Daily Inspiration: Meet Kelsey Angelotti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Angelotti.

Hi Kelsey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I graduated from Vanguard University with a degree in Business Administration. I knew during my time there that I wanted to get into events + weddings, but I wasn’t sure how. I set up an informational interview with the Food + Beverage Director at Ponte Winery in my hometown of Temecula, CA, and was hired on the spot to be one of their wedding planners. I still to this day, thank Karon Cartwright, for giving me my “lucky break!” In my two and a half years there, I coordinated over 150 weddings/events and gained so much experience.

As I was starting to get a little burned out (never having weekends off!) I decided to move to Greenwich, CT, and pursue a job unrelated to the events world. After going through a million interviews and not finding the “right” fit, I finally took a job doing social media for Vik Retreats, which are luxury resorts in South America. During my time there, I still felt that nudge to start my own business and pursue wedding planning. I always knew I wanted to have a small business, only taking a limited number of weddings, where I could focus on my couples, get to know them, and really focus on the design of their big day.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs (my mom owns her own HR company and has a travel blog and my uncle owns his own screen printing business), so I knew I had it in my blood. In my spare time in CT, I decided to get a business license and launch my website for Kelsey Rae Designs. I was up and running! After a few short months, I decided to move back to California, where my relationships were built up in the wedding world and where I thought I would have more success.

I was able to keep my social media job remotely and also take Kelsey Rae Designs full time in Southern CA! Over the pandemic, things really started to shift for my business and my husband and I decided to make the move to Nashville, TN! I saw a gap in the market for a super modern design aesthetic and ran with it. Since moving to Nashville, I’ve connected with some of the best vendors, executed some pretty amazing weddings/events, and feel excited to be launching my business in a new city. Such a challenge I’m excited to be taking on!

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?
Just like most entrepreneurship, it’s come with some great days and some hard days! I’ve been lucky to have entered the market when I did, back when blogs and getting published could really skyrocket things for small business owners. I grew a pretty loyal following on Instagram and have formed relationships with amazing vendors and couples alike.

But there have definitely been some growing pains and moments where I’m like, “what the heck am I doing?” I’ve struggled to prioritize outsourcing and in turn, have taken on too much personally. I’ve struggled to figure out how to price myself in different markets. I’ve struggled in building a solid team. But these are things that I’m getting better at every day and pushing myself to really excel at!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an event designer/ wedding planner specializing in events that have a more modern, eclectic, feel to them. Every event I design is curated for the couple/client and is completely unique to them. I am not afraid to incorporate color and patterns and textures into the overall design, yet love doing timeless designs as well!

I started my business with the intention to focus on event design, however, it was not something I was ever formally trained on, but rather something that just came to me naturally. I’m a pretty decisive person and I was able to tell early on what things I liked and didn’t like. I have learned to stick with my gut instinct and not be afraid to mix patterns that might be a little risky! It’s that element of the unexpected that really sets me apart. I like to say, I design for the crazy in love who aren’t afraid to do something a little outside the box.

I’d say my most proud accomplishment was being named a Top Wedding Planner by Southern CA Brides as that market is so saturated and there is some amazing competition there! I’d also say I’m pretty proud of being able to move my business from SoCal to Nashville and within six months get to work on a large-scale wedding and with vendors, I have always dreamed of working with. I’ve also been published close to 40 times, and that’s not something I take for granted. It’s a testament to my amazing team, more than anything!

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I definitely see our industry booming even more so in the next five to ten years! With all the postponements this past year, the demand for every vendor in the wedding industry is at an all-time high right now! We are all pushing ourselves to be better at our craft, charge the prices we deserve, and give our clients the ultimate experience.

As for trends, this is a bit funky as so many of us are still seeing out the weddings that we had booked last year but were postponed. I think it’s going to be one or two years before we can hit the “reset” button and start to see true trends come forward again!

With all that said though, I am seeing more of the bright pinks + coral palettes coming around and I am 100% here for it!

Pricing:

• Wedding Management- Starting at $3k
• Partial Planning- Starting at $8k
• Full Planning= Starting at $10k

Contact Info:

• Email: kelsey@kelseyraedesigns.com
• Website: www.kelseyraedesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelseyraedesigns

Image Credits
Snapped by Shelly, Morgan Franklin Creative, and Garrett Richardson Photography