Life & Work with Kelly Kennedy of Grand Rapids

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Kennedy.

Hi Kelly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began my journey in events at Grand Valley State University with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management for Event Planning. I was lucky enough to begin working out of college on the events team at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and spent the next 3.5 years learning everything about this industry which gave me the confidence to start my own business and so I dove in 2013 to officially begin All Buttoned Up Events. It took some side hustles along the way to really get it going but now we are thriving with 3 full time planners, 1 part time event planner and a team of 5 assistants!

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?
Heck no! It has taken a lot of work to get where we are from initial challenges of starting a business (under valuing yourself and booking wedding for $500 and making no money) or agreeing to do things that were way more than I thought (moving 300 chairs to save someone money or hanging hundreds of paper lanterns in a barn) but it has all been worth it. COVID taught us who was really in for the long haul and you would have to be crazy to do this if you didnt love it. Weddings are filled with drama and dynamics but also a ton of love, memories and pride to stand there and see what can be built.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
90% of the events we plan are weddings with a smackling of anniversary parties, corporate gatherings etc. Our team loves the challenge of creating unique experiences for each of our couples. Delving into what makes them tick and how to bring out their personalities in the events we create. We spend hours debating linen patterns and just the right candles for a tablescape. To some this might be tedious or even unimportant but we see the value in creating something beautiful that is a reflection of the couples unique personalities and realtionships. We also try to be thoughtful of the guest experience in all that we do from the information and papergoods they receive to how the event will flow and how much wonderful food they will receive and when.

Its a lot of work to bring it all together! On the average wedding weekend we will do 30,000+ steps a day but it is incredibly rewarding to stand back and admire it when it is brought together and to see the joy it brings to all guests and the couple to bring them together. A wedding is special because you see the reflection of love that the couple has for each other in all the guests that surround them as they have helped make them who they are. Never again will that same exact group of people be together again.

At All Buttoned Up we are known for our attention to detail with all of these factors and our tedious timelines and hard work. There is nothing we wouldnt do for our couples to bring their visions to life.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
With our busy lives it might be surprising that two of the lead planners (myself and McKenzie) have 6 kiddos between us. We pride ourselves in being a group of strong (emotionally and physcially, it takes a lot to carry the uhauls full of stuff we do!) women who work extremely hard to balance our family lives while not missing out on the careers we have spent countless hours building. We love what we do hope that shines through!

Pricing:

• We are fully transparent and place this on our website. Month of Coordination begins at $2800 and packages go up from there!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://allbuttonedupevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allbuttonedupevents
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=all%20buttoned%20up%20events