We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful The Founders of Salud. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shivani below.

The Founders of Salud, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

With inflation and the vast increase in number of weddings coming these next few years, engaged couples continue to face new challenges like fitting everything into their budget and finding vendors that are available. Recognizing most couples are planning a wedding for the first time, our mission at Salud is to help people plan events on any budget through the power of connection, trust, and knowledge.

With that being said, this is why we operate on a monthly subscription business model where engaged couples can work with a wedding planner virtually for as many months as they’d like (even if that’s just one!). We strongly believe a lot of stress and overwhelm can be reduced when working with a seasoned professional and we are hoping to make working with a wedding planner feel more accessible to everyone, instead of feeling like a luxury purchase as it still is in some markets.

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

Shivani Kothari and Anne Goering stumbled upon the idea of Salud during a class project during their time in graduate school. Shivani was a wedding planner for a few years and it was always on her mind that there were so many couples who would sincerely appreciate the guidance a wedding planner could provide, but it wasn’t always in the budget.

Together, Anne and Shivani run Salud, a monthly virtual wedding planning subscription service where couples can work with a wedding planner virtually via email, video chats, and a collaborative workspace they call the Salud Planning Portal. They recognize the wedding planning process ebbs and flows, so they allow their customers to frequently switch between their three offered plans as they see fit based on their budget and how much interaction they need with their planner. The two women have built a team that has helped couples plan weddings all over the United States, and most recently in parts of Mexico and Jamaica too.

“Outside of affordability, we’re most proud of the fact that we’re an approachable resource for so many couples who maybe aren’t planning the most common type of wedding that takes place here in the US. For example, we’ve worked with couples planning backyard microelopements, destination weddings, and our favorite – fusion multicultural weddings where our
talented planners have been able to be a sounding board for educating couples on how to execute sacred rituals and traditions in a more modern way, for example. We’ve always wanted to play a role in making this industry more inclusive from so many different angles and that’s exactly what our hearts continue to be fueled by since day one.”

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

TikTok and Instagram, for sure! Not because social media is the “hot” thing right now, but because we’re really mindful of how we’re interacting with people on those platforms. We don’t message them like we’re a business. We message them like we’re a close friend or an older sister – kind, helpful, and there to laugh alongside with them when we see they post something they’re surprised or stressed about. We really put ourselves in their shoes and ask ourselves things like “What would make us feel better to hear when we’re going through this process?” To us, creating relationships has always been at the forefront.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

One of our couples was super on the fence about signing on with us. She was planning a backyard microwedding, it was at her parents house, a budget under $5,000, and she was having more of a casual dinner catered by a local chain near her house. We exchanged many emails, and she finally agreed to attend a consultation. During that consultation, she shared all the details and explained how she doesn’t really know if working with a wedding planner would help her since her event was on a smaller scale, but was a little nervous about possibly forgetting to do something.

After the consultation, the first thing she did was email us and tell us she felt a huge sense of RELIEF after talking to us and would be signing on that night! While she thought she had all the big details figured out, she hadn’t thought about the smaller details her planner ended up helping her with such as making sure she had the right type of mic in case it was windy, making sure there was enough power for the lighting she wanted, and obtaining insurance for one of her vendors.

These kinds of things tend to pop up no matter how big or small the event is. She is now so thankful to have met her planner and loves telling her friends about us!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.momentstosalud.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/momentstosalud
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/momentstosalud
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/momentstosalud
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@momentstosalud