February 6, 2017

Meet Jen Bergmark of First Pick Planning in Manhattan Beach

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Bergmark.

Jen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always knew I wanted to be in a creative industry like hospitality and events. I decided to major in recreation and tourism management while at Arizona State University (ASU) and received my B.S. in 2006 and dove right into the event planning world with my first job out of college at the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau working with large scale meetings conventions and even the 2007 Super Bowl XLII in Arizona. I decided I wanted to move back home to the coast, so I found myself back in Los Angele and began working for Brentwood School as the Development Coordinator focusing on fundraising events and really found my love for weddings after given the opportunity to plan the Head of School’s sons wedding at his private LA estate in October 2009. From there, a passion for helping clients with their weddings has turned into a business made up of four Associate Coordinators with branches in San Francisco, San Diego, and Houston, TX also servicing additional destinations such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Cabos and Palm Springs.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No business has a perfectly smooth path, but the bumps make you appreciate how great it feels when you get over them and onto the smooth road. When I first started, the business was just me. The client list was smaller and I only managed myself. The demand for my services grew has expanded the business to include Associate Coordinators so we could expand the reach of the First Pick Planning brand. This has grown our numbers drastically and managing that workload (with sometimes 3 weddings a weekend) can be a testing balancing act but knowing that we’re able to help over 50+ couples per year with the most special day of their lives is truly rewarding.

First Pick Planning – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a wedding planning and event services company. We provide our clients with customized wedding planning assistance, from everything to design and logistics planning to helping clients find and book vendors for weddings and events.

I believe what sets us apart is our overall attitude and friendly nature. We are open minded planners, we coordinate weddings for all types of budgets, cultures, and are always open to new destinations and themes (with a team that is diverse and also uniquely from different parts of the country, we have a unique dynamic of diversity on our staff to relate to different couples). We don’t limit ourselves to certain “types” of weddings like some of our competitors do, and that really makes me proud because of the way I was brought up I wanted my brand to reflect that. We always want to be known as a friendly face that knows how to problem solve and make a client’s event less stressful for them. We specialize in the wedding planning business, which is high stress and high stakes but being that calm presence to help the clients walk down the aisle and helping to be the reason they enjoyed their wedding day without any stress is always our goal.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me is being proud and passionate about what you do every day. As an entrepreneur, not every day is the same and as a wedding planner, not every wedding or experience with a client is the same but I like to think that if I was proud of the work I did on any given day, it was a successful day. Similarly, the reason I want to be successful is to be happy. Being proud and passionate about helping others with their events and seeing how happy those events make our clients, makes me the most happy. When the event is over and the clients say how they “couldn’t have done it without you” or receiving a review or comment post-event that because of the work you did someone’s family was able to have the perfect reunion, getting that positive feedback are what I most look forward to hearing because it makes me feel as if I did my job well and my passion for what I do was recognised.

Other markers that make me proud are when a former client refers their friends or family to us. There is no better compliment and that always makes me feel like the business I’ve built has become a success when you can garner repeat business and the trust of your clients after working with them.

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