In The Spotlight: Events By Keenda

Since starting our Planning Redefined adventure, we’ve been blown away by the talented crop of new wedding planners we’ve been fortunate enough to meet and support through our various workshops. Getting to know a range of driven, creative and passionate business owners is such a pleasure, and we’re excited to be bringing our trademark no-nonsense and contemporary wedding planning training to a new group of wonderful people TOMORROW, at our Marquees, Redefined workshop.

Today, though, I’m delighted to be putting one of our November workshop participants in the spotlight. Please welcome the fabulous Keenda Sisouphanh.

Tell us a bit about your business

I’m a passionate wedding and event planner, making my dreams come true with Events by Keenda.

My logo features the Lao national flower, ‘Dok Champa’. It’s an evocative tropical bloom, which most importantly represents ‘sincerity and joy in life.’ This is the exact mantra that Events by Keenda swears by to ensure we create that unique and unforgettable event our clients have always dreamed of.

For my clients, I offer more joy, less overwhelm, with packages ranging from full planning, partial planning and on the day coordination.

Having experienced a Planning Redefined workshop, you’ll know just how important the concept of your ideal client is to your business. Tell us about yours.

My clients tend to be the non-traditional, creative and open minded type who enjoy good company, good food, and generally good vibes.

At Events by Keenda we specialise in intimate weddings and events where every guest is known and no introductions are needed! We concentrate on the feelings and creating those magical memories with your nearest and dearest; whilst of course also making it look gorgeous.

What made you want to get into wedding and event planning?

2012 was a great game changer for me, as my internship with Style and Elegance Wedding and Event Coordination in Canada helped me realise my calling. It was actually due to an incident where the wedding coordinator sprained her ankle and I had to take over. I just thought, ‘Hey this is something I would love to do as a career!’

So here I am now running my own wedding business, and loving every minute! I am so lucky to combine my love of travel and events by doing destination weddings, which has so far taken me to Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. Love is not bound by borders, after all (plus I love collecting stamps in my passport!)

What’s your vision for your business?

My vision is for romantic weddings with a quirky twist, injecting the personalities of our couples into their big day. My mission is to create intimate design-led weddings for stylish couples, where ordinary simply isn’t an option.

In the future I would like to have my Events by Keenda office set above a wedding boutique that will showcase all my preferred suppliers and be a space for brides to come for inspiration and workshops or hang out and drink, shop and eat!

The Planning Redefined Experience

How did you hear about Planning Redefined

From the lovely Lisa Johnson. I’m part of the GSD Society membership group that she runs. As soon as I saw Lisa and Kat do a live video about it, I just had to book.

Tell us about your experience of the workshop – what were your favourite moments?

It’s really an invaluable training course worth investing in if you are considering starting or at the beginning of running your own wedding-planning business. The programme is varied and interactive, full of great advice based on real life scenarios from some of the top UK wedding planners and suppliers. They covered the logistics of wedding planning and spoke about real life experiences and resolutions, which was extremely insightful.

Being a hands-on kinda gal, I loved all the interactive workshops like the emergency bouquet and button-hole making with Emma Soulsby Flowers. The cake decorating with Monannie cakes and cocktail making with Mix and Twist Bar Tending was great fun too!

More than anything this workshop was a fantastic opportunity to network with some great suppliers in the industry, as well as like-minded peers.

What was the piece of advice that resonated with you most on the day?

That you have to have a good contract in place and constantly add clauses based on your experience with each wedding. It is always good to have yourself covered legally for all possible instances. But it’s definitely a learning curve!

Our styling day with Andri and Sundari was a huge hit. Tell us more about your gorgeous flatlays.

I automatically went for my favourite colour – purple (which most people know I love) and tried to keep it basic, romantic and simple.

For my stationery flat lay I opted for quite a light, airy feel with the white mesh fabric and added a bit of elegant vintage with the tray. I also overlapped the stationery for a bit of depth and variation to the layout.

I feel like the purple and green colour palette worked well so went for that for my table setting too. It was very autumnal and sumptuous particularly with the baroque plate charger and vintage cutlery being the key features.

If you could give a piece of advice to anyone thinking of becoming a wedding planner, what would it be?

Be ready for the business side and have a clear understanding of the difference between working in your business: doing the actual wedding planning and working on your business: building and growing your brand. There are so many wedding planners out there, you have to know your niche and who you are aiming your services at.

Thanks so much, Keenda. We loved having you on the course, and we’re excited to see Events By Keenda flourish. If you’re thinking about becoming a wedding planner, and need some modern and comprehensive guidance and training, why not drop us a line? As well as our ticketed events and workshops, we offer bespoke 1:1 training sessions with Kat or Louise to help you kickstart your business and get that rock-solid strategy in place.

Credits