The Journey to Make Life Eventful
My first couple :) Photo by Stephanie Paula Photography
Back in high school, I always thought that I would be an athletic trainer because I loved sports and I loved helping people. I was a water girl for my high school football team from sophomore to senior year. I was a cheerleader before but I had broken my ankle and that hindered my tennis season, so I decided to take a step back (maybe breaking my ankle and going through PT made me want to help people even more). My best friend and I were the only girls near or on the field until we got an athletic trainer my senior year. We spent a lot of time with the athletic trainer, so I got to learn a lot about what she did. I loved that she got to be the one to evaluate, assist and help recover those who had been injured, so I decided to make that my major when I went to college.
I had never been extremely great at school, but I also wasn’t the type to get anything lower than a B. So, when I had started college and had to go through all of the pre-rec classes to apply for the Athletic Training Program, I quickly realized how hard it was going to be. Fast forward to the end of my sophomore year of college, I had barely gotten a B in Anatomy 2 and hated how hard I had to study and work for it, and I hadn’t even gone through Physics. My friend in college was also going to apply for the Athletic Training Program and she was naturally smart. Like the type of person that barely had to study for Biology. When I saw how hard she had to study for Physics, I decided maybe this wasn’t for me.
Back when I went through anatomy 1, I saw how hard these classes were going to be and I had joked with my mom that if Athletic Training didn’t work out, I could always become a wedding planner. I had zero experience and had only been to like 2 weddings in my life, but it seemed like it could be fun. I had always loved putting little parties together for my friends and family. Before I knew it, I was changing my major and playing catch up since I was now a junior and had so many hospitality pre-recs to do. That year I moved into an apartment with 3 friends, one who was also a hospitality major. She was able to help me catch up with my classes and then we finished out our degree together taking almost every class we could together. That year I also went to the Bridal Society (now Certified Wedding Planning Society) wedding planning course and got certified as a wedding planner. I still had yet to plan a wedding, but I had some good resources and was in the event management program at my college.
We graduated in December of 2019 and shortly after, Make Life Eventful was born. The next year, January of 2020, I had some friends from my church get married and they trusted me, with no experience (other than my certification) to plan their wedding. It was so beautiful and such a great learning experience. I was so nervous, but somehow, someway, it went so great, and everyone had the best day. I still thank God every day for the opportunity to do that wedding and for being with me every step of the way. That day seemed like it was 20 hours long but also 2 hours long at the same time. Without that couple, I’m not sure where I would be because just a few months after, the world was hit with a pandemic and I had just started my business. I got married in May 2020 but had a small intimate wedding with just our family and bridal party because of the covid restrictions.
Photo by Rafael Ramon Photography
I had no idea what would happen because I had only had one wedding before the world basically shut down. Thankfully that couple had recommended us to some more friends from our church and I had 2 more weddings that year in November, along with my own “big” wedding that we could share with our friends and family who couldn’t be at the first one. Because of those three weddings, Make Life Eventful was able to take off and I have doubled my weddings each year.
Venue Grandezza Country Club, Photo by Rafael Ramon Photography
I had worked a job throughout the past three years while running my business. I worked at my church for 9 months after I graduated until my husband got an amazing job in Tampa that required us to move. This was also in May of 2020, so it took me a few months to find another job. I finally got hired at a Starbucks that I would work part-time for 2 years so I could focus on my business that continued to grow but took us back to Fort Myers a lot for weddings. In January of 2022, we were able to move back to Fort Myers since my husband could work remotely. We also started building our first home. In July of the same year, I was able to quit my job at Starbucks and work at my old high school as an athletic administrative assistant. I never knew I wanted to go back and work there until the job opened up. I absolutely loved being a part of my alma mater and help build that position for when I would leave. In March of 2023, I was able to quit that job and go full time with my business. I never expected to quit that early but that’s just how God works!
When I quit my job, my spring season was extremely busy, but my fall season had only two weddings. Quitting was definitely a leap of faith but of course God has been faithful through it all. My fall season is completely booked up and my spring 2024 season is almost full. It’s always so hard not to compare my business to so many others especially since most businesses started when mine did, right before or during covid. These last few months the Lord has been taking me through my journey of getting to where I am now, and I have been able to see His hand through it all. I needed to work in those jobs leading up to going full-time for so many reasons but mainly to grow me to where I am now so I can be successful as a business owner. And that’s the journey of how Make Life Eventful came to be.
Photo by Tiffany Maysonet Photography