We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kristi Stuart. Check out our conversation below.
Kristi, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
What an amazing question! Being a wedding coordinator is one of those things that people don’t know that they need until they know they need it. Weddings have changed a lot over the past decades. Gone are the days where aunts and bridesmaids can just set out some cake and mints and make bouquets themselves. There are multiple vendors, timelines, and personalities to manage and it often becomes overwhelming very quickly. That’s where we come in, to provide a breath of fresh air into a stressful situation.
Our role encompasses so many things outside of just running a timeline and lighting candles. It’s being ready to handle problems on the fly, having a rolodex of vendors who can help fill in gaps, its people management when emotions run high and endurance to make it through long days to make sure that our couples have the day of their dreams.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! I’m Kristi and I own What Matters Most Wedding & Event Management. I like to say that our company started “accidentally” because I have such a drive to serve other people. I started helping people in my church and my family with their wedding plans, then my hair stylist enlisted my help, then they started telling other people and then, all of a sudden we were doing weddings all over the city. I still marvel sometimes that almost 200 couples have turned over their binders full of plans and dreams to me and my team and trust us to help them bring it to life.
Through that spirit of service, we have been able to build a network of wedding providers that provide the same level of excellence that we strive for. Anything that our couples need can be handled on the fly with the help of the amazing wedding vendor community here in Kansas City.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I think there were two main drivers that shaped the woman that I have become. The first, and most obvious are my parents. They taught me the value of community and forgiveness and service. They shaped me into a person who loves God, love others, and strives to serve the world. My “I don’t know but I will figure it out” spirit comes directly from my mom who was always good with a DIY project or repurposing things to suit a need and that definitely comes in handy in the wedding world. My father showed me the importance of service with a smile and single minded determination to meet your goals. Without their unfailing support, I would have never accomplished all that I have in my life.
The other would be my close knit circle of friends, My core college friends expanded my worldview outside of my small town upbringing and provide me with guidance and levity when they are needed most. The people that my church family has brought to me are and continue to be a rock that remind me to eat on wedding days and helps me glow up on the days when imposter syndrome seeks to pull me down.
Keeping my inner circle pulled in close has helped mold and shape me into the person that people know they can rely on when the going gets tough.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I mentioned imposter syndrome earlier and I don’t always want to admit how much that fear affects my daily life. If you aren’t familiar with the term, its the fear that you aren’t really as good as you think you are and that someone will find out and ruin you. It doesn’t matter how many weddings I do, how many five star reviews I received, or how many peer recommendations come through my system, I am still in awe and wonder that anyone trusts me to do these things for them.
I don’t want to say that it holds me back (at least not anymore) but it definitely fuels me to do my very best for every single event that I do. Having that little voice reminds me that the details do matter and I don’t let them slip so that voice doesn’t get the last word.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Could you even say What Matters Most to me? (sorry couldn’t resist the joke).
I think you could ask anyone and they would say that would be people. I want everyone to feel safe and secure around me. I want them to feel free to be vulnerable and messy and happy and joyous and everything in between. I love the feeling when I walk into a venue and the other vendors around me breathe a sigh of relief because they know everything is going to be handled and smooth. I love when I get the hug from the bride’s family at the end of the night saying that they don’t know how they would have done it without me. It makes me feel like what I do matters and it gives me the drive to keep going on. The love of people and protecting the peace of them on their special day and beyond is the driving force behind everything I do
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT I am doing what I’m born to do. This world is custom fit for my drive and personality. I have never gone to bed as tired and exhausted as I do on a wedding day but so filled with joy and excitement for what I was able to do for people at the same time. If that is not fulfilling a purpose, I don’t know what is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whatmattersweddings.com
- Instagram: @whatmattersweddings
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatmattersweddings
Image Credits
Aaron Phelps Photography
Carlie Nicole Photography
Ellie Whitesell Photography
