Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Demetropoulos.
Hi Rachel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My love for wedding planning began 15 years ago when I was planning my own wedding. I fell in love with organizing all of the details to turn my vision into my reality. For the next ten years, I planned weddings for family and friends, dabbling in the industry to see if it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I had my first daughter six years ago, and decided then that I wanted to turn my hobby of wedding planning into my full-time career. Covid hit, and it gave me the time to design and launch my business. I am now beginning my fifth year in the industry as a professional wedding planner. In these past five years, I have grown my network of trusted collaborators, expanded the number of wedding each year, grown my go-to event team, and worked with amazing clients to create the wedding of their dreams.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh my goodness, no. I have had to work through multiple struggles. First, I had to learn how to network. As a naturally “stay-in-my-box” person, I have really had to step outside of my comfort zone to meet amazing vendors in the industry and grow my network.
I have also gone through the normal growth steps a new business takes, learning who my ideal client was and revamping my branding and image to attract who I want to work with. This, of course, comes will added expenses, which aren’t always available.
The biggest struggle I have faced is growing a business while still working a full-time job. With two little girls, I still need money to flow in regardless of what stage my business is in. Juggling a full-time job, motherhood and starting a business has definitely been a struggle, but has really honed my time-management skills and will pay off when I finally get to focus on one career.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Events by Rachel?
Events by Rachel offers wedding planning and coordination services to all of Central Florida. I specialize in offering customizable planning packages to meet the unique needs of my clients. Every wedding is unique, therefore every package is designed with the unique needs of the client in mind.
Personally, I absolutely love Florida. I strive to work with couples who want to showcase the beauty of Florida as a backdrop to their wedding day. Most of my clients have an outdoor element to their wedding, either by having their wedding ceremony or their reception in nature. I love finding the right backdrop for my couples, whether it is a view of a lake or a large Oak tree backdrop with Spanish moss.
I have a large network of vendors that I work with to ensure the best experience for my couples. It isn’t just about finding a vendor… I want to ensure the vendors provide the desired services (of course) but also fit the vibe and style of my clients. Weddings are truly a creative display of the love between my couple, and my goal is to showcase their love story in the design of their wedding.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Ultimately, success to me is determined by having happily married couples who have amazing stories to tell of their wedding day and planning experience. It is easy for me to say a wedding is successful if the day runs smoothly and everything looks like it should. However, the real success is what my couples can say about their wedding. Their experience is the most important thing, and a great review tells me that I was a success as their planner.
Pricing:
- Full-Planning Package starts at $5,000.
- Partial-Planning Package starts at $3,000.
- Wedding Coordination starts at $1,500.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eventsbyrachel.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eventsbyracheld
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eventsbyracheld
Image Credits
Nexum Photography
Saylor’s Grace Photo + Films
