MLE Vendor Spotlight with Utah Live Bands
We feel so lucky to work and hold friendships with such amazing vendors, such as Utah Live Bands and are honored to be highlighted by them this week! Be sure to check them out on Instagram HERE.
Here’s a little bit more about us:
Michelle Leo Events is an award-winning event design and planning firm based in Salt Lake City specializing in local and destination events. MLE has been named among the "Best Wedding Planners in America” in 2020 by BRIDES Magazine, is Utah’s 2020 “Best of State in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism,” an 11 x winner of Utah’s “Best of State Event Planner & Wedding Services,” a Martha Stewart Weddings “Top Wedding Planner,” and on Vogue’s “Ultimate Wedding Planner” list.
Hiring an event designer and planner is an important decision and we want to make sure that hiring MLE is the right decision for you! Before we take the big plunge together, we ask that you please review this information to learn more about our amazing team, what we’re passionate about and what services we invest our souls wholeheartedly in offering.
Q: HOW LONG HAS MLE BEEN PLANNING, DESIGNING AND EXECUTING EVENTS?
A: With over 15 years of event planning experience, MLE’s founder, Michelle Cousins, launched MLE in 2010 when she decided to marry her love for creativity and design to her natural talent for organization and planning. Michelle has planned everything from luxury weddings, intimate ceremonies, social soirees and corporate events for a wide variety of clients both in the US and internationally.
In order to keep up with the demands of MLE’s rapid growth rate, Michelle expanded her business in 2012 to include a team of amazing and talented individuals with over 75 years of collective event planning and design experience.
This award-winning team has been the recipient of many accolades including being named Luxury Travel Guides 2018 Wedding Company of the Year, a Martha Stewart’s and Vogue Top Wedding Planner, the “Designer of the Year” by Z Gallerie, and nine-time recipient of Utah’s “Best of State Event Planner & Wedding Services Provider” awards. Personally, Michelle has been recognized and honored by Utah Business Magazine as one of their 30 Women to Watch, and a 40 Under 40 recipient recognizing her as one of Utah’s most successful and influential business leaders. Her latest honor is receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, Westminster College.
Q: WHY SHOULD I HIRE AN EVENT PLANNER (DO I REALLY NEED ONE)?
A: Planning an event is a full time job. It keeps the MLE team busy 24-7, six days a week (yes, that includes weekends and holidays). With a busy career and personal life, planning an event can be difficult and most of our clients hire us because they don’t have the much-needed extra time in their daily lives to commit to the rigorous demands of planning an event. There’s no such thing as a “small event” because every event (no matter if the guest count is 30 or 3,000) requires design, management, coordination and execution.
We understand that your friends and family have most likely planned an event at some point in their lives, and you are probably tempted to enlist their assistance (perhaps they even offered to help). BUT- putting your friends and family to work on something they have very little experience with is a one-way ticket to DISASTER. (Remember, there are no do-overs on event day). So what’s the difference between MLE and your crafty friends and helpful family members?
MLE is an organized powerhouse of trained event planning professionals with years of experience working under pressure. We have been through the event planning process many times before and we’re your ticket to finding professional and trusted vendors. We know the right questions to ask and who to contact to get the job done. We know what high-stress situations to plan for and how to manage them. We oversee the big and little details that haven’t (and may not) even crossed your mind. We help our clients avoid costly mistakes and hours of wasted time. In addition, MLE offers peace of mind. Our services provide our clients, their family and friends the freedoms of enjoying a stress-free and memorable event.
Q: HOW DO YOU HANDLE VENDOR CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS?
A: Transparency! At MLE, transparency is key and we pride ourselves on making sure you’re getting the best rates from the vendors you book. MLE does NOT take a commission on any vendor service nor do we charge the vendor any “referral fees” that would drive up the cost of products or services for our clients. All clients are expected to review and sign contracts directly with each selected vendor (we will also review contracts alongside you to make sure everything looks correct from our standpoint). You will then pay all hired vendors directly, not through MLE. Part of our job is to curate a custom selection of vendors for you to choose from based on a variety of unique client details such as budget, personality, priority, style and overall aesthetic.
Q: WHAT DIFFERENTIATES MLE FROM OTHER EVENT PLANNERS AND DESIGNERS?
A: We truly love and appreciate clients who trust us to identify the distinct differences and little details that make their story unlike anyone else’s. When that trust is given, we are able to capture their individuality and work with them to craft a one-of-a-kind celebration inevitably resulting in beautiful event design and unforgettable experiences for the client and their guests.
MLE’s custom three-step approach ensures that no detail is left unaccounted for:
Design Stage: In the beginning stages of our relationship, we work with the client to collaborate and foster a strong visual presence for the event. Throughout our custom design approach, we’ll have many discussions pertaining to the client’s priorities, desired visual aesthetics and the overall guest experience. Upon these discussions, MLE then creates a custom design proposal leaving no detail unaccounted for. Upon review, MLE and the client determine together what ideas proposed will transpire to the actual event.
Planning Stage: MLE is narrowly focused on meticulously handpicking each vendor we recommend for your event. We work with a wide range of talented, professional vendors who only provide the highest level of quality services and products for our clients allowing us to guarantee client satisfaction. MLE doesn’t “take over” planning the event in this stage, but our clients appreciate the experience and expertise we have to offer them through the vendor selection and hiring process. MLE wants to hire your event dream team and we understand that team looks different for each client. MLE tailors vendor recommendations to each client’s specific event needs, budget expectations and desired design aesthetics. Throughout the vendor hiring process, MLE serves as the liaison between vendor and client, promising prompt and timely communications, creative solutions, leadership and direction to ensure that all the elements proposed in the MLE design proposal come together seamlessly for an amazingly cohesive event.
Execution Stage: Our overall goal is to relieve you from the stress of event planning and that includes all the moving parts of event day-of management. Our clients enjoy their events because they know the complicated logistics and daunting behind-the-scene details of event execution are completely managed by the MLE team. We oversee the delivery and set up process, run the event according the to custom timeline we develop together in the Planning Stage, and clean up upon conclusion of the event so you can make a graceful exit and leave the mess behind.
We pride ourselves on offering our clients an event planning and design experience unlike any other and our personalized three-step approach undoubtedly separates MLE from our competition.
Q: WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS AND HOW SOON SHOULD I BOOK MLE’S SERVICES?
A: Please review the MLE Portfolio to review our work and the services page to determine which package best meets your event planning needs. Then contact us for any additional questions and to discuss getting started.
While you may be considering an event that is a few months to a year away, we encourage our potential clients to book as soon as possible. The more time we have to spend working with our clients, the more time we have to make their events truly amazing and unforgettable.
