Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricki Lee Mares.
Hi Ricki, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
In 2018 I stumbled across a job working as a virtual assistant for a wedding videography company. I essentially helped out with everything with the business that was not shooting and editing videos. After working with them for about a year, I found myself wanting to go to the weddings I was helping to coordinate for the video team.
But I asked myself, “I cannot do anything with a camera but love helping these couples. How can I make that a career?” I applied for an internship with a wedding planning company in town, A Little Party Events, where I was living at the time, was chosen for the internship, and the rest is history. I was hooked!
After some time learning the ins and outs of wedding planning and coordinating from A Little Party, it was time for me to make a decision. I knew my husband and I were planning on moving out of the town we have lived in for 6 years and moving to the DC area. The decision I had to make was: to find a new wedding planning team to join and assist their lead coordinators, or do I start my own wedding planning company?
After a lot of prayers, a move, job changes, and a giant leap of faith, I launched Will & Rose Events. What started out as a side hustle ran out of our apartment bedroom, grew to become an award-winning company with a team of 6 coordinators that booked more than 60 weddings for 2022 and 2023 in less than 12 months of its grand opening.
I never imagined the business becoming so popular so quickly, but I am beyond grateful for the couples that have trusted me to execute their wedding and the coordinating team that believed in me and this growing company.
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?
Yes and no. It became very evident to me very quickly that I was meant to be a wedding planner. Playing a small part in a couple’s successful wedding day is a joy and a gift. Many things fell into place as I took the leap of faith and slowly entered the world of entrepreneurship — something I never thought I was capable of doing. As someone who normally values and prefers comfortability and stability over happiness, hearing the call to go out on a limb and start my own wedding planning business did not come without immense anxiety and self-doubt.
I questioned my abilities. I cared a lot about what my peers and family thought about this endeavor. What if they don’t think I am good enough? What if I fail? What if no one trusts me to plan their wedding? Why would a bride choose me over so many other incredible options for her wedding planner? While the success of the past year has shown that this is what I am meant to be doing, that self-doubt and anxiety still loom overhead every time I step foot onto a venue or take an inquiry call.
I learn more about myself every time I plan a wedding or book a couple. I struggle with the overwhelming need to please others at all times. The thought of letting someone down, especially a bride or groom, occasionally causes me to break down. In spurts of guilt for my mistakes or shortcomings, I will work 12-15 hour days. I thought that the need to please people was a positive characteristic for a Wedding Planner to have!
However, this has caused an unsustainable work-life balance and I am constantly working to give myself grace and set better hours for myself through good work habits. “Hustle Culture” is extremely toxic and I am working to break free of it every day and better myself for my team and our couples.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I like to think that we specialize in finding the perfect balance of professionalism and personality. I find it extremely easy to relate to people which allows clients to confide in me easily but also draw the line of professionalism and advocate for them and their vision as if it was my own wedding throughout the planning process and on the wedding day. We have recently gotten rebranded and our new tagline is, “Authentic Elegance.”
I want to be myself and hire coordinators that can also be themselves while also holding a sense of poise and expertise on the wedding day. When we were first established, I did not think there was much that set us apart as a company. That was until an inquiry call in Spring 2021 opened my eyes to how we carry ourselves differently. I always start off calls with couples that are interested in booking with us by asking them how they met. There was this one couple, that when I asked them this question, was completely taken aback by my asking about their origin story.
They both were silent over the phone for a moment and the groom says, “Wow. You know, not a single vendor that we have talked to has taken the time to get to know us and ask us that question. Thank you so much for asking.” I was equally as shocked because it was a question I never thought twice about asking. I love hearing how the couples that want to book with us met!
Is there a wedding or project you have worked on that you are most proud of?
I am most proud of the first styled shoot that we put together this past July! A styled shoot is essentially a mock wedding. There is a theme or concept that is planned out and photographers purchase tickets to attend and are able to hone their skills and get content for their websites or social pages. For 4 months, I designed and co-planned a styled shoot based entirely around the song “Light My Love” by Nashville-based band, Greta Van Fleet. They have such a unique and cinematic approach to their songwriting that I found the creative process came together seamlessly when imagining their work as a wedding.
I pictured the photoshoot taking place in a garden, as a nod to their latest album title, The Battle at Garden’s Gate. The ethereal evening featured a number of amazing vendors that joined in and took part in the overall vision. We could not have had a better vendor team to make the dream a reality and we had a half dozen photographers in attendance.
I also pulled visual elements from the band’s music video for the song Heat Above, featured the Light My Love song symbol in the invitation suite and jewelry featured on the models, and honored their style of stage make-up and live show tradition of handing out white roses to the audience. Bringing together my love of music and weddings into one curated evening was something I never thought I was capable of doing nor would ever have the chance to do.
I am immensely proud of that photoshoot and hearing the positive feedback from wedding professionals and Greta Van Fleet fans alike is absolutely incredible.
What do you think about luck?
I never considered myself a lucky person. I think the success of Will & Rose is a testament to a leap of Faith, A LOT of trust, and hard work.
My parents taught me the value of working hard from a young age and I believe a combination of their mentality being instilled in me at a young age and growing up as an athlete taught me that. I was a swimmer for 17 years and competed all through college in a Division I program.
Some might see our successes and accolades as lucky based on what they see online, but what they do not see is the late nights, early mornings, and work that went into building Will & Rose Events for what it is in such a short amount of time
- Website: www.
willandroseevents.com - Instagram: @willandroseevents
- Facebook: willandroseevents
- TikTok: @willandroseevents
Styled Shoot Vendors:
- Planners: @styled_memories_ @willandroseevents
Photography: @darinakphotography
Design: @willandroseevents
Calligrapher: @paperkateco
Cake: @wildflowerbakeryrva
Venue: @goodstoneinn
Hair: @gstudiosmu
Makeup: @styled_memories_
Models: @kimbermeer @annadannunziomodeling
Dress rentals: @oliviasgowns @_blooming_boutique_rentals_
Suit Rental: @friartux
Florist: @petalnbloom.studio
Speciality Rentals: @smthingvintage
BTS Videographer: @dreamshottz
Image Credits
Darinak Photography, Luke and Ashley Photography
