No matter the occasion, we customize our planning services to the needs of our clients. We start each planning process with a complimentary consultation, where we get to know you and your vision, so we can match our services to best fit your event. No event is too big or too small to deserve the passion and attention to detail that our team delivers.
Kelly Soule, owner and principal planner, is a Boston event planner with over 15 years of experience successfully managing events of all shapes and sizes. Her passion for what she does makes every moment enjoyable and is perfectly married with her eagerness to continue to learn and take on new challenges. Her attention to detail and calming personality consistently provides clients with peace of mind throughout the planning process, and most importantly, on event day!
Previous clients and projects include the Sundance Film Festival, US Open, Goldman Sachs, NFL, Boston New Tech, and Film Forum NYC. In addition to her long list of corporate and entertainment clients, her attention to detail and creative spark has won her success in the personal events industry. From intimate backyard celebrations to large-scale destination weddings all over the country, she loves to make every occasion special.
What are some tips for creating an elegant and memorable event on a tight budget?
The key to working on a tight budget is spending time prioritizing the elements of your event that will be most impactful on your guests. For example, for Weddings, food + entertainment are the most influential aspects of how your guests will feel walking out the door. Are their bellies full and feet hurting from dancing so much?
For another example, when hosting a Fundraiser, your main goal is to keep guests thinking about your mission as they walk out the door. Putting budget towards items that help achieve that goal are the best ways to make your money go the furthest.
It’s easy to get caught up in the elements like centerpieces, linen color, chair shape, etc. While fun to pick out and definitely help bring a cohesive look together, these are not the pieces most of your guests will be thinking about on their way home. Focus on the ways that help make your money go the furthest and bring the most value to your event.
How important are your relationships with vendors and what are some ways that you successfully cultivate and ensure good rapport?
Vendors can absolutely make or break your event! As an event planner, working with great vendors not only makes our lives easier but when we refer them to our clients who fall in love with them just as much as us, it speaks to our judgment and helps build additional trust with our clients.
We are so lucky to work repeatedly with some great partners in the industry that make the planning process easy, engaging and FUN! That being said, we always like to make sure that a vendor is the right match for our client’s needs, so we are always making new connections and on the hunt for new partners. It’s very key to read reviews of any new vendors you may be working with in addition to meeting them in person and asking them questions about their work and previous clients.
What inspired you to launch your own company in the event industry? How long did it take from initially having the idea of setting up and starting to attract a client base?
Ever since I can remember I always wanted to have my own company. I’m a very driven professional, so the ability to run the show and make my own business decisions was something that truly appealed to me. In addition, I’ve had the opportunity to work in a large variety of industries, so having my own business that allowed me to work for all kinds of events year-round was also extremely appealing.
After 2 years in my first full-time position post-college working in the events department of a financial firm, I started to make the transition to contract work which allowed me to work for different clients on short team projects. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to dive headfirst into different events and get to gain a variety of experience in a short amount of time, but the constant change in work atmospheres definitely started to take its toll. After doing this for 3 years and building a base of a couple of annual retainer clients, I was able to take the leap, open my office, and run my own business full-time.
What are some things you wished you knew before starting your businesses?
This is truly something I reflect on on a daily basis. I always knew starting my own business was going to be a challenge, however, there were many things that came up along the way that I felt I learned the hard way. Besides an endless amount of administrative things I’ve had to Google (tax laws anyone?), I think the biggest thing I had to come to terms with before jumping in was asking for help. I don’t mean working with vendors or hiring production assistants, but taking advice from family and friends who are offering their help! Event Planners are mostly all Type-A personalities, so delegating to-dos is not necessarily something that comes naturally to us. Getting caught up in ensuring the details are perfect for your clients is what makes event planners great, but knowing when you need a hand is also just as important!
What’s the most surprising or unusual request you have ever received from a client and were you able to fulfill it?
We have had plenty of requests from our clients that we say to ourselves “well that’s a first!” We love getting these challenges though because it puts us on the hunt to make their event dreams come true!
This past spring we worked on a large personal celebration for a client at the American Heritage Museum. The Museum is a beautiful open warehouse packed with planes, cars, and tanks. Yes, tanks! Not only was the venue an exciting aspect of the event, but the host also wanted to hire an Elvis impersonator to come out of a tank at the beginning of the party and perform a couple of songs. While we’ve had requests for impersonators before, asking them to pop out of a tank was definitely a new request not only for us but for them as well!
