May 8, 2017

Meet Starr Harris of StarrLite Events in Ellenwood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Starr Harris.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Starr. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My love for event planning started at 15 when I attended prom. That night I was overly obsessed with the decor and event design. I realized my love for attention to detail and how I could organize and plan events. After that I attended many social and family gatherings always intrigued about the elements that contributed to the success of the events.

As a teenager, I was clueless about careers so I never thought I could get paid to plan and organize parties. I never imagined I would be a professional Event Planner. I convinced myself Event Planning wasn’t a real job and suppressed my love for it. After graduation, my interests changed and I decided to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education.

While pursuing my degree, I worked in corporate America as a IT professional. Being underpaid & overworked and not happy with the job and exhausting city commute. I realized that it was time for me to pursue my real passion.

In the summer of 2011, I planned and designed my friends baby shower. My ah ha moment came when the party guests raved about the stunning decorations and what a fantastic job I did putting everything together. I didn’t get paid for the party, I just planned but enjoyed every minute of it. This was the affirmation I needed in realizing I loved Event Planning! That day I told myself I wanted to do what I loved and knew my heart and soul was event planning and I decided to follow my passions for design, details and planning. In 2012, StarrLite Events was born.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the beginning, I didn’t believe I had the right experience to get started. After taking online wedding and event certification courses, I questioned myself because I loved planning parties and events for friends and family, but I wasn’t sure how to begin my event planning business or where to start looking to get the experience I needed. Are you familiar with the saying, “it’s not what you know, but who you know”? In Atlanta’s event planning industry networking is key to success!

When I gained the confidence and decided to network this help me build my clientele and gain valuable event planning experience. It took months to finally build a client base, find vendors to work with, and start my portfolio.

The road hasn’t always been easy and we hit a few bumps along the way but those bumps simply helped me learn from those experiences and make necessary changes to establish a more solid business foundation. In life, you will face challenges and obstacles and nobody ever said it was going to be easy.

Nevertheless now, I’m striving to get our name out there to make it easier for more people to find us when there looking for a top-notch event planning company. Our mission is to have customers receive service beyond their imagination, they’ll rave about it to all their friends and family come back again and again to allow StarrLite Events to be a part of all their special occasions and events!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about StarrLite Events – what should we know?
We are a full-service Event Planning Company dedicated and passionate about planning and organizing events, our goal is to make sure your celebration is unique and well-coordinated for unforgettable memories. StarrLite Events can plan, coordinate, and design any special event or occasion. We also provide Balloon Decor, Invitations, Decor, Catering, Photography, and DJ services. We work with clients as unique as the events we plan so no event is too small or too large!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The feeling of enjoyment is a quality I feel is most important to my success. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, in all likelihood it’s safe to assume that will be reflected in the success of your business or subsequent lack of success. In fact, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, chances are you won’t succeed. I love Event Planning from personal gratification not based on financial gain.

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