#BEYOUROWN MEETS SAHELI MIRPURI

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Founded by Saheli Mirpuri, Saheli Events is an award-winning planning service for luxury weddings, exclusive private parties and corporate events.

Based in London, Saheli Events offers a range of tailored services for weddings, private parties and corporate events. You may have already imagined your perfect day or event, but if this is not the case, Saheli Events will find it and create it together. Whilst their packages are therefore designed to accommodate varying levels of involvement from you; you will always remain at the forefront of every decision made. This allows Saheli and her team to promise that no previously organised events will be similar to the one planned for you: your moment, from start to finish, will be a reflection of you and all that you love.

Thank you for joining us Saheli can you tell us a little bit about your background story as the founder of Saheli Events?

Thank you for having me! So, Saheli Events really was a happy accident. I always loved planning events and was especially fond of weddings, but the dream of becoming a wedding planner always seemed quite far fetched. I’d been told growing up that it wasn’t a ‘real job’ and actually I should focus my energy on something else, leaving me to go to university and study marketing and advertising, assuming I’d end up in the corporate world working within that Industry.

Once graduating, I had quite quickly fallen into employment at a brand new wedding venue in London and after a couple of years working as their in house wedding coordinator, it cemented what I always knew and I decided to follow my dream into becoming a full-time wedding planner. I was only 23 when I took the plunge to start the business, but it definitely felt like the right decision and I’m so glad I did!

Can you tell us about Saheli Events as the award-winning planning service for luxury weddings, exclusive private parties and corporate events that we see today?

Saheli means friend, and I think that’s something that has always been really key when it comes to my service. The company specialises in weddings and with them being such personal events, it’s so important that the couple have that comfort and friendly face to rely on to ensure their day is perfect.

Planning an event can really take a lot of time out of your usual day to day life, so our aim is always to help save our clients the time, money and stress so they enjoy the process as much as the event day itself. Our services are completely bespoke to each client, some enquire when they have just recently got engaged and others to ensure things run smoothly on the day. We have trained all the coordinators to present on the day to be friendly, approachable faces to make sure that not only the couple have that comfort, but the family and friends do too!

What has been your favourite client to work with on your portfolio so far?

Oh gosh, this is definitely a tricky one as each event is so so different. I think for me, an event that really stuck out to me was a client of ours that got married in 2018 in Suffolk. We have seen many events, but this was definitely the most beautiful way to celebrate a marriage and bring two families together. It was a full weekend with the couple’s closest family and friends, but alongside the usual events, they hired out multiple cottages for guests to all stay together and themed the weekend ‘Let The Games Begin’. We had rounders matches, boat races, quiz nights and it all ended with a mini food festival! We absolutely loved it!

Do you have any current mentors? Either professionally or personally….

I definitely look up to a lot of people! I think when you’re in business, you look up to so many successful entrepreneurs and get inspired because everyone’s journey can be relatable in their own way. However, from a mentor point of view, it’s definitely much more personal for me. I’ve grown up in a family full of business owners and I would definitely say my Dad is my ‘go-to’ person for any advice, especially business!

What platforms are you using as marketing tools to promote Saheli Events?

Events certainly are very visual and I think for anyone in this Industry, Instagram really is your best friend! We have used a lot of tools and videos and blogs have definitely also helped us a lot in the past. I think it’s all about demonstrating your credibility! last year we successfully launched a YouTube talk show series called ‘Sit Back with Saheli’ which helped demonstrate our supplier relationships, show potential clients our personality without the sell and allowed clients to gain valuable advice from multiple vendors to plan their own events flawlessly!

Do you currently use any apps or tools to help the functionality of Saheli Events?

We currently use a software called Aisle Planner to manage all our leads, bookings and projects, however like any planner, we love a good spreadsheet!!

What 3 solid tips would you give someone looking to launch a career in event planning?

My three top tips would be:

Build your supplier network and respect your suppliers! Many planners join the industry, and honestly mean well, but put their client so into the forefront of their work that it can cause a ‘power trip’. Your client’s event will end in a split second, but those suppliers are the ones you will be working with over and over again and also will be the ones likely to recommend you.
Value your time!! This sounds like common sense, and to be honest, this generally goes for anyone starting a business, but when you’re a planner and you are in a very strange predicament, your hours are so unsociable but you’re in one of the most social industries and that can blur the lines. Think about the time you’re spending at evening and weekend meetings, driving to venues all over the UK and regularly massaging your client and make sure your quotes reflect that. If you’re putting the time in, you should be getting paid for it.
Honestly, buy comfortable shoes! I have a lot of top tips, but genuinely, you do not appreciate a good pair of shoes until you’ve been on your feet for 20 hours running around a hotel. It literally is the most underrated tip – you can’t do a good job if your feet are in pain!

What has been one of the most valuable lessons so far throughout your business building?

Networking!!! I did not realise how valuable networking would be for me and honestly, when I first started going to networking events and meetings, I hated it. I thought it was awkward, full of small talk and just felt completely out of my comfort zone. However, I turned out to meet such incredible people, suppliers and even had most of my first few clients come through networking events.

What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?

#BEYOUROWN makes me think of the quote “be the woman who fixes another woman’s crown without telling the world it’s crooked”. I think we all learn, inspire and grow from each other and encourage everyone’s shine.

What does 2020 look like for you throughout the rest of the year at Saheli Events?

It’s our 3rd year of business this year, so I really want to begin growing the team this year and focusing a lot more on destination events. We have a lot of exciting projects we want to start on, but for now, I’ll leave those exciting announcements as a surprise until we’re ready!

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Website: www.sahelievents.com