Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikala Wilson.
Mikala, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was 11, I went to my first wedding. An older cousin of mine wanted an outdoor wedding in Wisconsin…in the Spring-April. Everyone told her multiple times that she needed to have a rain plan, but she insisted on having it outside because that was what she wanted. Of course, it rained and with no plan, the family was forced to move everything inside the church basement. Watching them transform the space was magical to me and I knew then, that I wanted to do that, transforms spaces and make dreams happen, for the rest of my life. I began asking my parents to buy me wedding magazines and found every reason to plan a dinner party for my parent’s friends. My journey sent me to University of Nevada, Las Vegas to pursue a degree in Meeting and Events Management. While in Nevada, I worked in many wedding chapels on “the Strip” and fell more in love with the industry. After leaving UNLV, I worked in a non-profit planning major events for a year and felt that wasn’t fulfilling enough. I missed weddings- plain and simple. I wanted to help couples who are really focused on celebrating not only themselves but their families in this new union. This is the mission of A Golden Affair.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing is smooth about starting a business. The biggest struggle we face as a company is establishing trust in new clients. It’s invigorating meeting the excited couple to be and brain storming their perfect day, but the hard part is conveying just how valuable and essential the role of a planner/coordinator is to their special day. You’re asking these clients, these families to not only believe but invest in your company. Prior to starting A Golden affair, I planned large scale events for a non-profit organization. I hosted events for 10,000+ people, but our clients don’t care about those events. They care about their wedding. We have numerous weddings under our belt but as a new client, you want years of wedding experiences, not months. Weddings are not cheap and not every bride understands the investment of a planner- every bride wants a dream wedding and feel they can make it happen with their mom and three girlfriends, but ultimately the COORDINATION of services is priceless.
Understanding the couples, their wants, and goals and putting that all together in a day that flows is every bride’s dream. The service that we provide for our clients is all about making their event as stress-free and memorable as possible. We’ve experienced several clients that do not see the value in our services until they are overwhelmed from all their DIY blog post, tutorials, pins that they’ve put off until 6 to 8 weeks out. The DIY movement helps to cut cost immensely, especially at a wedding, but if not planned right and coordinated properly it can get a bit much for our clients. So much today is driven by social media and another challenge is trying to communicate this value in a post or through my website when I really want to get in front of the bride and get them understand the investment. One of our many joys to be able to calm a bride down and smooth over any issues that arise on her big day.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with A Golden Affair – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The company currently consist of myself and my amazing Executive Assistant, Jenna. We do have four other assistants we call upon when we are coordinating larger events, but for the most part, it’s the two of us. The assistants that we do call upon are all currently in college and have expressed interest in the wedding industry. It makes me a proud CEO to know that I am providing other with experience and a foundation for their future career. I want to empower my team to grow and evolve with each event that they are a part of.
A Golden Affair is an event planning company, but we specialize in weddings. One of the main focuses of my company is to connect the two families through a package that we call the “Weekend Get Away”. This is ideal for couples whose guest are about a two-hour drive from their “Get Away” city and love curating memorable moments. For most people living in Los Angeles County, a weekend trip would consist of escaping to Big Bear, Palm Springs, or San Diego. We would help the couple find and rent a home or estate that would be able to handle a lot of guests. Once the venue is secured, My team and I plan activities for the guest all weekend. This allows the families time and ways to introduce themselves, mingle, and bond before the big day. This wedding would last about three days; guest drive up Thursday night and the festivities start Friday morning.
The actual wedding and their big day will be Saturday. We wrap up the weekend on Sunday with a brunch and a send off of the couple to their honeymoon. This package is ideal for couples who have under 100 people and really want their guests: family and friends, to be involved and appreciated at their wedding.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over I would have done more research and taken more classes on how to create a brand and keep branding consistent. Branding is an aspect of a company that I believe to be essential to its success. I once had a bride tell me that when she looked at my Instagram (shameless plug: @agoldenaffairevents) that she loved my work but after looking at my website felt underwhelmed, which is why I believe branding is so immensely important. If you don’t know who you are as a company, then how will your clients? Consistency is key. Wowing potential clients on all platforms is what gets them to call you and ultimately book.
Contact Info:
- Website: agoldenaffair.com
- Phone: 323-821-4908
- Email: hello@agoldenaffair.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agoldenaffairevents/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agoldenaffairevents/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-golden-affair-corona
Image Credit:
Shawna Hansen Photography
Kelly Waterman Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
