Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Morgan.
Hi Lauren, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The first two times I coordinated weddings, it was an accident. Two of my closest college friends hosted small DIY weddings and opted not to hire a coordinator. I volunteered to help with the set-up but ended up playing a larger role in their big days. With no other prompting than my internal drive and possibly the panic of the couples’ parents, I stepped in to set up decorations, cue the wedding party down the aisles, provide wedding day emergency kits, and handle tear-down. As more and more of my friends and family members started to get married, I found myself excited to share my experience and knowledge to help their wedding days run smoothly. I’d had multiple events-based internships in college and started to consider Wedding Planning as a possible career option.
Flash forward two years, and I started applying with local Wedding Coordination and Event Planning groups to see if I could start assisting at events part-time on the weekends. I applied with a local contracting company and was called in for an interview in 2018. I later found out that they had pulled my name from a large pool of applications because of my maiden name, Pratt. The Operations Director loved Chris Pratt and thought the company should take a chance on me in case I happened to be related to him. (I’m not.) I arrived at my interview with a portfolio of photos of events I had planned in college and images of my decorations at friends’ weddings. The interviewer immediately recognized one of the wedding venues in my photos: the company had just purchased that very venue. They hired me on the spot.
I never thought I’d own my own business, but word traveled fast that I was working weddings. Soon friends, friends of family, and distant acquaintances started asking if I’d be willing to coordinate their events. I took on between 5 and 10 events annually until the 2021 wedding boom skyrocketed my business into a full-time operation, and Day of Lily Events was born!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No–and thank goodness! Smooth roads don’t make for good stories.
I thought that my stint in the events industry was done when the pandemic hit in 2020. As any Wedding Industry Professional can tell you, there were no more painful calls than those to couples planning spring 2020 weddings. But we found ways to persist: we saw couples customize hand-sanitizer bottles and masks, incorporate colorful wristbands, and celebrate in the safety of the gorgeous Texas Hill Country outdoors. I was inspired by the resiliency of my clients to keep moving forward.
The following year held something I wasn’t expecting: the wedding boom. Postponements (and likely the resurgence of in-person dating) caused folks to start planning weddings in quantities the country hasn’t seen since the 1980s. Suddenly, I was receiving more inquiries than I could handle, a trend that’s continued into 2022. My once-little part-time passion project has grown into a full-time business, and this year I’ve started bringing on additional team members to handle the influx of new clients.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Wedding Planner and Coordinator who’s passionate about love stories and using my expertise to make weddings more joyful. I would describe my working style as detail-oriented, relational, casual, and thorough. I’ve cried happy tears at every wedding I’ve ever worked and consider that to be a sign that I’m in the right place.
I’ll never market perfection. Best day ever? Absolutely. Detailed, smooth, and low-stress? 100%. All you ever dreamed your wedding day would be? Check! Perfect? Not real. I love working with couples that have a clear vision of how they’d like their wedding day to be but prioritize their marriage over their wedding. I strive to keep the wedding day snags out of the couple’s earshot but love when we can get together for coffee after the event and laugh about how one of their groomsmen spilled an entire tray of beans on his suit during tear-down. Things will go wrong, and couples that can see past the little snafus really make my job a joy.
I started in this position to help friends, and I hope that I bring that same kind of care to every event that I plan. I truly just want my couples to have the best day!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My husband, Jonathan, is now and has been from the start, my biggest supporter and cheerleader. He believed in my ability to make a career change and start my own business with enough confidence for both of us.
My mentor, Nicole, trained me from scratch with both confidence and gentleness. She taught me how to handle being a successful small-business owner without sacrificing genuine care for your clients.
I have an incredible team of Assistant Coordinators who take care of me while I take care of my clients. I’m convinced that they can read my mind and that one day they’ll outpace me with their industry knowledge and expertise.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dayoflily.com
- Instagram: dayoflilyevents
Image Credits
Jonathan Morgan, Harper Blankenship Photography, Hummingbird House, Katie Martin, Tori Leigh Stationery, Make-up ATX, Cake Llama, American Party Rental, A & Be Bridal, Madi Lane Bridal, Thanh Ngyuen.
