As I take the time to sit down and reflect on the journey and where this wedding planning business has led me, all I can truly think about is just how good and faithful God is. I’m going to try and keep this blog about the journey of Kaitie Gill Weddings as short and sweet as possible, but the thing is – I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to sit down and truly write out the story. And, if you know me well, you know I can carry on a conversation with a fence post. So, without further ado, the story of Kaitie Gill Weddings…
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Ryan and I met in high school and began dating the end of our 10th grade year. We would become engaged in May of 2014 and marry in November of 2014. It was a whirlwind of a year, but a very, very good year.
Fast forward to 2015 and we begin toiling with the idea of moving to another state. I knew that if we moved the only place that really interested me was Tennessee. For those who don’t know, I have a degree in Mass Communications and Knoxville is the headquarters for HGTV. I thought how cool would it be to work there.
So I began applying for jobs and nothing was sticking. But then I stumbled upon a company called The Pink Bride (which has recently been sold). Something about the business completely drew me in. So I decided to reach out to the owners, Fred & Donna Jacob. It just so happened that they would be hosting a wedding show in Memphis soon and invited me to meet them.
Upon meeting them, the wedding industry had me hooked. I went through an interview process and worked out logistics of moving states and then the beginning of 2016 Ryan and I made our way to live in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
While working with The Pink Bride, I honestly don’t even remember what my official title was because I had my hand in a little bit of everything. From proofing the magazine, helping orchestrate trade show floor plans, creating social graphics, updating website details, etc. – I dabbled in it all. It was such a pivotal moment in my life and I didn’t realize just how much it was until I begin wanting to start my own business.
Fred and Donna truly became like family to me so when I shared that while I loved Tennessee it just wasn’t home it wasn’t an easy thing to share, but I knew it was the right decision. Ryan and I would come back to Arkansas just a year after living in Oak Ridge. (Gosh, I miss the Mexican restaurant by the way that was 5 minutes from our rent house.)
Wedding Planner?
It was in Tennessee that I begin toiling with the idea of becoming a wedding planner. Meredith Corning was someone who helped with our Memphis events for The Pink Bride and she was a full-time wedding planner as well. Plus, she is from Arkansas so we had that instant connection. I decided to call her one day and ask how planning weddings alongside assisting for The Pink Bride worked. And while her role in The Pink Bride was more of independent contractor, she said it would be doable. She offered to let me help assist her in some of her upcoming weddings to see if it was something I really enjoyed. Because, let’s be honest, wedding planning isn’t just pretty pictures.
Back Home
Once I was back in Arkansas, I was still able to work remotely for The Pink Bride. With some responsibilities not being the same just for the fact I wasn’t in the office every day now I was also able to start pouring a little more into building my wedding planning business. I decided to name my business Sailboat Weddings.
The name came to me because I wanted to honor my papa who had passed away in September of 2009. He loved deeply and never met a stranger. He loved sailboats and Jesus with fiber of his being. In the world of weddings, it’s important that you have a personality that can mesh well and make people feel at ease. And ultimately, anything I do in life I want it to be for the glory of God. So, Sailboat Weddings it was – smooth sailing from “yes” to “I do” was my slogan.
My First Wedding
My first wedding on my own was under Meredith Corning’s event business, Meredith Events. This was in October of 2017. I had only worked a few weddings with Meredith by this point and she already trusted me to be a lead planner and represent her business. This meant more to me than she could ever know!
Any who… the wedding went great but by the end of the night everyone was drunk that cleanup did not go as planned. I was at the venue until almost 12:30am mopping alcohol spills off the floor and putting up tables and chairs that the family was supposed to assist with. That night, I went home with the worst blisters. (I have pictures, but don’t worry I won’t show them!) I cried from exhaustion. But, something in me still loved this world of weddings. And, the text the next day from the bride and groom thanking us for making their day so special just made that crazy night worth it.
Sailboat Weddings Journey
In 2017 I decided to officially tell the world (aka Facebook & Instagram) that I was now a wedding planner. Once I launched, I actually found out I was pregnant with Lincoln, but that didn’t stop me from building my business. In fact, it gave me more adrenaline to build a business where I could be home with my baby and still bring in income for my family.
In the midst of all this, I had a logo created and I built my website on Wix. Gosh, I wish had screenshots of my original website. It would make you cringe. Even my original logo makes me cringe a little bit, but it meant so much to me and still does.
I began investing in my business and attended my very first Arkansas Democrat Gazette Wedding Show. That was a whirlwind and I’m beyond grateful for my momma who helped work my booth with me. It truly was a family affair in the beginning stages of KGW!
Full-Time
By mid 2019, I began feeling the nudge to go full-time. I wasn’t juggling things well and I knew something had to give. But the fear of not having a steady paycheck scared the crap at outta me. Ryan was supportive and told me that if it didn’t work out, I would just go back to a 9-5. Which was true, I always had a fallback option.
So I prayed about it… God, if this is really what I’m supposed to do, please show me. I booked two weddings that week. But you know, me being human and lacking in faith, I prayed again. Okay, God I know you’ve answered my prayer but can you show me just one more time so I know that it’s truly You. I booked two weddings the following week. This was at the end of 2019.
Dreadful 2020
We all know how 2020 played out so I’m going to save you the heartache of reading about it. But, what 2020 did for me was allowed me to fully let go of The Pink Bride. I was getting things in order to go officially full-time with wedding planning.
But with the world shutting down, events such as wedding shows ceased. The Pink Bride was on standby for events which meant less workload for me at the time. I “phased” out so-to-speak with Pink Bride and went full-time wedding planning in 2020. I’ve never looked back since.
Highlights
Some highlights between 2020 and then the next section “Rebrand Time”… I began building my own team of planner’s and planning assistants. I have had the opportunity to mentor planners who have become so successful – shoutout to Kirsten Bou with White Pine Designs!
I’ve made friends who will be friends forever – shoutout to Natalie Scott with Grandeur House, Kayleigh Ross with Kayleigh Ross Photography, Leah Seale with Vibrant Occasions, and so many others I could list here!
Rebrand Time!
While I will never change my journey, I knew it was time for a rebrand and a name change for my business in 2021. Sailboat Weddings was a conversation starter… “Oh, Do you plan weddings on sailboats?” Not really, but I totally would, by the way!
It was time that my business be called Kaitie Gill Weddings. I had a logo remade and business didn’t slow down, it picked up. Then in 2023, I decided to invest yet again, into my business. I decided to have an official brand created with a true color palette, fonts, official logo, etc. It was by far one of the best decisions and Alex Collier Design crushed it.
Year 2025
I filed for my LLC in 2017 and here we are coming up on EIGHT years of me being an official business owner. EIGHT years of growth, tears (lots of tears!), learning boundaries, learning who and who not to trust, learning how to do taxes (yuck!), learning about payroll systems, and more! EIGHT years of producing and helping execute over 90 weddings!!
And again, all I can truly think about is just how good and faithful God is.
Well, if you’ve made it this far, I thank you for reading. And, if you’ve been with me from the beginning of 2016 when I begin thinking about wedding planning, your constant support means more than I can ever express.
To contact Kaitie Gill Weddings, click here.
All professional images by Kayleigh Ross Photography.
