Jonnell + Niki of Events Redefined {San Luis Obispo Wedding Coordinators}

Jonnell and Niki are redefining not only wedding events around San Luis Obispo, but they are redefining the words Wedding Coordinators. They are high school BFFs who make a fantastic business team! They really have a wonderful way of working to make the brides dream day become reality without making all of the other parties and vendors involved miserable. I believe it comes from their basic value and care for people. It is evident within minutes of talking with them that they are polite and respectful. They don’t have an alternative agenda and don’t power trip. They are in the purest sense ‘wedding coordinators’ not ‘wedding dictators’. Can you tell that I loved working with them on Melanie and Gavin’s wedding?!

Well, in case I didn’t make myself clear; they were a joy to have orchestrating the day! The couple didn’t have to worry about anything and Events Redefined didn’t make me feel like a bus-boy at a greasy spoon diner; they made me feel like an important part of the team. Melanie and Gavin planned their wedding all the way from New York City, which made it a necessity to have professional, trustworthy, and creative coordinators. The wedding was such a success that it was featured on Southern Weddings Magazine as well as in The Knot {Northern California} Magazine.


How long have your been best friends? What is your story?
We’ve been friends since we played volleyball together our freshman year at Morro Bay High School. After high school Niki followed her passion for special events and enrolled at Cal Poly as a Recreation Administration major. A couple years later Jonnell transferred from Cuesta College and we were excited to be in the same department and have classes together again. We have always talked about our mutual love for weddings and special events and hoped to someday work together. We are great friends from different social circles and happen to be neighbors, too. It makes for a perfect business relationship, and we’ve gotten even closer since we opened Events Redefined.

What made you go into business together coordinating weddings?
Throughout high school and college we always joked/dreamed of opening a wedding and special event coordinating business together, but we always figured it’d be when we were old and retired! After graduating from Cal Poly, we worked for separate companies in the county and were able to gain more experience in our field. Jonnell has a strong background in producing large corporate events, receptions and meeting planning. Niki has vast experience in operations management, meeting and wedding planning. After Jonnell had her first baby, we decided it was time. Our goal was to open our business by her daughter’s first birthday. In August 2007 we got together and chose a name, set goals and wrote our mission statement- all in one night! We debuted at the Central Coast Bride Fall Show that October, two months before her daughter turned one. We had a great first year and are really enjoying our second. Neither of us can believe that we’re living our dream- we’re actually doing this!!!

What does your service include?
We have packages ranging from “Day Of” to full blown coordination, and we are more than happy to create custom packages for our clients. Our packages can help brides with vendor referrals, budget, design, assisting with rentals, timeline development, contract review, setup of specialty items, and much more. All of our packages include two professionally trained coordinators. And if you want a destination wedding – we have passports.


What sets Events Redefined apart from other coordinators?
We like to coordinate all of our weddings together and are both involved in each couple’s planning process from beginning to end. On the wedding day it’s always the two of us – not one coordinator and an assistant. We both have degrees in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration with a concentration in Special Events, and have been trained by the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants. When a bride and groom hire Events Redefined, they’ve hired two professionals who know every aspect of their big day.

We encourage our clients to be creative and personable. We truly feel there is no “right” or “wrong” way to have a wedding. We are happy to give our opinions when needed and wanted, however this is not our day - it is the bride and groom's, and we'll do everything in our power to make sure that their vision is created.

We don’t stand there and point. You’ll see us picking up trash, moving chairs, under tables, pinning flowers, serving food, etc. We see a need and we fill it. We like to work with our vendors and we definitely let the other professionals do their jobs. We’re not the caterer, the photographer or DJ; but we are there to make sure everyone is working together as a team to give the client a perfect day.

What is your primary objective on the wedding day?
For everyone (the Bride, Groom, their families, AND the wedding vendors) to have a stress free day.



How many meetings do you have with the couple before the wedding day?
This really depends on what package they choose. Most of our clients meet with us before we are hired, although we do many phone consultations for out-of-state brides. All of our packages include a final site visit, which usually takes two hours. We tour the area and fill out an extensive questionnaire to make sure that we are all on the same page. Our goal is for the bride to be able to hand everything over to us at the rehearsal (if not sooner) and be in 100% bride-mode from that point on.

What are each of your greatest strengths?
Umm, that’s hard to answer for ourselves – cause we’re both awesome! Totally joking! Let's answer that one for the opposite person…

Jonnell: Niki has this amazing gift to connect with people. She’s honest, sincere, and downright funny. She keeps people calm, relaxed, and smiling. People want to have a good time when she’s around. She’s also extremely talented at seeing the little details – she’s a master at making sure things are perfect!

Niki: Jonnell is the sweet one. I bring a little more sass to the table. She has the biggest heart and doesn't have a mean bone in her body. Most of our brides communicate directly with her throughout the planning process and it's amazing how she can remember every detail (vendors, prices, linen color names) about each wedding without having to double-check their file. She really makes our clients feel special and they trust her, so much that she has filled the role of "counselor" on more than one occasion. At an event Jonnell is able to see the big picture and put out potential fires before they happen. I really couldn't imagine doing this without her.

What roles do each of you fill?
Good Cop/Bad Cop comes to mind – just kidding. It’s amazing...we had no idea that we would balance each other the way that we do when we started this business. We don’t have a specific role when we’re coordinating. We are a team and we just do our jobs. We’re able to trust each other on a wedding day. If multiple things need to get done at the same time (which is often the case) and the other isn’t around - we know the other person is getting it done. That’s the greatest thing about being our own bosses, we don’t waste any energy telling each other what to do, we just do it. We always keep open communication with the other wedding vendors as well, as the timeline often shifts a few minutes throughout the event. We make sure that everyone is aware of any changes so that we're all ready when the cake is getting cut, the bouquet is tossed, or the bride and groom are leaving.



What is your favorite part of planning a wedding?
Heck, we love it all! But if we had to choose…

Jonnell: I love the overall theme and design. Every Bride and Groom are different, as each wedding should be. When a couple allows us to be involved in the overall vision of their special day – it’s such an honor. It takes a lot of confidence for a bride to trust us in the visual aspects of their wedding. Being able to come up with a design that not only inspires a bride and groom, but also represents them as a couple and their personality is such a thrill and one of my favorite parts of our job. Not to mention seeing it come alive on the wedding day is fantastic – nothing beats the actual wedding day and seeing months of hard work come together in such a short time period.

Niki: I love meeting with our clients for the first time and often start brainstorming design, budget, vendor referrals while we're talking. It's so fun to turn to Jonnell after a consultation and say who I think would be the perfect photographer/caterer/florist and have her say "I was thinking the same thing!" Presenting our Elegant Start binder is great because that's when we find out if we're on the same page. But as much as I enjoy the planning, nothing beats the actual wedding day. Blood, sweat and tears come to mind. I love setting tables, lining up chairs, pinning boutonnieres and making sure everything is "just so." Most aspects of the day are so rewarding -calming a nervous Bride right before she walks down the aisle, being the first to congratulate the couple as the ceremony ends, and getting a great bear hug from the Father of the Bride at the end of a long day!

What kind of couple would best fit with Events Redefined?
Anyone who wants to enjoy their wedding day! A good sense of humor is always nice too.

What size budgets can you work with?
We can work with any size budget, and enjoy the challenge. While a huge budget is fun in a design sense, vendor flexibility, and site selection, we also feel the bride with a small budget should have an amazing day too. We would never oversell our services to a bride. After hearing what her vision and needs are, we happily and truthfully suggest a package that would work best for her planning goals.



How do you help a couple find the right vendors for them?
It’s really about getting to know the clients on a personal level. We always start with a visit over a cup of coffee where we find out about their overall vision, style, goals, and budget. We give all our clients a questionnaire that helps us understand them more; we’ll find out things like how the couple met, to their favorite magazine and movie. Other things that help us are seeing pictures or images of wedding details that stand out to them, finding what materials /swatches resonate with them, or looking at any drawings they’ve sketched for their wedding. Everyone has their own personal style and knowing more about our clients help us match vendors to their specific wedding needs. Next we'll sit down together and brainstorm. Which vendor matches best with the bride's vision and personality? Which vendor fits in their budget? And lastly, which vendors are available on their date? We always suggest around three available vendors for each category, then the bride and her family only have a few websites to browse or phone calls to make before selecting their perfect match.

Did you have anyone coordinating your weddings?
Jonnell: I had someone help me the day-of my wedding. I come from an event planning family, so I had a family friend coordinate my day. But looking back, it’s almost funny because it’s nothing like what we do now; my friend did a fantastic job, but lets just say Niki and I set our standards very high.

Niki: I had Jonnell! Even though I had dreamed about my wedding for years and knew exactly what I wanted, Jonnell was there to make additional suggestions, accompany me to dress fittings, and act as a shoulder to cry on during the planning process. She completely understood my vision and accepted the six page timeline I had created with no questions asked. I was able to relax with my family and be the bride, 100%, all day while she ran the show. I easily could have switched into "planner mode" had she not been there. All of our wedding vendors, bridal party and guests raved about how the entire day was flawless. Eleven months of planning may have played a small role in that, but it was having Jonnell there that made it happen.


Planning a wedding is overwhelming business. What is your advice for a newly engaged couple? What comes first?
Of course we’re going to say a coordinator should come first ;). A coordinator can help you with your site selection, vendor referrals, budgeting, and overall planning timeline. And we’re more than happy to help a bride achieve a specific theme or design. We call it the “one-stop shopping technique.”

We know sometimes it’s hard for a bride to hire a coordinator. Not everyone has a platinum wedding budget and we don’t provide a tangible product like a photographer, florist, or venue - so we’re often a last resort rather than the first phone call. It’s so amazing to see a bride budget a coordinator into their wedding allowance from the beginning rather than try to fit one into their budget later on; their planning process is more likely to be smoother in the end, not to mention coordinators can actually help a bride and groom save money overall.

Sadly, I hear a lot of brides say that they can’t wait for their wedding to be over. Does your service help couples to enjoy the planning process and especially their wedding day more?
Yes! Our services do help clients to enjoy the planning process – ESPECIALLY the day of their wedding! However, we won’t lie…there is no way to get around it, weddings are amazingly stressful. All too often we see a bride so busy trying to please everyone, they forget it’s their day; and surprisingly the family forgets that too! Weddings seem to bring out the “best” (and we mean worst) in people…it’s strange! We often serve as a mediator, counselor, and friend during the planning process. And when it comes down to it, the day of the wedding we are there with the bride’s vision in mind because WE never forget it’s their day - not ours, not the parents’, not the vendors’ - it’s all about two lives becoming one. So whether a bride chooses to use us throughout the planning process or just “day-of”, it’s our responsibility to make months of hard work happen on one amazing day. A bride and her family should be able to get ready, spend time with their loved-ones and enjoy the celebration. No bride needs to be worried about the details or stresses on their wedding day. As long as they see their day as perfect, that’s all that counts. We know we’ve done our job when a Bride, Groom, or Parent tells us at the end of the evening they were not stressed once all day.

The Knot {Northern California}.




Contact Info:
Events Redefined
805-550-7363
info@eventsredefined.com