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Episode 120: Francoise Weeks                                

Jenn Ederer: Top Tools For Wedding & Event Professionals

We’re diving into a 5-post series with a special guest! Jenn Ederer of Modern Day Collective will join us over the next 5 posts to share her expertise related to large scale event design and building a strong team. If you missed her BB Podcast interview, you may want to take time to listen to it and familiarize yourself with her story before diving into her blog series. Sometimes it’s more fun to read blog posts when you can hear the writer’s voice in the written words. If you want to listen first, click here. Otherwise, dig in and enjoy the series!


Hi there! My name is Jenn Ederer and I’m the founder of Modern Day Events and Floral + Modern Day Collective in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’m thrilled to be here.

Kelly Braman Photography

A little bit about me:

I originally started as a retail florist after years of “playing with flowers” but it was only after one year of owning Modern Day Floral that I caught the wedding bug. However, what I quickly realized was that although I loved designing flowers, it was also the relationships I formed with my couples and their families which ignited a fire in my belly. Now after nearly thirteen years, numerous mistakes and a handful of beautiful successes, Modern Day Events and Floral has blossomed into a seven figure full service wedding and event design, planning, and floral boutique lovingly supported by an invaluable team of eight full time employees, and a host of freelance designers and college interns.

During this 5 week series, I’ll be covering topics like growing and leading a team, sales and marketing, organization and creating a system. I will also share how I approach designing five and six-figure budget events, along with my favorite resources to help make it all come together seamlessly for you. I’d love to help you find your place in this competitive market, whatever that may look like for you. Each of you has a unique skill set – so the key is to hone in on what makes you special and unique. It’s not about what others are doing, but instead about what unique perspectives you can bring to the table. It’s about embracing who you are and loving what makes you, YOU.

Let’s find your super power and use that to stand out from the crowd. I’d love to kick off the series by sharing my top resources with you. This is a list of all of my favorite resources for personal growth, team inspiration, and creative tools for designing events. I think these resources will be extremely helpful to you, too!

Jenn ederer shares tools for wedding planners

Kelly Braman Photography

Jenn Ederer shares tools for wedding planners

These are the sources where I find quick inspiration on a daily basis. After reading countless books about business, balance, and personal growth, I’ve found that these three resources are the most helpful by far.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

This book changed the way I think about getting things done in my business and how I approach life. You will discover why less is sometimes actually more and you will learn to be ruthless in cutting away things that aren’t essential. I understand if you’re skeptical – I was, too. Believe me, though, Greg’s approach will give you the clarity you need to pursue what REALLY matters and forget the rest.

Brené Brown: The Power of Vulnerability, Ted Talk

If you are not one of the 58 million+ people who has listened to this talk (actually, even if you have), I HIGHLY encourage you to take the 20 minutes to listen! Brené shares about the power of connection, being seen, and being vulnerable in a way that completely altered my life after I heard it for the first time. I promise that if you haven’t already, you will fall in love with her. Not to mention, Oprah loves her too, so you know she’s got to be good!

Blinkist App 

I view Blinkist as my “try it before you buy it” app. I don’t know about you, but I have stacks of books that I never get around to finishing for a multitude of reasons. With the Blinkist app, you’re able to get a 15-20 minute taste of the books you’ve wanted to read but haven’t had the time for, before officially diving into reading the book in its entirety.

Nathan English Photography

Jenn Ederer shares tools for wedding planners

These resources have helped me build an amazing team, boost their confidence and abilities, and strive to be the best leader possible. After all, teamwork really does make the dream work!

Dave Ramsey’s DISC Personality Test

What I love about this test is that the results are very work-focused. The outcome helps you understand how you work with others best – whether that be in a leadership position, while taking orders, etc. It teaches your employees how best to communicate with one another, based on different personality types. For my staff, this was an eye-opening experience for sure!

Essential Enneagram Personality Test

This personality test is different from the DISC test, but just as helpful! An Enneagram test focuses on the an individual’s character, which helps others understand their intentions, fears, and sources of will power.

EntreLeadership – All Access

Up until just a few years ago, there wasn’t a great place to find an “owner’s manual” on how to run a business. While I had read the coinciding book a long time ago, it wasn’t until the new age of social media that their online resources were launched. This is a great place to get your “MBA” quickly and easily online.

 

Jenn Ederer shares tools for wedding planners

In the wedding and events industry, we are constantly surrounded by visual and creative components… even if we’re not technically a designer of some sort. These resources have allowed me to best communicate with my clients and staff the vision we are creating for an upcoming event.

DesignFiles (formerly Olioboard)

This is the amazing online tool we use to create our 2D & 3D event design rendering boards for our clients. It’s super easy to use, looks incredibly professional , and you don’t have to be a trained graphic designer to use it. We love how visual this program is, and our clients love that they can see their design come to life before their eyes long before the actual event takes place.

Design Seeds 

This website is an incredible resource with plenty of inspiration to pull from. You’ll find all sorts of beautifully-inspired color palettes here that you’re free to use in your everyday work. The search feature is simple and user-friendly, and it even allows you to search for color palettes by season!

Pantone Studio

I just love this program! I mostly use it when I’m trying to match colors to an already-designed space, but there is so much more it can do. It features a full library of all Pantone colors, which comes in super handy. I love that this program can extract a Pantone color code from an image on your phone or computer. You can also mix and test colors to see them used together in graphics, interiors, and 3D designs before you jump in with both feet.

tools for wedding planners


That’s all for today, friends. Next time, we’ll be back talking about all things staffing, growing a team, and how to hire to your weaknesses. See you next time!

-Jenn


See part 2 here!

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  1. Michelle says:

    I LOVE the Enneagram! It is so helpful for understanding what motivates people for work or in any relationships. Highly recommend.

  2. Thank you for introducing me to olioboard! This is going to save me so much time and will look so professional.

    • Jenn Ederer says:

      You’re so welcome! I discovered this program after spending countless hours building design documents on other platforms and then finding that the document was either too large or I couldn’t house them online. I’m also not the most tech savvy individual which was also an added bonus. The program has been a game changer for me, and I hope you have the same success using it.

      Good luck!

      Jenn

  3. Jill Mohn says:

    I am so thankful that you shared these resources and look forward to diving in to them as fall approaches and wedding season winds down. I’m especially anxious to read “Essentialism”. The title alone speaks to me! Thank you so much… priceless…

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