VENDOR SPOTLIGHT // LAURA OLSEN EVENTS
Today we're talking to our talented Swish List member Laura of Laura Olsen Events, how lovely is she?!
"We design and plan carefully curated, authentic and timeless events to celebrate personal milestones in a meaningful way."
What makes your business unique? We do timeless, not trends. Authentic Always Wins. We focus on celebrating personal milestones and are inspired by your journey together and personal aesthetic using your natural style, anecdotes, and cherished memories to create a celebration that is authentically you.
Favourite part of your business? The relationships built with our clients and vendors is hands down one of our favourite things. It's a personal and emotional time in a couple's life and though it sounds cheesy, it really is an honour to be received into their lives to support them through their planning process. A close second is being able to design events that genuinely represent a couple and their values both visually and emotionally.
What inspires you? I pull inspiration from so many different places. It could be an emotion that was evoked from a particular experience, or a beautiful piece of architecture that's stood through time for hundreds of years or even one just constructed last year. What gets my creativity flowing the fastest is hearing what a couple is passionate about or their story together or the things they so oppositely enjoy. Being able to create an event that is so carefully curated of the things they enjoy together is always inspiring as it's unique to the couple alone.
Who is your mentor/hero in the industry? (your own industry or the Niagara wedding industry)? I'm so inspired by business coach and podcaster Shannan Scott. She always is so uplifting and creative, offering such thoughtful insight into any situation you may be going through.
On your day off...where would we find you? I try to go out for a walk, get to a yoga class or just even take an hour to sit down and read a book with a cat on my lap. I've also started a rose garden over the last couple of years which I've found incredibly relaxing and rewarding. It's also very likely you would find me on a patio having a glass of chardonnay and some sort of chocolate dessert!
If you weren't a wedding vendor, what would be your dream job? I'd absolutely be an interior designer. It's actually a goal I'm finally allowing myself to work towards. It's a great extension of what I do and a nice challenge to see and use space differently and in practical ways.
What great wedding trends are you seeing this year? I'm loving the smaller wedding parties. I have had so many brides this year have just a maid of honour, but invite their closest friends to join them for the morning getting ready and of course in group photos. Not only does it save you money (think costs of bouquets) but it also makes your day flow more smoothly when you're not needing to keep as close an eye on who needs to be where and when. They are still there with you on the day, but you all get to be more present throughout the day rather than being so focused on whether everyone has the right shoes or dress, if they are in the right order, etc.
Do you have any practical advice for couples planning a wedding? Take your time. Wherever you can, let your decisions sit for a bit before fully committing so you can revisit again with a fresh heart and eyes to ensure its the right decision for you. It's such an emotional time in your lives that it's easy to get caught up in thinking you have to do something in a certain way or even include it at all. Ultimately, you want to have a wedding day that is as restful and relaxing as possible so including only things that bring you joy will allow you to do just that.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight Laura -- we love having you as a part of the Vineyard Bride family!
