Hidden Gems: Meet Emily Kutt of Dearly Beloved Wedding Planning

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Emily Kutt.

Hi Emily, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My name is Emily Kutt, and I am a Grand Rapids, Michigan, Wedding Planner. My draw towards the wedding industry began in 2014 when my free time consisted of scrolling the depths of Pinterest and repining wedding inspiration oozing with burlap, mason jars, and sunflowers. Although my design taste has evolved, my excitement for all of the details that accompany weddings has remained. My passion for people, creativity, and logistics has led me to the industry I was meant to be in.

My journey to where I am looked a lot different than I envisioned. Naturally, I am a planner in many areas, including my professional life and career goals. I had a 5-year plan that I was determined to stick to, which included finishing my degree in Business Administration, moving out to West Michigan, and slowly dipping my toes into the industry before taking the leap to business owner. That is until COVID-19 interrupted those plans. As it did for many, it left me wondering whether I was on the right path and unsure if there would be a wedding industry still standing once we got to the other side of the lockdown.

Once the lockdowns began to lift and venues slowly started to open back up again, I saw a window of opportunity and went for it. I went all in, quitting my full-time job and moving out to Grand Rapids to give my business a fair shot, gaining as much experience as I could under already thriving local planners and coordinators. The rest fell into place. I booked my first client before I had the back end of my business solidified; thus, Dearly Beloved Wedding Planning was born, and a fully booked wedding season followed!

Looking back, I am so grateful that I didn’t cling to my 5-year plan and jumped in when I did. I connected with the right people at the right time and could not be more grateful for the trust and support I’ve received along the way from my clients and fellow vendors alike!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The main struggle that I have faced as a business owner in the wedding industry is imposter syndrome. By the time I started my business, I had 45 weddings under my belt, yet I still battled with self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy due to perfectionism and self-inflicted pressure to know everything and be everything before even daring to put my name out there.

I have taken action to combat imposter syndrome in a couple of different ways. First and foremost, I make an effort to allow myself to celebrate my achievements, both big and small! This seems like a no-brainer, but for many small business owners, we need to make a conscious effort in this area. Whether it’s meeting my booking goal for the year or receiving a kind compliment from one of my clients, I make time to be present and acknowledge my efforts and accomplishments in the wedding industry.

The next thing that has been so helpful is surrounding myself with fellow wedding professionals who just get it. A solid support system has shown me that I am not alone in my feelings, has made room for advice and inspiration, and has ultimately been a huge contributor to avoiding hitting burnout and kicking imposter syndrome to the curb.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dearly Beloved Wedding Planning?
Dearly Beloved Wedding Planning is a wedding planning service based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it serves couples all over the state. We offer three curated planning packages aimed to serve each couple’s unique needs.

Our packages are the following – Full-Service Wedding Planning, which provides start-to-finish wedding planning for the couple who wants complete peace of mind during their engagement season. Partial Planning helps those who have laid the foundation of their big day but need assistance keeping the remainder of the process on track. Finally, the Day of Coordination package is for the couple who has planned their wedding day but wants to hand off the final details and execution of those plans to a professional.

I am incredibly detail-oriented and take great pride in the mechanics of my timelines. There are so many things I love about my job, but the logistics that go into the wedding day timeline are pretty high on my list. While building the timeline, I review contracts, communicate with vendors, and go through the timeline line by line with my clients to ensure that any fires are put out before they even begin.

So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why.
What matters most to me is giving my couples the ability to be fully present during their engagement season and wedding day alike so they focus on what matters most – getting married! I accomplish this by handling all the details with an attitude of excellence and grace. The longer I am in this industry, the more I recognize how important it is to have a professional by your side throughout the process.

I wear many hats on the wedding day – I pride myself in being my couple’s unbiased advocate, logistics connoisseur, set-up guru, and emergency handler. No matter how perfectly you plan a wedding, there are likely to be a few hiccups along the way. I strive to continually improve my process to put out fires before they begin, but even if they do, luckily, I thrive in situations where quick thinking and problem-solving are required!

I truly believe your wedding day should be spent enjoying it instead of working it for the couple, families, and wedding party alike, so my ultimate goal is to handle everything behind the scenes so you and your people can be fully present and soak in every moment – it goes by so fast!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dearlybelovedweddingplanning.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearlybelovedweddingplanning/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearlybelovedweddingplanning
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearlybelovedweddings

Image Credits
Mikayla Jean & Co.