Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsi Barbata.
Hi Kelsi, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Unlike many girls who dream of being a wedding planner from a young age, I had no intentions of pursuing this industry. It thankfully had a way of finding me and my dependence on curiosity led me to continue following open doors that led me to where I am today.
It all started with an internship in college for Details Darling that sparked my curiosity for this line of work. During my senior year of college at UCLA, I applied to every wedding planner I could find in the surrounding area to gain more day-of experience and ensure it was truly something I wanted to pursue. I heard back the next morning from the woman, Tessa from Tessa Lyn Events, that would become my greatest mentor who set the standard for the quality of work I expect and deliver. After quickly promoting from intern to assistant to month of planner within her company, I quickly discovered that wedding planning perfectly combines all of my passions and strengths—organization, being personable, collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving.
While assisting one of her weddings, I spontaneously met one of the co-founders of The Little Market, a nonprofit I had supported and loved for years. After the challenging pause in all events during COVID and slow re-entry planning weddings for friends and family on my own to fit the evolving regulations, I reached out to her for any potential opportunities within the company out of desperation for more work. After 1 week and many interviews, I was hired as their event coordinator with my first assignment to plan their largest event of the year for International Women’s Day—with only five weeks to fully prepare execute every detail and design. It was one of the most humbling, challenging, and inspiring experiences I’ve had—not only because it was vastly different from weddings with the involvement of PR, high-profile guests and coordination of a full corporation, but because of the incredible people I was fortunate to work with and learn from.
When unexpected circumstances led to my departure from the company, it felt like the perfect push to embrace my entrepreneurial spirit and finally pursue my dream of starting my own business. After months of creating, perfecting and committing to the details behind what I wanted my brand to reflect, Everlast was born. From the start, I wanted Everlast to combine my passion for purpose-driven work and giving back that grew from the nonprofit experience with my attention to detail and design from the luxury wedding world. After 2 years of Everlast, I am beyond grateful for every client, vendor and venue that has welcomed me in and cannot wait to see all that the rest of this story holds.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I feel very fortunate to say that the road has been relatively smooth, and a big part of that is thanks to the incredibly supportive community of friends, family and mentors who believed in me from the start and surround me today. Beyond the timelines and details, I was extremely fortunate to be refined by incredible mentors and business owners that taught me the value of a strong work ethic, the importance of going above and beyond for clients, and how being an attentive communicator is key to long-term success. Like any small business, there have been challenges—refining my systems (during and after COVID), prioritizing authenticity over rapid growth on social media, and navigating the assumptions that can come with being a young planner in this industry. Thankfully any obstacle has only fueled my commitment to showing up, doing excellent work, and earning trust through action. Overall, I feel incredibly blessed to truly love what I do, and that passion has helped make the journey feel more rewarding than difficult.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Everlast?
Everlast is a luxury event planning and design company I founded with the belief that every celebration should feel deeply personal, thoughtfully executed, and joyfully memorable. We specialize in weddings with availability to support special occasions and nonprofit events that align with our values. We offer everything from short-term coordination to full-service planning and design always tailored to reflect each client’s unique vision and story. Our focus on the heart of the celebration, kindness in collaboration and artful design is what I believe truly sets us apart. I’m especially proud that a portion of every event supports CASA, an organization close to my heart that helps children in foster care. At the heart of Everlast is a commitment to service, creativity, and creating moments that feel as meaningful as they are beautiful.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love this question so much as it is so natural to focus on achievements and forget about the joy of existence. The people in my life take up the largest part of my answer. The love I am surrounded by and am so lucky to experience from and give to friends and family makes me overflow unlike anything else. My most recent addition to this answer and amazing group of humans around me is my niece who was born last month!
I also love being outside, voice memos, expanding my faith, live music, the perfect playlist, dancing (fun fact: full time hobby growing up and pursuit in college), bike riding, bonfires, hearing strangers stories, learning Spanish and art history, cooking new recipes, baking (especially pies!), reading memoirs, hosting dinner parties and truly making the most out of the mundane moments in life!
Pricing:
- Packages Range from $3,000 – 9,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.everlast.events/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everlastevents/?hl=en
- Other: Google Reviews: https://www.google.com/search?q=Everlast+Events+kelsi+beth&sca_esv=36ad588c3080a494&biw=1674&bih=1090&ei=nJhxaIKXBcT8p84Pgd3d6QU&ved=0ahUKEwiC1Y639bWOAxVE_skDHYFuN10Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=Everlast+Events+kelsi+beth&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGkV2ZXJsYXN0IEV2ZW50cyBrZWxzaSBiZXRoMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAFI2g1QgwVYpgtwA3gAkAEAmAGgAaAB2QqqAQQwLjEwuAEDyAEA-AEBmAINoAKBC8ICCxAAGIAEGLADGKIEwgIGEAAYFhgewgILEAAYgAQYhgMYigXCAggQABiiBBiJBcICBRAAGO8FwgIFECEYqwLCAgcQIRigARgKmAMAiAYBkAYEkgcEMy4xMKAHwiSyBwQwLjEwuAf5CsIHBjAuMTEuMsgHGw&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Image Credits
Fontana Lane
Erin Marton Photography
Emma Niderno
Hanna Walkowaik
Maggie Shea
