Meet Amy Nolan Carolyn Johnson

We recently connected with Amy Nolan Carolyn Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy Nolan, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

When you realize that no one really knows what they’re doing, that gives you the audacity to do it, too. We were pretty young when we realized we could just…do stuff. Start a business! Advertise to find clients! Change our pricing! It’s been a journey.

Of course, there is a learning curve, but we have always stuck true to our values and ourselves. We’re theatre kids and we’re not that fussed with what other businesses in the industry are doing. Over sixteen years, we’ve honed and perfected the packages we offer at a price point that is a value to our clients and works for us.

We love to be inspired by our fellow industry professionals, but relying on our gut instinct hasn’t steered us wrong yet. We try not to be influenced by what’s popular and trendy and lean into the celebration our clients want to have. Guiding them in crafting the best day of their lives is incredibly satisfying.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Wedding and event planning is a dream job. Creative, interesting, and at times stressful, but never boring!

We met doing a production of Grease on the west side of Chicago–Amy was Rizzo, Carolyn was Marty, and we just loved each other. We realized two things as we played Pink Ladies that summer: one, that we both loved planning and lists and organizing and two, that our theatre backgrounds translated perfectly to event production.

A year later, we had an LLC and several weddings booked! We somehow just knew what to do–we put together timelines that made sense and then executed them, and we were great at it. We’ve attracted so many incredibly interesting couples, in part due to our name, but also to our vibes–we love to meet and work with fun people.

We have a fantastic team of 9 part-time staff, some of whom have been with us 10-14 years. They are all such amazing people, and so fantastic at what they do. We couldn’t be prouder of the team we’ve relied on to make our events successful.

We have several planning options, from Full start-to-finish planning and coordination to Event Management and Day of Coordination. We help people find the right venue, caterer, music and photography vendors; every piece of an event that needs to be put into place before the actual day arrives. Our staff provides hands-on, on-site event management from the beginning to the end of an event day, executing flawless details, managing dozens of moving parts and keeping everyone smiling.

Our favorite part of our job is collaboration. When we come together with vendors, whether we are helping the clients find them or if they’ve done the legwork and we’re managing the vendors they’ve assembled, we are a TEAM. We will advocate for what our clients want and have decided on, but our main focus with other vendors is working together.

They are experts in their fields as we are in ours. We love collaborating and letting them shine at their jobs as we manage the day. It is a team effort from the food to the music to the photos, and we want to make sure your vendor team has everything they need to be successful.

Besides that, the most important part of what we do is taking the stress off of your shoulders, using our sixteen years of experience to make sure everything is covered, and letting you dance the night away without a care in the world.

We love love. We love being a part of love stories. It is an honor every time.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Experience in Musical Theatre
Office Management background
Knowing who we are – appealing to weirdos like us.

Our advice is to find your niche and stick to it. Don’t try to appeal to everyone because that is impossible. Stay authentic.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

This administration. The cost of everything is going up with an idiotic tariff policy, our immigrant vendors and clients are terrified, and we have no idea what is happening from one day to the next. It is outrageous. And we advocate as much as we can for change.

But joy is resistance and they cannot have that. We are going to celebrate you and your love because they cannot take that away. And we won’t let them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aneventlessordinary.com
• Instagram: @aelochicago
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/an-event-less-ordinary-chicago?osq=An+Event+Less+Ordinary&override_cta=Get+information&sort_by=date_desc

Image Credits

Ingrid Bonne Photography
Ingrid Bonne Photography
Ed & Aileen Photography
Becca Heuer Photography
Andino Photography
Audrey Simper Photo