In-Depth Interview with Pretty Posh Events -Munaluchi Bride

MunaLuchi coterie member Abbey Ayeh of Pretty Posh Events describes her business as “specializing in chic, tailored, and exquisite events of all kinds.” No matter what the couple’s vision, she is determined to bring it to life to the best of her ability. Since the day Pretty Posh Events was founded in 2013, Abbey has strived to create one of a kind experiences tailored to her clients. Read all about Pretty Posh Events in this informative in-depth look into the wedding industry with founder Abbey Ayeh.

Name: Abbey Ayeh
Business Name: Pretty Posh Events, LLC
Founded: 2013

Describe your business. Pretty Posh Events is a full service Event Planning, Floral & Event Design Company specializing in Chic, Tailored and Exquisite events of all kinds.

What did you do before starting your business in the wedding industry? I worked in the investment management field for a Hedge Fund, dealing in structured financial products.

How long have you been in the wedding industry? For about 5 years but I started doing this full time just under 3 years ago.

How would you describe your style? I think the name of my business pretty much describes my style. I absolutely love pretty details and clean chic design elements. My personal aesthetic leans towards a modern tangent but regardless of what my clients’ vision or style is I am always able to cohesively infuse some aspect of my style into the overall design concept.

What motivates you? The desire to see myself amongst the top designers and planners in the industry

Why should brides/grooms choose you? There are so many reasons why I think couples should choose me. I am very well organized with a strong eye for design. I strive hard to get what my clients are all about and what they are looking for and I proceed by executing it in a way that will blow their minds. However, the most important reason why couple should choose me is I am very very easy to work with; in this process you tend to work with clients for months and sometimes over a year, and it is very important for my clients to feel absolutely comfortable working with me.

How does your company define and measure success? In two ways. The first is by how satisfied my clients are, based on their feedback, reviews and the referrals they send my way. The second way is purely quantitative, based on the increase in the number of events we are doing as well as our revenue and profits.

What do you enjoy most about your work? Designing, without a doubt. I love to play with and think through color schemes, textures, layers, tabletop décor, room décor, ambiance, wedding party styling, generally the details and aesthetics of an event. This was the main reason we expanded our services to include Floral Design three years ago. We absolutely love working with our clients as well with other planners and their clients on floral and event design concepts.

Describe a proud moment while working in the wedding industry. I would say, successfully executing an international destination wedding a little over two years ago. This wedding took place in Ghana. The bride was in Ghana at the time, the groom in England, and I was here in the U.S. I was still fairly new to the industry and dealt with a lot of logistically challenges due to the remote nature of the planning process. We arrived in Ghana a week before the event. In that week we met with tons of vendors with whom I had been communicating with over the phone, coordinated my clients’ pre wedding photo shoot, which was a whole day affair, produced their traditional engagement event two days prior to the wedding, and successfully executed a beautiful wedding with 250 plus guests for them as well. I have to note that this was all possible because my clients completely trusted me.

What’s the best compliment you’ve received for your work? I have had clients say their minds were blown or that I far exceeded their expectations, but the best compliment I received was one client telling me I was born to do this. This is one of the things that motivate me, anytime I’m getting a little overwhelmed with the many hiccups of entrepreneurship, I try to remember that besides loving what I do and being blessed to do what I love, I am also fulfilling my life’s purpose

What are your business goals? My first business goal is to continue to reinvent myself and push myself to the top of the game. My second goal is to be able to build my brand and business towards global recognition and to eventually be recognized as an industry expert, without losing my sense of self.

What’s your favorite part of the wedding industry? My favorite part of the wedding industry are the design elements and creativity that this industry produces. However, my favorite moments will always be emotional first looks, heartfelt vow exchanges, and room reveals. Seeing my clients emotionally absorbed in the true essence of their wedding day and seeing their reactions to how beautiful everything looks always stays with me.

What’s your least favorite part of the wedding industry? Given that it is a saturated industry, it can sometimes get overly competitive. Healthy competition is always good, it keeps everyone and the industry moving forward but sometimes that competitiveness can go overboard

Describe your vision of the “perfect” wedding. The word ‘perfect’ is relative, so I would describe my vision of the perfect wedding as the kind of wedding where we have enough room in the budget to do everything we set out to do without compromising (regardless of what that budget is), where everyone is on time, every vendor delivers and every element that is out of our control ie weather, falls into place ‘perfectly’. At the end of the day if I can be at my organizational and creative best, if my clients are ecstatic about their wedding, the guests have a great time, and we can all look back and not find one thing we would change, then I can happily categorize that wedding or event as ‘perfect’

Where do you find the most inspiration? Pretty much everywhere. I’m a bit of a fashion enthusiast (although I spend more time in my sweats than anything!); so magazines, design shows, reality TV, fashion and design blogs, event blogs, other creatives in the industry, store fronts, you name it.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know? One of the things I would like new engaged couples to know is that, one of the most important investments you can make for your wedding is hiring a planner and designer. There are so many facets to this process and the expert advice and guidance will be invaluable. Also spend some time researching the industry and have an idea of the ‘must haves’ for your wedding and their estimated costs is critical. Start the process early so you do not lose out on your must haves. Try and enjoy the process and do not lose sight of what’s important; the two of you!