Member Spotlight: Kelsey Angelotti of Kelsey Rae Designs

Kelsey Angelotti is the Owner and Creative Director of Kelsey Rae Designs, a full service event design and wedding coordination company based in Southern California. Her passion for design fuels her to create, challenge herself, and ultimately pull off some insanely pretty weddings and events! Getting to know her couples and their love story is the best part of her job, and she secretly gets super excited when they all become best friends! To put it simply, Kelsey values love and everything that encompasses love, and that can be seen throughout her planning and design processes. Read on to learn more about Kelsey's passion for design and how Aisle Planner helps her team plan rad weddings and events!

What inspired you to enter the wedding industry?
I’ve always loved weddings and everything that's encompassed in that time of life for people. I went to a Christian college and it just seemed like everyone around me was getting engaged and planning their weddings. As I was wrapping up my Business degree, I went on an informational interview at a winery in my hometown of Temecula, CA and was offered a job once graduation was over. I was immediately handed 60 weddings to coordinate and things really took off from there! During my time at the winery, I got a ton of experience (coordinating nearly 150 weddings/events) and my passion for wedding planning grew. I’m so thankful for Karon Cartwright and Ponte Winery for giving me the chance to enter this industry with no experience and help foster my passion into a career. 

Why did you start Kelsey Rae Designs?
I started Kelsey Rae Designs because I was wanting to focus on the client experience, develop more of my passion for event design, and have the ability to build a brand I was passionate about. I was coming off the heels of a very busy season at Ponte Winery and realized that I didn't want to take 100+ weddings a year. I wanted to take on less clients to give them the best experience possible, while focusing on event design, something I’m so passionate about, and help bring the most beautiful visions to life. It's important to me to become close friends with my clients and be able to be attentive, their cheerleader throughout the process, and someone they could really rely on during what's usually a very stressful time. Overall, I wanted to make wedding planning fun!

If you could change one thing about the weddings and special events industry, what would it be?
If I could change one thing about the weddings and events industry it would be the giant gap in pricing. I wish we could collectively set a range for pricing so that all wedding professionals could fall within depending on experience and not undercut each other. I’ve come across some really great pro’s that I’m shocked when I find out how little they charge. Let’s elevate the industry and also help educate our couples in the process!

How does using Aisle Planner help you deliver the client experience you want to?
Aisle Planner has been a game changer for our company! The interface is beautiful and very user friendly. The checklist is a lifesaver and allows us to customize tasks and due dates. The guest list keeps us organized and the drag and drop feature for guest seating is so easy for our clients! The notes keep us organized and the template timeline saves us so much time. Honestly, I could go on and on about why I love Aisle Planner. But in summary, I have no clue how I survived in my early years without it!

What is your favorite Aisle Planner feature?
My favorite Aisle Planner feature is the guest list. It’s a nice area to keep track of RSVPs, food allergies, food selections, categories, etc. We’re able to track how the RSVPs are coming along and really keep things organized. No more weirdly formatted google sheets!

If you weren't the Owner + Creative Director of Kelsey Rae Designs, what would you be doing instead, or what would your life be like?
If I didn’t own Kelsey Rae Designs, I would probably be traveling the world and/or owning my own travel agency. I’m super passionate about traveling and try to plan a couple trips a year. Combining passions and work is always a great idea!

What are three things you never show up without on event day?
A bottle of champagne with a card for my couple, my emergency bag, and my iPad! We gift our sweet couples with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the big day. I always have my emergency bag full of tons of items like scissors, tape, deodorant, bobby pins, first aid, etc. and my iPad because it has all the documents I'll need on it!

What’s your personal philosophy on becoming a great wedding and event planner?
I believe you have to be personable, organized, and passionate about weddings and events or you'll burn out! Likability is key to connecting with future clients. After all, you’re sometimes working with them for over a year so it's important that they like you and you like them! It’s a mutual relationship that needs to work. Being organized is the key to success. Putting systems in place is so important and being able to stay up to date on your inbox will give clients the reassurance that you have all their details in place. And passion! This job requires lots of work on the weekends and times that are convenient for the clients and not necessarily yourself (i.e. nights, holidays, etc.). If you aren’t super excited about the work, then you’ll get burned out and it'll show with the couples. My philosophy is to charge well on the services you provide and take on less clients. Make time for yourself and get a massage after every wedding (it’ll save you!). Re-evaluate your systems each year and make changes that'll positively impact you, your team, and your clients.

What’s your trademark in the client or event experience?
My trademark is that we truly become friends with our clients throughout the planning process. We kick things off with a fun welcome gift and keep lines of communication open so we can get to know them. Our inbox is managed effectively daily, so we can keep up on emails and get back to our couples quickly—making their experience the greatest.

Is there anything you are particularly excited about working on this year?
There are a couple weddings in particular this year that I'm super excited about! We’re kicking things off with a trendy/moody wedding in Palm Springs, bringing a few weddings to life at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe mid-year, and pulling together an amazing wedding at Monarch later in the year. Every wedding I get to work on is unique and has its own style and parts I look forward to! Design is truly my passion so when I get to work on Full Planning with my couples, it's really the most exciting for me! Look out for some amazing florals, rentals that'll make your heart skip a beat, and brides and grooms that have the biggest smiles on their faces. It’s going to be an amazing year!

Want to see more from Kelsey? Check out her website kelseyraedesigns.com! 

Hero photo courtesy Ash Gabes Photography