Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Lanier.
Hi Ellen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Ellen Lanier and I am the owner of Willow Marsh Weddings! I have enjoyed planning and coordinating events since I was a teenager. I started by planning birthday parties, family events, and baby showers for friends and family. In my 20’s, I began exploring the idea of weddings and reached out to a friend who owned a wedding planning company. I began assisting her in 2017 and learning the ropes and fell in love with it. It only took a few months before I decided I wanted to create my own wedding planning company, which was when Willow Marsh Weddings was born. I began booking wedding through social media advertising and word of mouth and fine tuning my skills with each wedding. Most of the weddings I planned and coordinated were in Savannah and surrounding areas, which gave me the opportunity to work with amazing local vendors and venues. In 2019, I had my son, and decided to pull back a bit to enjoy my time with him, only booking a few weddings a year and working in marketing and accounting but wedding planning was my calling and I knew I needed to get back into it as soon as possible. Once he got a little older, I rebranded and dove right back in, only this time with more knowledge, drive, and a hunger to provide for my family as a business owner. I leaned on my marketing experience to put my business out there and network with the people I had built lasting relationships with in the industry. I attended vendor expos, joined every wedding group I could find on Facebook, and mentioned I was a wedding planner to anyone that would listen. In the last 3 years, I have continued to see the kind of growth in my business that I could have only dreamed about 10 years ago. I have had the opportunity to work with wonderful couples that have trusted me to make their wedding day visions a reality. I have built relationships with these couples that I still maintain to this day and it brings me such joy to watch them travel, take new jobs, and build their families. Every wedding I plan or coordinate, I try to bring a uniqueness while still utilizing a standardization that helps me stay organized. The passion I have for this industry mixed with the professionalism and organization I bring, has created so many opportunities and I can not wait to see where we are in the next 10 years!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The journey has been relatively smooth. The biggest struggle I have had was balancing being a mom and a wedding planner, since weddings are typically on the weekends. To make sure I can give 100% to my kids and to my clients, I make sure to set aside time for my children and enjoy their childhood, especially during the off-seasons.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Willow Marsh Weddings?
Willow Marsh Weddings is a full service wedding planning company. I offer 3 packages – wedding coordination, partial wedding planning, and full wedding planning. I also offer wedding officiant packages with my fiance being an ordained minister. What sets me apart from other professionals in this industry is the commitment and detail I give each client. Whether I have 6 weddings in a month or 1, I give each client my all. My packages are built to ensure that all of the client’s needs are met. I include things in my packages that other planners and coordinators don’t and try and stay away from “add on services”. I know what it takes to plan and coordinate a wedding and am prepared for anything and everything. I am most proud of my creative abilities which helps my clients take their ideas from Pinterest to reality. With my background in marketing, I have created clean and engaging materials to brand myself and show off my work. I document my services with photos and videos that I post on social media to give clients an idea of what they can expect.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Yes! My advice for young professionals who are interested in working in this industry is to find a mentor to teach you the ropes and then incorporate what you have learned with your own style. Trust yourself and put in the work and you will succeed. One of the things I wish I could tell my younger self is that I was worth what I was charging. For years, my prices were very low because I didn’t believe I was worth more and was afraid clients wouldn’t book with me – even when clients and people close to me told me I was. I now have the confidence to price my packages based on the quality service and experience I bring to each wedding.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willowmarshweddings
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowmarshweddings
