THE AGS BLOG

Welcome to the blog, where I share my experience as a wedding, elopement, and proposal photographer in Carmel, Big Sur, and Pebble Beach. Read guides filled with invaluable tips on venues, locations, and much more. Dive in and let your heart swoon over the incredible moments of love that unfold through my lens.

Weddings

proposals

engagements

tips & guides

education

BLog home

THE AGS BLOG

Small Business Spotlight: Pocketful of Plans

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-Small-business-feature-happy
Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-branding-shoot

Kaitlin Ford, the girl boss of Pocketful of Plans, is one of the kindest event planners you’ll meet. The day of our photo shoot, we chatted over cocktails about Monterey, Pocketful of Plans, and her favorite bridal tip. Read on to learn more…

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-at-the-desk

Tell me about you! What’s your story of how you started and are where you are now? 

I stumbled into coordinating events, but fell in love. When I was in college at the University of Redlands, I studied business with the intention to go into the art world. Shortly after, I started working at a museum and non profit organization, where I began coordinating fundraising events.

After college, I received my master’s degree in Marketing. I worked at the St. Regis in Singapore, which is a luxury hotel, where I applied Experiential Marketing to the events and weddings we hosted. We would plan insane celebrity weddings and events there. It was such a dream!

When I moved to United States, I missed the event world. I got married in Monterey, where we made our home. Now that I’m five years in to owning Pocketful of Plans.

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-stock-photos
Pocketful-of-Plans-Wedding-coordinator-monterey-AGS-Photo-Art-branding-details

That’s wonderful! What makes Pocketful of Plans unique?

Even though I offer full planning, I also have packages that offer partial planning. Partial planning is the perfect option for those that want direction but don’t want the planner as involved. For the couples that think they need day-of coordination, they typically actually need partial planners instead. It’s a great middle ground!

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-branding-shoot-details
Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-Business-portraits
Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-Small-business-owner
Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-film-scans

What are some of your favorite characteristics that you see in your brides?

A lot of them really value time and mental health. To better enjoy their wedding day, the recognize the value in hiring an expert rather than taking on the challenge of planning a wedding themselves.

Additionally, all of them really value guest experience, which is important to me due to my experiential marketing background.

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-branding
Pocketful-of-Plans-Wedding-coordinator-monterey-AGS-Photo-Art-branding-shoot
Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-film-scans

What are some unique weddings you have coming up?

I have a wedding I’m working on right now that I’m really excited about. It’s a full buyout of the resort at the Sanctuary Beach Resort. There will be a full weekend of festivities. Because the property is fairly small, there is no indoor space to have a wedding. Instead, we’re doing a laid back and beautiful ceremony on the sand bluffs.

I’m so excited for the guests to enjoy themselves. The guest list is full of people who are in high stress and demanding careers. This will be the perfect opportunity for them to relax and bond with friends.

What I love doing the most is doing weddings in spaces that aren’t typically used for weddings like private residences and vineyards. The unexpected factor really brings me joy.

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-Small-business-feature
Pocketful-of-Plans-Wedding-coordinator-monterey-AGS-Photo-Art-branding

I read that you have projected that 2019 will have interactive entertainment! Do you do a lot of those?

I’ve seen this in some weddings! 99% of my clients are destination clients, so they aren’t aware about Monterey’s noise ordinances to stop at 10 PM. Sometimes silent discos are an option, but full buyouts eliminate the need to abide by the noise ordinances.

I’m also noticing that corporate events are bringing in unique entertainment. We once requested a fire dancer! Corporate events are really stepping up their game.

Kaitlin-Ford-Pocketful-of-Plans-AGS-Photo-Art-portrait

What are some 2020 trends you’re seeing?

Weddings are turning into wedding weekends instead of just one day. We’ve planned scavenger hunts that are centered around what places and things the couples love. It’s such a fun way to show guests around the area without being all in the same place at the same time.

Pocketful-of-Plans-Wedding-coordinator-monterey-AGS-Photo-Art-Portrait

How fun! What is a Pocketful of Plans Bridal Tip?

I tend to have this conversation with all of my clients – weddings are all about priorities. It’s really good for your mental health and budget when you go into the planning process to have a set of priorities. If your priority is the food, that will affect your venue and catering. If your priority is the party, then think more about the hassle of guest experience and flow of events. The budget is allocated to the priorities; it’s important to ask yourself, “Does this align with what my priorities are?”

Thank you so much, Kaitlin! Brides would be so lucky to work with you.

If you are interested in me photographing your wedding, please contact me here!

comments +

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *