“Just put up a website and see what happens!”Just five (almost 6) short years ago, an encouraging friend of mine uttered those 9 words that would end up changing my life. At that point I hadn’t been living in Boston long, but I’d already managed to help plan several surprise birthday parties, a baby shower, and a wedding for my small new group of friends. Planning those events created a bridge between my new life in Boston and my previous life back in sleepy little Stillwater, OK where I had been employed as an event planner for the Student Union while I finished my Masters degree. I was still getting settled into this new Bostonian chapter of my life, and while I loved the city and the new friends I’d made, I missed the excitement and frenetic pace of my old job at the Union. I found myself jumping at the chance to help organize anything -a birthday party, brunch, drinks, ANYTHING – and I also volunteered to help my friend Adriana plan her wedding when she came to me overwhelmed with how much there was to do. I had already been in several weddings at that point (when you grow up in the Midwest, your friends get married very young!) and found that a lot of the skills that I’d developed during my time at the Union transferred over to helping organize the details of Adriana’s wedding. The wedding was a success, and later I confided to a friend that contrary to what everyone says about weddings being so awful and stressful, I had actually had a lot of fun being involved with this one. “Well have you ever considered becoming an event planner?” that friend asked me, but I was hesitant. I had no family and no connections in this part of the country, and I didn’t know the first thing about running my own business. “Just put up a website and see what happens!” she told me, “What do you have to lose?”
Two websites and five years later, I’m so grateful that I took the risk and did just that. Founding Swank Events has been a pivotal chapter in my life, not just from a career standpoint but also in terms of how many amazing people I’ve come to know over the years as a result of this company. During the last five years I’ve been blessed to work with so many tremendously talented vendors. I am thankful to each and every photographer, florist, musician, DJ, cake baker, caterer, and special performer whose talents and professionalism made my job easier! I’ve also been fortunately enough to work with several tremendously hard working interns and assistants (Jennifer, Kristin, and Betsy especially). The aspect of this job that I loved the most has always been the clients I’ve worked with. Regardless of how complicated or stressful the planning process might be, by the end of the event I was just thankful to have been a part of my clients’ love stories.
So after five (almost 6) wonderful years, it’s time to take another risk and make another change. While I’m proud of what Swank Events has grown to be, the timing is right to pass the reins to someone who will build this company into something bigger than I could have ever hoped for. Several people have asked me if I’m regretting the decision to move on from event planning, and I can say without any hesitation that I’m confident in my decision that it’s time to move forward, confident that Kristin will do great things with Swank Events, and absolutely excited for what the future holds. Thank you x1,000,000 to everyone who has supported me and this feisty little company over the last 5 (almost 6) years. I don’t regret a single second of all the stress, late nights, last minute changes, and various frustrations that may have accompanied these events, and if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing. For better or for worse, they’ve helped strengthen me into the person I am today. At this moment, I’m just excited to discover what the next 5-6 years holds… so stay tuned 🙂
Cheers and much love to you all,
Kelli Sigmon
