Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Merinar.
Hi Lauren, 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 backstory with our readers.
I think my passion for event planning started as a young girl; I remember when I would go to my grandparents, even if we were just having a simple gathering, there would always be a lot of food, family stories being told, and lots of laughter. That is why I love planning weddings; it brings back so many great memories. I feel like I kind of just fell into event planning. I was asked to help with friend’s wedding organizing and then coordinating their day for them, so it ran smoothly from start to finish. It was all I could think about it consumed me. So then, with the support of my husband, I decided to open Lauren & Co Event Planning. I will always remember I filed for my LLC on March 3, 2020, and then the world shut down. With already having a handful of weddings on the books, it was interesting to navigate our first year in business while dealing with a lot of event restrictions. However, we survived and came out with our books full for 2022, and having to grow the team pretty quickly as there were more weddings happening than weekends, I was available. I knew that going into opening Lauren& Co, I wanted a team of planners. We have an incredible team of planners that plan more than weddings we plan corporate events, birthdays, bridal & baby showers, proposals, vow renewals, and celebration of life. We have been steadily growing and always looking to add to our team.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It started tough for us right out of the gate, with us applying for our LLC on March 3, 2020, and then the world shut down a few weeks later. With weddings already on the books had to quickly navigate all of the restrictions and find out if we could even resume with the weddings. There were days when we thought, okay, only a few more weeks, and then there would be a surge in the virus, and restrictions would get tighter. We learned how to pivot at any given time. There were backup plans for the backup plans. The good thing about it is that it strengthened our team to be able to take on anything, especially on wedding day.
We’ve been impressed with Lauren & Co Event Planning, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Lauren & Co Event Planning is an event planning company that mostly plans weddings, although we do plan all types of events. However, we are mostly known for our beautiful weddings. What sets us apart from others is that we have created a brand that allows our clients to use us for design, florals, and also decor. This relieves a lot of stress from our clients as some weddings can have an upwards of 10 to 12 different vendors. So, them being able to combine the planning, floral, and decor rental into one vendor is very helpful to them. It just makes sense; we are working with most couples from day 1, and we understand their wedding vision and how they want their wedding day to look and feel to them.
We are very proud that we have grown a brand into offering an array of different services not only for our couples but also for other wedding professionals as well, as a part of our brand we also offer sales management for venues and catering companies. This helps other businesses who want to concentrate on growing their brand and business, and not worry about the day-to-day communication with the clients. We handle it for them.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up on a little farm, as long as I can remember we always had animals on our little farm such as cows, pigs, horses, cats and dogs. I loved riding my 1st pony, Buttercup, and from her, my love of horses grew. I had several horses growing up and showing competitively on the Quarter Horse circuit. I grew up in a close family with my parents and 2 brothers. It’s probably no surprise to my parents that I work for myself as I always had a disdain for my brothers for bossing me around. In high-school, I was president of Key Club, it was there that I really became fond of serving my community and planning events to get our community more involved. Even as a young child, I was always a very driven person, always wanting to do more and always put forth my best effort, especially with things that I was passionate about.
Contact Info:
- Website: laurencoevents.com
- Instagram: @laurencoevents
- Facebook: @laurencoevents
Image Credits
Magnolia Lake Photography
Derek Austin Photography
Lindsay Dawn Photography
Brydon Lynn Photography
