My whole life I have been organised, creative and a lot teensy bit mad. From setting up jewellery shops and a mini cafe at home, when I was little, to organising huge events of over 5K people, being an event planner has always been in my blood.
I think the key to organising great events is to always think outside the box. There’s literally nothing you can think up that can’t be created. Obviously bearing the budget in mind is important, however, being creative and a great talker saves money and adds to the charm of an amazing event planner too.
The events I’m most proud of are the ones for charity. When Burlesque was “in fashion” in the early noughties, everyone wanted dancers at their events and I became a bit of a Burlesque event coordinator. As a former dancer myself I had a great black book of contacts and, as a journalist, I knew the best people to get coverage, event spaces and freebies to auction off from. We raised thousands of pounds for various charities across the UK and appeared in various publications. I was also so impressed by the beauty of the event spaces we secured…..an old cinema being my absolute favourite!
I wanted to branch out further though and, more recently, started to help out with wedding planning. A close friend of mine asked me to scan my eye over dresses, cakes etc. and I fell in love with it and realised that I’m very perceptive when it comes to other people’s tastes and advising them accordingly. It seems strange that I only realised it at that point, as I’ve been a stylist for years and one of my shoots was featured in Vogue Italia (Photo credit – the amazing Xanthe Hutchinson).
When my sister got engaged I knew it would be my chance to help her shine on her big day.
I don’t think I realised how well connected I was until I started talking to my sister about her wedding. I’ve always mixed with like-minded people, but it came as a surprise to me that I had so many amazing, talented people at my fingertips to help with my event organisation. From bakers of extraordinary cakes (Gorgeous Georgie) to photographers and bands, the list was getting all the big ticks.
The big thing that made me realise how much I loved event planning was the fact that my sister and I are so different that I think she was surprised that I knew her tastes so well. I started with a Pinterest board and then talked her through other ideas such as DIY bunting, polaroid cameras etc. I was even bang on the money with regards to the hen doo (a vintage affair with absolutely NO penis paraphernalia!)
The wedding isn’t until May and I’m sure I’ll be blogging more about it as I go along, but I’m so grateful to my nearest and dearest for believing in me and encouraging me to go for what I love and was born to do – embracing my differences in order to be irreplaceable and having amazing fun along the way.
Light and love, people. Mimi Cat xox
Miss Mimi Cat 