Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Gelfound.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I accidentally fell into the role of Wedding & Event Planner, as my background is really in the Performing Arts. I have a BA in English & Theatre with a Minor in Dance from Cal. State University, Northridge, and I have an MA in Performance Studies from New York University. I had planned on going for the PhD, in order to teach at a university but had a rude awakening during my last semester at NYU which forced me to take a different path. The year I graduated from NYU was the same year I got married. I graduated in May 2011 and was married that July. That same year was my husband’s second year of law school. So after we were married I did not have much time to job search, I had to go with the first thing that fell in my lap which happened to be working in the Travel Department at Guitar Center’s corporate headquarters.
Working in the Travel Dept. you are really a Planner in disguise because you are not just booking company travel, but also putting together the yearly retreats, manager meetings, Singer Songwriter and Drum Off competitions, Grand Openings, and more. It didn’t register though till I was planning my sister in law’s baby shower that I could lead a career doing Event Planning. A year after I’d been with Guitar Center my sister in law got pregnant and when it came to planning the shower I was having so much fun with the planning, but it was becoming a full time job juggling some of the family drama. I have the best most loving and supportive family on both my husband’s and my side. However, some of the family members are very flamboyant, and whenever there is a big event such as a baby shower where too many personalities are in the room it tends to clash. So dealing with the clashing personalities was becoming a full time job and I just kept repeating to myself “I should be getting paid for this. I should be getting paid for this…” and then I thought ‘hm. I wonder if I could get paid for this.’
So I started researching a ton into the field. Then the following year I got pregnant, and shortly after my son was born I opened up shop. While Event Planning is something I never in a million years envisioned would be my career, it is so rewarding to be able to say I love what I do. Ironically, I feel my background in the Performing Arts could not have prepared me better for the role of Wedding & Event Planner since events are essentially one big show.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In every business there are bound to be some bumps you hit, and Ashley Gelfound Weddings & Events is no exception to that. I have had my fair share of learning lessons and challenges, and the trick is to not lose focus or let it beat you down. My most recent challenge was with a former client. I was hired by the couple and my contract was with the couple, but the mother of the groom was paying for everything so she had the final say. It was the type of wedding where sadly it wasn’t the couple’s wedding it was the mother’s wedding. The mother of the groom was so heavily swayed by the sales pitches of each wedding vendor she came across, and concerned about showing off luxuriously to her friends than her son’s actual happiness at his wedding. Well the mother ended up hiring another Wedding Planner unbeknownst to the couple two months before the wedding, anticipating that the 2 of us Planners would work together on the big day. It was the weirdest position I’ve ever been put in. I’d been working with the couple for over a year, and then the mother decides to throw in another Planner.
My main concern is always the happiness of the bride and groom, so I swallowed my pride and said alright I’ll go along with this. I met with the couple and the other Planner together, and brought the other Planner up to speed with everything. Then the next week I get a call from the groom saying that the other Planner is insisting on having full ownership of the wedding and because of this my only position is as an assistant to the other Planner, and that there’s nothing he can do because his mom is paying for it all and his mom is insisting on having the other Planner there.
Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you. The whole thing was a huge monumental lesson on the importance of an iron clad contract, dealing with momzillas, and professional courtesy when it comes to others in your profession which the other Planner did not have. It was also a lesson on knowing when to walk away, which is what I ultimately had to do.
Ashley Gelfound Weddings & Events – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I make magic happen! I’m a Wedding & Event Planner and plan all sorts of events, but am mostly known for planning and coordinating weddings. A wedding is such a special time in a couple’s life, and many brides have had some kind of fairy tale fantasy wedding envisioned for themselves ever since they were a little kid. As a Wedding Planner, it is my job to help the bride fulfill that vision, and I do so by treating each bride as though she were my sister and handling the wedding with kid gloves. I take every wedding to heart and building a special bond with each bride is important to my approach in personalizing the wedding for them. What sets me apart is that every bride I work with is not just another number, they are the center period. From the moment they book me all the way through the end of their wedding night, they are my priority and I will do whatever it takes to bring their fantasy to life. I am proud to be able to deliver that level of service no matter how big or small the wedding, and to pull off a beautiful seemingly flawless wedding while remaining level headed and calm in the midst of the mayhem behind the scenes.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career has simply been watching the business grow from a small idea to where it is today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashleygelfound.com
- Phone: 818-681-8003
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygelfound
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleygelfoundevents
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ashley-gelfound-weddings-and-events-simi-valley
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Image Credit:
Philip Van Nostrand Photography
Rozanne Edwards Media
Holly Castillo Photography
Michelle Ramirez Photography
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