Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Seguin.
Hi Laura, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I moved to California from Memphis, Tennessee in June 2005 to peruse a career in film. I lived in Palm Springs first before moving to Los Angeles in March 2007. When I got to LA, I worked as a server & bartender at a few different restaurants in the area before landing a job at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. We did a lot of events there and I found that I really loved the excitement so I left the hotel and started working for event catering companies and entered to wedding world. While catering a wedding reception at the El Rey theater I saw the wedding planners running around and thought to myself how I would like to do that too! I approached them and asked if they were looking for help and being as it was March and wedding season was approaching, they were in fact looking for day of assistants. They gave me their card and told me to email my resume to the owner, which I did and was hired within the week. Whitney Drake, the former owner of Wish Wonder Dream, hired me as a day of assistant, about a year later I became a principal coordinator and started taking my own clients, then a year after that I became the operations manager. Sadly, a year after I became the Operations Manager Whitney sold the company and things began to change. I had wanted to start my own company for years and I felt that it was finally time to go out on my own! Several months after the new owner took over I spoke with them about me starting my own business and when they happily gave me their blessing Moments 2 Memories Weddings & Events was born! I was so determined to succeed that I stayed up sometimes all night building my website, working on my social media, creating marketing videos… failure wasn’t an option so I was doing anything and everything to get my name out there to newly engaged couples. Since I had already been in the industry for several years and had wonderful relationships with a lot of the venues and vendors in the LA, Ventura and OC areas, I went around to several venues and vendors introducing my new business and a few of them put M2M on their preferred vendor lists, which helped launch me into what would be a very busy first year in business. We’ve officially been in business since January 2019 and I’m excited to say that we are growing have recently started a M2M east located in Jacksonville, Florida (my hometown).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t imagine starting a new business is a smooth road for most people. In the beginning, it was scary and I doubted myself a lot! I’m a single mom so the thought of not having the safety of a steady job was overwhelming. I struggled financially in the beginning… had a hard time paying bills. One of my friends even took out a title loan on his truck to help me pay rent one month. My son kept asking why we were broke if I had my own business and I would just tell him that this too shall pass. It was definitely a difficult time but as I always say, failure isn’t an option, so I kept pressing forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Moments 2 Memories Wedding & Events?
Moments 2 Memories is definitely a labor of love and we always strive to go above and beyond for our couples. What I think sets us apart from most other wedding planners (and something I’m most proud about) is that we don’t just communicate during regular business hours. I once had a bride email me a week before her wedding at 12:30am on a Sunday. I just got home from a wedding and happened to be checking my email and she sent a very long list of questions regarding her upcoming wedding. I started to reply to each question then I just messaged her back letting her know that I was awake and would be happy to jump on a call to answer all of her questions. So, needless to say, we were on the phone til about 1:30am discussing her wedding. Some people may think I’m crazy for doing something like that but I’m a night owl and I also know what it’s like to go to bed with a million questions on my mind and feeling restless. If I’m awake and not busy, why not reply to that email or jump on that call to help my client feel at ease. In addition to late emails and phone calls, I always try to reply to emails and texts pretty quickly.
Obviously, I have a son and personal life so sometimes I’m busy and can’t reply right away but I’m big on communication and will let my couples know I’m not in the office and when I will get back to them with whatever they need. In business and life, communication is always key. One thing we would like engaged couples to know, and we get asked about this a lot, is if we offer “Day of” Coordinating. There is no such thing as a real “Day Of” coordinator because so much goes into the big day that we can’t just show up on the day of your wedding and be ready for success. Instead we offer “Event Management”, which is our Precious Moments package. With that package, we offer a Welcome Meeting, budget assistance, custom checklists, and a few other services that are beneficial to all couples. In addition, we offer two other packages; the “Things Remembered” package is our partial planning option that includes a lot of bonuses like planning hours and a style consultation, & the “Lifelong Memories” which is full service and perfect for the busy couple that wants help planning and designing their dream day from beginning to end! In addition to the three packages, we also realize that every couple is different so we are always happy to create custom packages that fit our clients’ exact needs. We strive to ensure that your planning experience is fun and stress-free!!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I always love attending the Wedding MBA event in Las Vegas! It’s a week-long convention for wedding professionals and we discuss trends, how to be better for our clients, ways to improve our business and so much more. The first year I attended Wedding MBA it really changed my life and my business for the better so I always make an effort to attend each year. Some of my favorite books include The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Power of Positive Thinking, Girl Wash Your Face & Girl, Stop Apologizing I also love the Motivation app and I Am affirmation app on iPhone.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.moments2memoriesevents.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/m2meventsla
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/m2meventsla
- Other: https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/moments-2-memories-weddings-events/f2020f9c9eb4773e.html
Image Credits
Gloria Mesa Photography Arina B Photography Josh Newton Photography J. Anne Photography
