Today we’d like to introduce you to Yuri Martinez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have always been well organized. Ever since I started working in the corporate world from being an Executive Assistant to a busy CEO to my current position, a Business Manager for two offices in the US and Mexico. I can’t thank my bosses enough for teaching me excellent leadership skills that have helped me launch my wedding planning business. It all started in fall of 2016 when I was planning my own wedding. I was a total bridezilla! I would send numerous spreadsheets to my bridesmaids about every single detail related to my wedding. My Maid of Honor jokingly said, “You could be a Wedding Planner”. I took that as a compliment (LOL)… well December 3, 2016 (my wedding) passed, and so many people congratulated me on how successful my event was. Fast forward to January 2017, I took the leap of faith and started my Instagram @weddingsbyyuri and a Gmail email account. Several friends were engaged at the time and I volunteered to be their Wedding Planner in exchange for their wedding photos. I opened a Thumbtack account where I was charging $500.00 for full-service planning. I did anything I could to gain wedding planning experience, even if it meant I had to work for free! In August 2018, I welcomed my first child, and boy was it overwhelming for me as a first-time mom and battling through postpartum depression. I seriously wanted to call all my Fall and Winter 2018 events to cancel. I felt like I was not going to be able to function and guarantee a successful event. My amazing sister, Rose, was incredible during my postpartum depression struggle. She would drive me to my therapist appointments and simply tell me that I was a strong woman and that I would get through it! Then it all clicked! No one in this world would help me grow my business better than my sister!! So, I asked her if she would be interested to help me plan events. Rose agreed to help only while I snapped out of it! My clients fell in love with Rose and I just couldn’t let her leave me! Rose manages all our social media accounts and has grown our Instagram following to 5000 in the last 3 years. Together, we book nearly 50 events a year. We both work full-time corporate jobs, and love staying busy! Another person I can’t thank enough is my husband for his incredible support, from helping me set up at Open Houses, and ceremonies, and cleaning up at events to now being mom and dad while mommy is working an event! Rose and I have hired Wedding Day Assistants that will help continue to grow our business. We are extremely thankful for our families, friends, vendors, and our followers’ support!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Bridezillas, groomzillas, momzillas, and even bridesmaidzillas are always challenging, but extra communication can reduce the many obstacles that come into planning a wedding with this type of client. Luckily, I haven’t had many complicated clients.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Couples should know that I am a phone call or text away from helping them with any questions they may have. Many planners do not allow couples to send text messages or have time frames of when couples can communicate with them. I am all about customer service, and try to respond to all our clients within a reasonable time frame.
18-24 months prior to the wedding if they want full/partial wedding planning service. This means we have a better chance at securing the venue of their dreams and top-notch wedding vendors.
We only offer Months of Wedding Planning, Partial Wedding Planning, and Full-Service Wedding Planning.
We have custom wedding day timelines for our couples. Whether our couples want a short reception or if they’re having two bands, dollar dances, viboras, bouquet/garter toss, etc. Once we finalized the timeline, we email it to all vendors. Our planning portal has an option to share an URL link that can be sent via text to everyone involved on wedding day.
As of January 2017, our team has booked 229 events.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The thing I love most about what I do is meeting new people. I am super friendly and outgoing. I have become pretty close to several clients because we build a relationship through the planning process that it is impossible to disconnect from each other’s lives after the wedding. Also, meeting talented vendors who support all our events is important to us to be able to execute successful events.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.weddingsbyyuri.com
- Instagram: @weddingsbyuri
- Facebook: @weddingsbyuri
Image Credits
Rick Davila
Jacklynn Lomeli Photography
Diana Mendoza Photography
Magdiel Photography
