Conversations with Gretchen Landin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gretchen Landin.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hello, I’m Gretchen!

I am the Founder and Owner of The Royal Soirée – a unique event décor service in Phoenix, Arizona, that was created out of my love and passion for immersive event decorating.

Planning the décor for special parties and celebrations has been my absolute favorite thing to do since I was a young girl planning my family’s themed parties. Years later, after studying Theatrical Scenic Design at Arizona State University, landing an internship with the Walt Disney Company, and working as a wedding planner to help hundreds of couples achieve the weddings of their dreams, I decided it was time for me to start following my true passion – event décor!

Pulling from my experience in set design and events, I was thrilled to launch a new level of themed event décor in the Phoenix area. The Royal Soirée is a truly one-of-a-kind event décor service, drawing on my years of elaborate party hosting to bring an exciting new experience to my clientele. I like to think of events as my art form, and I find inspiration in books and films to create magical settings for people to experience whimsy and joy with their loved ones as they celebrate special occasions.

Although I am the face of The Royal Soirée, I have been truly built by my community, and I am grateful to be surrounded by creative and innovative family and friends who have helped me and inspired me to be the event designer that I am today!

Alright, 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?
As so many of us have experienced, my plans for opening my business were certainly delayed by the global pandemic.

Of course, I knew that putting this project on hold was the responsible thing to do, and I am humbled by the knowledge that it was my privilege to do so (unlike our amazing community of essential workers who did not have a choice), but it was difficult to get so close to launching, and then to wonder if I would ever be able to open the business at all.

I had spent the prior several years working on gathering my inventory and planning my business structure, and during the height of the pandemic, I felt like my dream had suddenly become out of reach. However, after a bit of time, I realized that I could use the time to delve deeper into my plans.

I spent time assessing how I could responsibly open in late 2021, and decided to scale my events into small guest counts, with a strict sanitation procedure, to offer private celebrations as an alternative to riskier large gatherings. During this period, I also was able to personally design and build many of our decorative accents to offer truly unique settings for my events.

Although this delay was a disappointment, I was very fortunate to be able to utilize the time to work further towards my goals!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Royal Soirée is a truly one-of-a-kind event décor service, drawing on my years of elaborate party hosting to bring an exciting new experience to my clientele. Clients can select from a variety of pre-designed themes, and our team arrives and does everything to prepare your space for a celebration to remember.

Each event is designed to be a relaxing, luxury experience for our clients through our all-inclusive packages. We provide everything from the tables and chairs to the linens and décor, as well as dinnerware and serve ware so that our clients only need to worry about the food and the guests! No one needs to lift a finger as we deliver, set up, and then return to whisk it all away after the event has ended.

As a life-long lover of books and film, my work is incredibly influenced by stories. A large driving factor to pursue my degree was that I wanted to learn how to create fantastical settings for people to experience in the real world. To me, an event can be a place in time where we, as guests, can enjoy stepping into a beloved story, or an unknown adventure – which is why I design my events to be an experience, rather than just a “party.”

When preparing to work on a new theme, I spend days listening to music that reminds me of the story, reading through the book or watching the film, and gathering items for my vision boards. I even research the literary themes of my inspiration, which allows me to add special details to make my events more immersive. My ultimate goal is to create exciting, enchanting experiences – there is nothing better!

By taking the time to design these themes as pre-designed, curated events, I can focus on making our services sustainable and environmentally responsible. As a professional in the event world, I have seen many events leave behind incredible amounts of waste, and I want to be part of a change in this industry by repurposing vintage pieces and heirlooms. There are no single-use items at any of our events, allowing our clients to feel good about celebrating responsibly.

Another change in the industry I am committed to working on is inclusivity and accessibility in events. One way, I am doing that is to make sure every single one of our posts on social media includes a full image description, as well as accessible hashtags so that they can be experienced by those with visual impairment. This is an example of small changes from the “norm” that so often excludes people with disabilities. Furthermore, it is my goal to feature people from all walks of life in our photos and online presence.

I believe it is incredibly important to show different sizes, ages, races, abilities, and gender expressions – visibility of real people with differences is essential and isn’t our world much more wonderful when we share and celebrate those differences? I’m incredibly excited to get to promote diversity as we continue to make our name in the event industry.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Pablo Picasso once said, “Everything you can imagine is real.”

As a grown adult with a fierce commitment to fostering my imagination, I am deeply moved by this simple sentence. By keeping my imagination active through reading and designing, I have been able to create events that are truly enchanting experiences.

Whether it’s looking at an odd antique trinket and imagining it completely transformed, or imagining a huge event space completely changed into a different world, it is this characteristic that has allowed me to build magical memories for people time and again.

Although as a child, I was occasionally reprimanded for daydreaming a bit too much, I think that holding onto my imagination has certainly paid off!

Pricing:

• Events Starting at $900

Contact Info:

• Email: info@theroyalsoiree.com
• Website: www.theroyalsoiree.com
• Instagram: @theroyalsoiree
• Facebook: theroyalsoiree

Image Credits
Silvana Braggio Photography https://silvanabraggiophotography.com/ @silvanabraggiophotography, and Beth Moore Photography https://www.bethmoorephoto.com/,  @bethmoorephoto