Community Highlights: Meet Lisa Geisler of Eclectic Elegance Events

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Geisler.

Lisa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I began my journey in the event planning industry 21 years ago in Chicago Illinois. I began taking cooking classes after I had my daughter and began doing parties for my friends and family. During each of my personal events, everyone would tell me I need to do events professionally because they could see my passion for cooking and event planning. I was a little intimidated at first because it is a demanding profession, but I realized very quickly if you love something it really does not feel like work, and believe me, I worked very hard to get where I am today.

A year after I began my event planning journey in Chicago my ex-husband got a job in Denver, so I had to give up my dream for a bit to follow him on his next journey. I wasted no time in making new friends and I began my event career journey as I did in Chicago by having extraordinary parties for all my new friends. I realized very soon it was time for me to take the next step, but I realized I needed to start at the bottom, so I got a job as a maitred at a high-end restaurant in the heart of The Denver Tech Center. I took this opportunity to learn the ends and outs of the hospitality industry and most of all build a client list. This client list actually got me to my next stepping stone, a job as an event planner for a high-end restaurant. I took everything I learned from my past experience, and I created very successful private events and a catering department for this restaurant. My career was going great, but I felt I needed to learn more to become more successful, so I began taking night classes in event planning. It was very exhausting working full-time, being a mother, and going to school but I knew it would pay off. After a long two years, I completed my event management certification, and I really began to blossom. I got promoted at work and was running all the restaurants and catering division of my company I was killing it, but I felt I was starting to hit a glass ceiling when I wanted to reach for the stars.

A chef that once worked with me but left for another endeavor called me one day and asked if I would be interested in going off on my own, at first, I had no interest because I was scared of failing and the unknown. After about a month of convincing I decided to take a leap of faith because I did not want to live with any regrets. I began building my company immediately and realized very quickly this was going to be a lot of work. I decided to call in on a little help from my friends and I reached out to a chef from my past who always inspired me through his commitment and passion for food. Without hesitation Chef Will signed up and we had ourselves an event planning and catering company that was without a doubt going to be a great success.

We were a few weeks in and the unimaginable happened, Chef Will was killed in a car accident. It was an extremely tough loss and it made me second-guess this endeavor. A week later I attended Will’s funeral, and his father-in-law came up to introduce himself to me. What he told me still resonates with me today. His exact words were, “Will was so excited to start this journey with you and he said if anyone can do it Lisa can.” This was all I needed to not give up. Like most businesses, it was a slow start, a lot of work with little financial reward, but I did not give up. Although I did have a chef, he had no interest in helping me build an empire he just wanted to cook when needed, so I knew my success was going to be up to me. About two years in I got one of my biggest clients, Livenation and things began to take off. We began to get incredibly busy, and we were looking at an amazing 2020; then Covid happened. I remember March 12, 2020, like it was yesterday the phone ringing off the hook to cancel already planned events. We were told it was only going to be 3 weeks, but 3 weeks turned months into years. With every extended shut down the parties just kept dropping, it was devastating and quite scary; how was I going to be able to afford to live? How was I going to keep my business afloat, I had only been open for two years and was just starting to turn a profit.

During my first two years of business, I also became a preferred caterer to the Catholics, and this is what saved me and my company. Religious organizations were exempted from the strict Covid rules, and they began having events. It was not a huge money maker, but it kept me relevant and kept people employed here and there, and for this, I was extremely grateful. It was hard to keep a full-time staff without full-time hours and this became quite difficult, but I managed, nonetheless. Unfortunately, during this time a lot of those who I respected in the industry had to move on to other ventures because they were not able to hang on with little or no work. Essentially, I had to begin rebuilding a company that I had already worked so hard to rebuild once. Now that the lockdowns are behind us, I have worked diligently to get back to where I was pre covid and it has been a challenge, but my hard work has paid off. When we first reopened it was a struggle everyone was ready to go but we weren’t. We had the same struggles as every other hospitality company, staffing challenges, supply chain issues, and inflation that all created a large amount of stress that needed to be overcome on a daily basis. With each passing day, I have gotten used to the new normal and I realize my struggles have made me stronger and I am ready to conquer anything that may come my way.

I am happy to announce that I am extending my event planning to Chicago and Nashville because both are incredible cities to host any style of corporate events. With more people working from home team building retreats are essential to the growth of any company and I absolutely love making sure each of my clients is well cared for so everyone can just enjoy their time together with no stress.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Covid was a monster. We were never trained on how to get through a pandemic, but I learned, and I became a pro. On the positive side during my time at home, I learned to do florals and became very good.

When people come into my rooms and they see my tables they always say, “this is a Lisa table.” I love having my tables branded to my name. We still struggle with staffing issues, but I have pivoted my company to be more productive with fewer staff. I learned that it is better to have stronger individuals and fewer of them and many that cannot produce. My team is small, but it is strong.

As you know, we’re big fans of Eclectic Elegance Events. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a catering and event planning company that specializes in all aspects of events. We can cater, event plan, and design any type of event. If your event requires just catering my team of chefs can cater any style of cuisine. If you just need planning my team and I can plan any type of event, whether it is just for one night or a weeklong retreat we handle all the details.

We can book your travel, entertainment, dinner parties, and excursions and when the planning is done, we are there to implement every detail so our clients can focus on what they need to. Design is my passion, so we also have an event design division. We can create any theme you can imagine; we love making our client’s visions a reality. From flowers to lighting and everything in between making our clients gasp when they walk into their event is our number one priority.

What’s next?
I am extending my passion to Nashville and Chicago by helping future clients be able to not stress about planning their events. I want my clients to feel at ease and planning events typically stress most people out, but for me, it comes naturally. Nashville and Chicago are such great cities to entertain clients in, so much to see and do the possibilities are endless.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eclecticelegancebylisa.com
• Instagram: @eclecticelegancebylisa
• Facebook: eclecticeleganceevents

Image Credits
Danielle Uhl, (Underexposed Photography) and Savannah Le Jeune (This Fearless Love Photography)