with bartending services. In 2021 the business added lighting and special effects along with a photo booth.

I feel one of the things that set Simply Unforgettable Occasions apart from others in the industry is that we offer a lot of different services all under one roof. SUO not only has the capability and capacity to plan, design and execute our client’s vision but to also elevate their vision to the next level. We are able to do this with our in-house rentals and design programs as well as our great connections within our vendor network. In addition to helping our clients design and plan the event of their dreams, we are also able to coordinate all of the activities and vendors leading up to their event as well as on the day of itself.

There really is no dream too big that SUO can not execute. We love helping our clients plan an amazing event experience that everyone in attendance will remember for years to come. We love what we do and the goal is for our clients to enjoy their planning experience and not have to worry about anything the day of their event because they know it will all be taken care of.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2013, I started the difficult process of going through a divorce. While I still loved planning weddings and events at that time it was very difficult for me to connect with my clients especially those who were planning weddings due to the events that were happening in my personal life. In 2014, I cut back on the amount of bookings that the business took on and in 2015 I made the difficult decision to place the business on the back burner. From that point on I only planned events for family and close friends on a non-professional basis.

During this time, I got a job in the medical field. I met my current husband and remarried in 2018. In 2020, when COVID hit I left the medical field due to burnout and started focusing on planning events professionally once again.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There are a few different resources I wish that I had known about or utilized better earlier in my journey. When I started my business I had to do all my own research and learned a lot of things in business by trial and error. I most recently discovered my local chapter of SBDC and it has been a life changer. My consultant has helped me with everything from answering questions to starting a business plan and looking for funding options. This is something I definitely suggest to anyone that is looking to start a business or for someone who is already in business but might need some extra help.

Social media was definitely present when I first started my business in 2009 however it wasn’t as popular and predominate as it is today. I wish that I had posted more regularly and grown my following more in the early years. In this day and age, and in this industry, social media is everything, especially Instagram and TikTok. The wedding and event industry is a very visual industry and without a constant social media presence some potential clients won’t want to book you for their event.

Styled shoots are another resource I wish that I would have utilized more so in my early years. SUO participated in our first styled shoot in 2021. Styled shoots are a great way to network with other vendors in the industry as well as flex your creative muscle and try new things. As a business, we try to plan 1-2 styled shoots a year alongside planning our client’s events. A styled shoot is also a great opportunity to use for marketing content for your blog, social media, and website.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.simplyunforgettableoccasions.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/SUO_Events
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamSUO
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/teamsuo
• Other: Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/TeamSUO TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@suoevents

Image Credits
Kitty Lee Photography Scott Tibbles Photography Nicole Yeager Photography