Sarah Campbell
Sarah Campbell
Founder and Executive planner of Pollyanna Events
Brooklyn, NY
www.pollyannaevents.com
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WHAT DO YOU DO?
“We are a bespoke DIY wedding and event planning company in NYC, Connecticut, and Washington DC.”
There are six of us on the Pollyanna team and we cover all the areas listed above, as well as their surrounding communities. We mainly focus on weddings and events (birthdays, showers, holiday parties, dinner parties, etc.).
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I fell into this industry completely randomly. I studied law in undergrad, was a paralegal for four years and had planned to go to law school. In the midst of planning my future, I got engaged and began planning my wedding. At that same time I had some friends who were also planning their weddings so I was helping them with things that I thought were simple common sense things. My friends brought it to my attention that maybe this is the career path I needed to go down. I completely brushed it off and then one day I realized I was not going to change the world by becoming an attorney so I asked my soon-to-be husband "what if I dropped everything I went to school for, quit my job, and started my own company." Without any hesitation, he replied "If that is what would make you happy, I'm fine with it." At the ripe old age of 25, with an unrealistic expectation of what this really meant, I quit my job and set out on this journey of creating my own business. With no business, or for that matter, event coordination background of any sort, I knew this would be an uphill battle. Which, looking back now, was an understatement.
FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD, WHAT DO THEY USUALLY LACK?
Being organized and creative in this industry is huge! As an event planning company we are always juggling multiple clients that all have different wants, needs, and logistics that we need to tend to. Event planners get a lot of information from their clients and a true creative professional can use that information to fuel their artistic side and help the client see far more possibilities than they would of imagined on their own. It is our job to not only help couples organize their day but help them envision what their wedding day could be.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Lots of weddings and birthdays! These are a variety of Month of Coordination clients, Partial Planning package clients and Custom Design package clients.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
We do not have a specific style or theme we often stick to for our weddings. Our perfect wedding is the wedding our clients dream of. Each of our weddings are focused on our clients’ core values, sense of style and family traditions. Each couple is unique in their own way and it is our job to realize their wishes in each of the weddings we manage.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I would love to be able to use my creative side more often. The design side of the planning process is very exciting! I love helping our clients narrow down their ideas and coming up with a cohesive style that blends both the couples’ personalities and family traditions, while making sure everything aligns with the couples’ venue space.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
That the wedding planning industry seems to have evolved into just another way to make money rather than focusing on actually educating couples on how to plan their weddings successfully. We LOVE helping couples solve planning problems, thus allowing them to enjoy the planning process and not stress out. We do this by offering a variety of services and tailoring our partial planning packages to our couples’ needs. And if our planning packages don’t fit our couples’ needs, we also offer our Pollyanna Planning Kit to give couples the chance to fully plan on their own terms with guidance from us.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Bookkeeping. Hands down.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
To not stress out so much. There is a time and a place for everything. I believe if you are meant to do something and you put in the work, your time will come. It isn’t worth comparing yourself to others or lamenting where you think you should be.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Marketing. The benefit of marketing a company online is HUGE! I am self-taught and am always working on learning how to up my game but I feel like even when I put the time in, I’m still not fully benefiting.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
All kinds of weddings and small events. We plan so many different kinds of weddings and events based on our clients wants and are always open to need opportunities.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
A rad, down to earth couple that wants someone to help them learn the ins and outs of planning a wedding. A couple that is head over heals in love. A couple that understands the value of our work and trusts that we have their best interests at heart.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
We offer a variety of services from Month of Coordination to customized Partial Planning packages to DIY projects. And if our planning packages don’t fit our couples’ needs, we also offer our Pollyanna Planning Kit to give couples the chance to fully plan on their own terms with guidance from us. So whether a couple is looking to spend $7000 to $174 on planning services, we have something for everyone!
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Email is best! sarah@pollyannaevents.com - always open for a hilarious GIF!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Surrounding myself with good role models and inspiring entrepreneurs.
This member profile was originally published in March 2018.