In May of 2003, the lovely lady behind Picture Perfect Events with Kelley Lee Gin was about to embark upon a challenge that would lead her to the career of her dreams. A close friend of the family was getting married and she needed help! She didn’t have a planner, but Kelley’s mother had a daughter who had always been obsessed with planning parties. A daughter who, each year, would painstakingly and lovingly plan her birthday party to be a fabulous affair for her guests, only to begin planning the next soiree the very day it ended. So, she happily volunteered her daughter for the job.
Now, this isn’t the sort of story you hear often and, really, hiring a family friend is a risky move and isn’t generally recommended, but she had the dedication and organization to coordinate all of the vendors and bring everything together flawlessly on the big day. When it arrived, vendors were pulling her aside, telling her how they had their doubts and she had proven them wrong a hundred times over!
Aside from planning her own parties, Kelley always had design aspirations, studying fashion and design in college and putting energy into interiors; offering advice to people in the midst of remodels but, until taking the logistical helm of this wedding, didn’t realize that event planning was a career. Once she knew, she was sold. She knew she had a lot to learn and set about assisting. After a few years of learning the ropes, studying closely and working each aspect of event after event, Kelley Lee Gin set out on her own and Picture Perfect Events was born.
The company name is no accident. Anyone who has ever seen a Kelley Lee Gin event can attest that they are each, in fact, Picture Perfect. Inspired by the people she surrounds herself with, she calls “collaborating with talented vendors, understanding each other and creating together” a component of the process that keeps her loving what she does and “seeing their long hours and hard work come together on the day of the wedding” the thing that keeps her inspired. We all know that staying inspired and staying fresh for every client are not the same thing and, when you work with as many brides in a year as Kelley does, it’s so important to work with each of them with the excitement that you would have if it was your first wedding.
The way she sees it, the key to that is discovering things about your clients, taking a genuine interest in them, telling us: “When we meet for initial consult, I ask for photos but prefer photos and ideas focused on buildings and interiors as opposed to weddings. It gives me an understanding of their style. I can’t tell you how important it is to pay attention to their likes and dislikes, picking up on non-verbal cues. A person’s mannerisms will often tell you things that they cannot. All of it comes into play because the wedding needs to be personable and the only way to do that is to get to know the client beyond the surface. I’m not interested in creating events that have been done a thousand times. I want each one to be special and a true reflection of my clients.”
As she moves through the process with her clients, discovering the details of their tastes, she anticipates the floral preview knowing “the bride will be able to come in to see what it will look like on her wedding day; flowers, linens, all of it. Of course, we are switching things in and out, tweaking details to make sure it is the very best design and exactly what she wants, but it gives her the first real look of what it will be. It’s truly inspiring to watch the bride’s face light up when she sees it for the first time.”
Inspiration is everywhere and Kelley seeks the new in furniture stores and luxury hotels, staying in touch with what people are choosing in their private lives and escapes. She loves to travel when she isn’t working, though each trip intrinsically becomes a part of her work as she takes in each detail of the décor, from key pieces to positioning and placement of accents. Key pieces are an important part of her design philosophy, “Growing up in a mid-class family, you can’t afford everything and learn a lot about key pieces. In your home, they might be the focal point of the room; in a wedding, key pieces can be the wow factors. I believe in keeping it clean and simple; nothing fussy or over the top, staying away from heavy patterns while incorporating tradition with a modern flair. It’s important to personalize and also to consider how it will look in ten years. Will it be dated”?
Personalized elements are such a beautiful component of weddings, and Kelley loves them all. From personalized vows and same-day video edits to that one piece that is so perfectly you that your guests can’t help but smile when they see it. One of Kelley’s favorite ways to incorporate them is as a final parting gift. While many planners and couples hand gifts to guests upon departure, this planner loves to leave these until the true moment of departure, placing them inside the car as the guests pick up at the valet; one final surprise.
While surprises on the wedding day are great for guests and (planned) surprises are a lot of fun for the couple, you generally want to avoid “surprises” as much as possible during the planning process and on your wedding day, which is part of what makes hiring a planner so valuable. If Kelley could offer one piece of advice to the newly engaged, it would be this: “Shop around in terms of locations and venues, but hire a planner before you sign any contracts. Each venue has pros and cons that perhaps you won’t be aware of. Make sure you have an understanding of the venues and how they may or may not work with your vision, then we can solidify the budget and steer you in the right direction.”
We have a few sneak peek photos to share of a Picture Perfect Events and tic-tock Couture Florals wedding at Casa Del Mar. Visit the blog on Friday for the full wedding story and many more photos by Jessica Claire.
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 9:00AM 
