Rachel Rice, Founder and Lead Planner of The One Moment Events, is a Baltimore native living in Northern Virginia. She's a dog mom, wedding architect, interior design fanatic, lover of sunny days, good music, coffee, wine, and not taking herself too seriously. Rachel loves planning beautiful, personal, and purposeful events and designing magical days for her amazing clients. Rachel's been planning events for over four years professionally but has had a passion for hosting and planning all her life. From the early days of putting together birthday parties to assembling corporate events for businesses and non-profits, she found her niche working with couples who want to go against the grain and want their wedding to be authentic to them. Keep reading to learn how Rachel started The One Moment Events and how Aisle Planner helps her team communicate effectively and build trust with their clients.
What inspired you to enter the wedding industry?
I fell into this career accidentally but that’s not to say I didn’t have a knack for it my entire life. Ever since I was five years old (and my dad loves to tell this story) I’ve taken control of planning my own birthday parties, redecorating rooms in the house much to my parents chagrin, and working the crowd at family get-togethers to make sure everyone's having a good time. I guess it was always in my blood!
Why did you start The One Moment Events?
For me, I never liked the cookie cutter stereotype of weddings and wedding planners. Forming this company has allowed us to work with clients who want a unique, personal touch on their wedding day and aren’t afraid to think outside the box when it comes to design to really create an experience that feels one of a kind and truly like them. A wedding is a lot of time, energy, and money and we believe that it should be invested in properly to create a memorable, magical outcome.
If you could change one thing about the weddings and special events industry, what would it be?
I think there could absolutely be more education and resources for newer planners. There were so many missteps I made when first starting my business because I didn’t know where to turn or was too afraid to ask. Fortunately, now there are more networking groups and education resources (like my own podcast) but I think we could do more to shed some light on the behind the scenes, offer transparency with pricing, and teach proper business ethics to all the new up and comers out there!
How does using Aisle Planner help you deliver the client experience you want to?
Honestly, before Aisle Planner my systems (or lack thereof) were a complete mess. To have a software that delivers all of the essential items my client needs to communicate effectively with us and to allow us to show transparency and build trust with them throughout the planning process is key. There isn’t any other software out there that I know of that offers the same tools and client communication that AP does!
What's your favorite Aisle Planner feature?
I absolutely LOVE the drag and drop seating feature! This part of the software allows our clients to track meals, dietary restrictions, and other requirements so effortlessly. Then if and when there are last minute guest changes, we can adjust them accordingly without burdening them with a 10 step process in deleting and adding things! The template timeline feature is also a huge time-saver for us and allows us to plug in various items that we see repeatedly on wedding days so we aren’t reinventing the wheel each and every time!
If you weren't the Founder + Lead Planner at The One Moment Events, what would you be doing instead, or what would your life be like?
If I wasn’t the founder, I would still probably just be designing and planning weddings for the company. It’s something I’ve found an absolutely love and passion for and couldn’t really imagine myself doing anything else!
What are three things you never show up without on event day?
1. My iPad. It houses all of my timelines, layouts, packing lists, and other items I’ve created with my client in Aisle Planner over weeks or months of planning.
2. Client binder. This is an analog backup of everything in my iPad so my team can reference it or just in case I have a software glitch, I still have a physical copy of all pertinent information in case we need it!
3. Snacks! I might be alone on this but I always bring a bag full of snacks for us and our creative partners. You never know when you’ll have downtime on a wedding day and meals come so late in the day that I think it’s crucial to feed my team and my fellow wedding creatives throughout the day to keep them going. Plus, there's no better morale-boosting snack than a fruit roll-up!
What’s your personal philosophy on becoming a great wedding and event planner?
My personal philosophy on becoming a great wedding planner is always work hard, be honest, and remember that each person is dealing with their own situation at every wedding. This job can be brutal at times, 12 hours on your feet, running around with not enough water, battling heat or cold. It’s easy to get lazy so keeping in mind that we're in this to work hard is a must! I also believe that transparency is of the utmost of importance when it comes to client dealings, vendor communication, and talking through things with my own team. Without transparency, things can go downhill fast! Lastly, a little kindness and understanding goes a long way. Sometimes we have to deal with a lot of big personalities on wedding day and showing a little humility can completely change the outcome of a situation.
What’s your trademark in the client or event experience?
I would say our unique approach to design as well as our sense of humor is our trademark! All of our clients see a little wit and sarcasm on our website before we even hop on a phone call and we carry that joie de vivre throughout the planning process. We believe planning the wedding should be just as fun as the wedding day itself!
Is there anything you're particularly excited about working on this year?
We have so many super fun clients this year that it’s hard to nail down just one, but I would say the type of clients we have (fun-loving in their attitudes and avant-garde in their design approach) is what we're super pumped about! We're also being more intentional with our international clients and working more on expanding our destination events portfolio so we have a ton of fun locales we're hoping to work in during the next few years!
Just for fun
Three things you wouldn't board a plane without?
Headphones and a purse full of snacks. I forgot my snacks once on a short flight and we were delayed on the tarmac for an hour. I almost started bartering my worldly possessions with other passengers just to get a twizzler.
I’m dying to take a trip to…
Bali! Eat, Pray, Love is like my bible and it’s the big one to check off the list. Outside of that, I'd love to go back and spend more time in Italy and Portugal, such magical countries!
Dogs or cats?
If you know me, you know I love anything fluffy. But Bear, my English Cream Golden Retriever, is my entire universe and I’ve been known to stop a client meeting to pet a dog so I'd have to say dogs!
If you owned a restaurant, what food would it serve?
I'd probably own a little cafe that served delightful breakfast and lunch staples, as well as high quality coffee in a cute environment. In Lisbon, Portugal there are a few spots like this in cute little retail spaces that double as cafes and bars depending upon what time it is. They're a total dream!
What skill would you like to master?
I’m currently trying to become fluent in both French and Spanish. I know the basics in both but if I could master them I'd feel so great and it would make my life so much easier when I travel!
Favorite book of all time?
Eat, Pray, Love is probably my top. I followed a similar journey to the main character and I love that it’s a female empowering book about finding yourself and your center and still being able to open yourself up to love.
Non-work related hobbies?
I’m an avid crocheter! In the wintertime you can find me buried under balls of yarn, crochet hook in hand, watching either Schitts Creek or some murder documentary on Netflix!
On my days off you can find me…
Probably out walking Bear through my favorite city, Charlottesville. We love popping in for our morning coffee, eating lunch out on the pedestrian mall, and stopping in our favorite shops so Bear can get a cookie and I can peruse all the fun local wares. We also love a good hike, so when the weather's nice we're traipsing around a mountain somewhere before planning out what we're going to eat for lunch!
If you catch me out and about I’m always wearing…
In the wintertime it’s all about cozy! I’m usually layered up in sweaters and winter coats as well as a hat that I’ve crocheted or a thick blanket scarf. In the summertime when I’m not working, I’m usually casual and breezy in jeans, a tank top, and a light cover-up. I’ve always got my three gold rings I picked up from some of my favorite places around the world and usually have my hair down or in a messy top knot with a bow!
Want to see more from Rachel? Check out her website theonemomentevents.com!
Hero photo courtesy Krysta Norman Photography
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