Detail-oriented, incredibly creative and attentive to the feelings of, well, everyone: these are the three main qualities that every wedding planner should have. And that’s certainly on the calling card of Lauren Grech, the founder of LLG Events. To say Lauren understands romance is a total understatement, considering the idea for her company was born out of her own wedding (and that her husband is her co-founder!!). Now after six insanely successful years in business, LLG Events has an A-List clientele and has designed the most dreamy weddings around the world, from the island of Bora Bora to a castle in Italy. Here, Lauren tells us all about it.

1. Hi Lauren! Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
LLG Events was born unconventionally. Thinking I would pursue a career in biology/pre-med, I went to undergrad at Binghamton University and then went on to earn my Masters of Science in Forensic Science at Pace University. Post-graduation, I became a research and development Scientist where I determined cause of death, ran toxicology reports and researched new drug testing technology for pain management clinics. I was working at the medical examiner’s office in New York City when my now-husband, Paul, proposed!

2. Wait, so when did you know you wanted to be a wedding planner?
I began planning my own wedding and learning about the world of events. It felt like going to the circus for the first time , but in the best way possible. Like when you see all these different acts, and everyone’s talent and coordination to pull it off. How could you not get enamored by that?

I began planning my exit strategy from research and development and started LLG Events one month after I married my husband. He wanted to be part of my plan, so we agreed to become business partners. We sat at my mom’s kitchen table thinking of a name and creating a business strategy. We agreed that our first step was to go back to the place where we got married and ask to shadow the maître d’.

And so we went, working 40 hours a week at our “normal” jobs, and volunteering every Thursday and Friday evening when they had corporate or social events, and every Saturday and Sunday when they had weddings. Paul and I would be there for 32 hours most weekends, and learned everything we could. We worked every job — from barback, waiting tables, valet parking, bathroom attending, we did it all. I knew that if we were going to be successful and respected, we needed to have exposure to every position.