Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisha Richardson.
Hi Alisha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’ve always been in the hospitality industry in some way shape or form. Whether it was waiting tables, working for catering companies, or at a hotel. My mom did the employee events for Sprint campus employees for years and I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree there!
I started my events journey at a hotel here in the KC metro as their event manager. I believe this is where my passion for weddings really started. The magic was a bit captivating, but hotel weddings in a small venue are fewer than the corporate meetings that we so frequently saw coming through. I was with the property for a couple of years before I was recruited to work for a local catering company. My time with the catering company was brief, but with the constant service of weddings? I knew my love of them was locked in for good.
From there, I went into the corporate world of events. I worked for a software company based out of Austin, TX, traveling all over the country doing trade shows, client conferences, corporate dinners, holiday parties, etc. I traveled about 50% of the time and averaged 150 events per year.
I myself got married in the fall of 2015, and realized that once I completed the planning of my own, there were no more weddings in my future! I looked at my new husband and said “I really miss weddings.” And that was the start! I started “ThirtyOne: Thirty Events in January of 2016 and by May of 2017, I was able to quit my job and pursue this dream full time.
ThirtyOne: Thirty would not be the company it is today without the amazing team I have in my corner, the support of my husband, my family, the Kansas City vendor community, and my relationship with Christ. I have been extremely blessed. Countless mistakes, an unmeasurable amount of grace (a lot from my husband), and a little bit of drive. When I say I have been blessed, I am serious. There is no way this would have been possible without God’s hand over my family, my team, and my company.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not. I had my daughter, Aubrey, at 18 years old. I didn’t think schooling was in the cards for me, so I set straight out to work full time. I didn’t have any idea what my career path was going to be, what/who I wanted to be. I was a teenager raising a kid and trying to figure out my place. My goal was to provide and work hard.
When I got married and no longer had to be the sole provider for my household, there was the ability to find my place in an industry I was really loving a little bit more.
Struggles? At one point, I let pride get in the way of growth and steady provision. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be big, a name in the industry, and I paid for that pride with a few relationships, and a bit financially. But I learned a whole heck of a lot, and I believe I am not only a better business person, but an employer, teammate, parent, and all-around person because of it.
Truly, there is growth in the struggle. There are lessons to learn and mountains to climb in those struggles. And while struggles are not fun, I embrace them and the lessons they teach because I know something new, and amazing is going to come out of that.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have a background in musical theater. I studied musical theater for a brief time, and I met my husband in the theater. Performance, music, dance, etc, are big things in my household. While I’m no longer on the traditional “stage” as much as I would like, cuz duh, weddings, I like to look at the weddings we do as my performances. As my “new stage”.
We love to create days that “directly reflect who the clients are as a couple”. We want their family and friends walking away from the day knowing the couple got exactly what they wanted, and the day was made just for them. Having those conversations to draw out the fun details, creating intimate moments within the day for memories to be made and time to be shared, and loving our clients right where they are.
Weddings can be hard, emotional, and draining for people in general. We pride ourselves in being not only a partner in the process but an advocate and a friend. We are real, we are genuine, and we strive to work so incredibly hard for our clients.
I’m most proud of my team. I truly know I cannot do this job alone, and without them, their hard work, and trust in me, this would just be an idea. I owe them all for making my dream, reality.
What’s next?
Growth. That’s a huge future plan. We have a few exciting things in the works, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you. Ha! Jk. Just keep your eyes peeled.
Pricing:
- Wedding Days start at $1,850
- Corporate and Social Events – Inquire for Pricing
Contact Info:
- Email: alisha@thirtyonethirtyevents.com
- Website: www.thirtyonethirtyevents.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirtyonethirty_events/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thirtyonethirtyevents
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/thirtyonethirty-events-kansas-city-mo-1042712
Image Credits
Madie McDowell Photography, Cheyenne Lowe Photography, Ashley Ice Photography, The Bold Americana, Elizabeth West Photography, Brigitte Patterson Photography, Catherine Rhodes Photography, Kathleen Straub Photography, Delany Hady Photography, and Mariah Selenas Photography
