Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Phelps.
Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was 20, I met the love of my life and got married at 21. I became a mom to two kids (one step, one bio) and although I loved some aspects of being a stay-at-home mom, I always felt like there was something missing. I feel like I had this amazing family and love story, but as I watched friends graduate college, start businesses, and as much as I loved my babies I felt a huge sense of lacking. In October 2020, I decided that I would start an event rental business. Mid-pandemic and I decide to go into events.
It actually worked out well, I was going to people’s backyards around Inland Empire area and setting up little Zoom weddings, mini baby showers and parties. Families still wanted to celebrate milestones, even if it was 2-6 people in their household.
From there, I got more and more requests to plan weddings, and produce events, and now here we are. I run 4 different brands all under the Artmingo LLC umbrella that cater to the event spaces. We provide planning services, day of coordination, production and design services in addition to floral, officiating, and catering. I love to work with people, I love to be a part of someone’s special day, and I love seeing a vision that was discussed and planned for, come to life.
I got my love story, and I get to help my clients with theirs. It’s incredible.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think working in events is anything but smooth. It is so rare that nothing goes wrong. The issue is, you have 20 moving parts just to make 1 event happen. And with weddings, you usually have a lot of emotion, a lot of need for perfection, and a lot of voices/opinions. It’s also a highly competitive space with a lot of people trying to get your, or your clients, attention. Most of the time I feel like if I don’t operate completely perfectly, I am a failure. It’s high pressure and high stakes.
While it hasn’t been a smooth road, I definitely have loved 99.9% of it. I think problem-solving is my strong suit, and so when things do go wrong, I know I can handle them with a level head and use my previous experiences to come up with workable solutions. Most of the time my clients don’t even know something went wrong, and that to me is like a huge pat on the back that I did a good job!
As you know, we’re big fans of Artmingo Events. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Artmingo LLC is an event production company. When I started, I had the idea that I would be the affordable wedding planner. And to be completely honest, I love being accessible to so many types of clients. I consider us the “Target” amongst wedding planners. We have a little something for everyone. And plus, who doesn’t love Target?
I think because of social media there is a huge push for events to be extremely lavish and over the top. And while we can do that if our clients request it, the majority of our clients want non-traditional and fun weddings. They have budgets that range from $10k to $100k, and they leave it up to us to make their vision come to life. We work very closely with our clients to make sure their budgets stay on track and we’re achieving their ultimate vision for their day. We’re also very realistic with our clients. We give them advice based on current wedding trends, pricing and functionality. We don’t push our clients to overspend or do things that don’t make sense for the success of their event.
Our team has their hearts in events, and we work hard to ensure every event is a success for the client!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Any memory that has to do with going to my Grandma, or her house. Her houses were always so warm and inviting. She had the je ne sais quois that makes a phenomenal host. Homecooked meals, fresh flowers, handmade artwork. The light in her home was always warm and cozy. She was the hostess of the century. Everyone knew and loved Rachael. I couldn’t walk ten feet in Los Osos without running into someone who absolutely adored her, and had to tell me how they knew her.
She passed on the wonderful tradition of hosting to my mother, who I felt like raised me in the same manner, and that’s probably the reason I love events so much. You get to set something special up, and then watch everyone enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Pricing:
- Day of Coordination 8 hrs – $1,000
- Full Scale Planning – $6,500 – $7,000
- Partial Planning – $3,700 – $4,100
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artmingo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artmingoevents/, https://www.instagram.com/emilygphelps/
https://www.instagram.com/eatbreadnbutter/, https://www.instagram.com/artmingoblooms/ - Other: www.eatbreadandbutter.com
Image Credits
Maegan Alys Photo, For The Books Photo & Video
