Meet Jillian Higgins | Wedding Planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jillian Higgins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jillian, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I opened Jillian Rose Events in November of 2020, I know a very strange time to open a business (especially one that revolved around social gatherings). However, I feel like the pandemic put everything into perspective for me. I spent years as a Wedding Sales Manager at a resort and was starting to feel the burnout at the beginning of 2020. I loved weddings but the hours spent on property between wedding days and office work was overwhelming. When the resort reopened in the summer of 2020 I was working with my couples again and realized how much I really did love weddings and working closely with couples. I wanted something that allowed me to work closely with couples, but allowed me to be more in control of the day-to-day operations. Opening my own business seemed like the only option and one day it just clicked. I told my husband the next day I wanted to start my own business, to which he responded “I’ve been telling you to do this for years.” Shockingly, my parents had the same reaction, so I guess it was only a matter of time!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When people ask what I do for a living, and I answer, “I’m a wedding planner!” All say, “oh my gosh that must be so much fun!” While I absolutely love my job, it is not always the most glamorous. There can be a lot of headaches that come with wedding planning (paid vendors ghosting you the week of the wedding, indecisiveness, unforeseen weather throwing a wrench in your plan the day of, you name it), but that’s why my couples choose to work with me. I act as a buffer for all my couples. For most, weddings are the most fun and exciting time in their lives and I want it to stay that way! Couples trust me to take over the details and communication for their wedding so they can stay focused on the exciting parts of being engaged and taking the next step together, while I take on the stressors or frustrations that come up. My couples look to me as their mentor and guide throughout the entire wedding planning process. They hire me because they don’t know the answer to the questions, “what comes next?” I have been in the wedding industry for 10 years and have the knowledge and experience to properly help my couples navigate their wedding planning.

Having worked for many years on the sales side of weddings, I always felt a little “stuffy” when I had to follow corporate protocol and it never felt warm and inviting. When I opened my business, I knew I wanted Jillian Rose Events to be a luxury wedding planning service but have a girl next door personality. When couples hire me, yes I am being paid, but I am also being welcomed as a member of their family and I don’t take that for granted. In order to properly do my job, I need to be involved in everything so I can properly manage all aspects of the planning process. Couples trust me with their feelings, but they also allow me to manage their money and be their advocate in a wedding planning world that can be overwhelming and foreign to most.

My goal is, and always has been, for my couples to enjoy the planning process. When couples hire me, they know I’m going to get the job done, but make it an enjoyable process for not only them, but their families and friends.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
While I never pass up a wine night with girlfriends on the couch having a charcuterie plate for dinner, Raleigh has so much to offer I’d be willing to get out of the house and show them around!

But first, coffee. This is a life rule for me, thankfully there are endless instagram worthy coffee shops in the triangle and it’s the perfect way to start a day! Sola Coffee and Jubala Coffee are two of my favorite spots in the area. I’d bring a friend here, host a meeting here or come alone just because the atmosphere and coffee are that good. Day activities are endless. Raleigh has great shopping centers, parks, art workshops and museums. You can really find anything to please all different types of people and ages. My personal favorite and a Saturday morning go-to go-to is the Raleigh farmer’s market. For dinner? Pick any spot in Raleigh and there is bound to be a unique, privately owned restaurant with great wine or cocktails, you can’t go wrong!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When they say “it takes a village” it’s the truth! Opening a business is scary, exciting, emotional and exhausting all at once. Thankfully, my husband is my emotional rock and has allowed me to feel all of these feelings from day one. When I came home from my 60 hour work week at a resort and said, “I’m thinking I should open my own wedding planning business” and he responded with, “I’ve been telling you to do this for years!” I knew I was on the right path. He’s been my biggest supporter since day one. At the beginning, I would come home from a long day of work, lock myself in our home office, and research for hours the legalities behind opening a business and he never said anything negative about the time I was spending on myself. Through the years he’s been there to support the highs and lows, talk through ideas and give his honest opinions.

While my husband has been incredible, his knowledge of the wedding industry is, unfortunately, not very extensive. I truly credit all of my wedding knowledge to my two close friends, who started out as bosses at my first internship 10 years ago. I was desperate for a wedding internship my junior year of college and I heard this venue, The Riverhouse, offered summer internships. I drove an hour from my university to interview with two women at a beautiful venue in a small town in central Connecticut. While incredibly intimidating, they offered me a summer internship and I could not have been more excited! Most of my internship was job shadowing. I sat for hours all summer and watched these girls answer emails, organize details, conduct site tours, run meetings and everything that comes with managing a venue. While it may sound mundane, I have never learned so much from anyone. They talked me through everything. Every email that was sent I learned why it was answered in a certain way, details to look for, how to follow up, etc. Little did I know that internship would spark into my first job as a Wedding Sales Manager for the next four years and eventually become the venue I chose to get married in! These women are now friends, but the things I learned that summer, so young in my career, still shape how I operate my business today.

Website: www.jillianroseevents.com

Instagram: @jillianroseevents

Facebook: Jillian Rose Events

Image Credits
Cirque 91 Photography Aislinn Kate Photography Chelsey & Jordan Photography Ed & Aileen Photography