From Bride to Wedding Planner: How Lauren Grech, Founder of LLG Events, Created a 7-Figure Wedding Planning Company
In partnership with Jordan Finkle
Building a successful brand isn’t just about flashy logos or catchy slogans—it’s about personal growth and authenticity. Just ask Gene Simmons. In his book “Me, Inc.: Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business,” the KISS legend dives deep into how embracing your true self can set you apart. Simmons argues that success comes from living a genuinely examined life and that kind of authenticity naturally draws people to your brand.
The Hero’s Journey
This idea ties in perfectly with the “Hero’s Journey,” a mythical framework of personal transformation laid out by Joseph Campbell in “A Hero with a Thousand Faces.” From that first call to adventure to facing the unknown and coming out reborn, it’s a story structure that resonates across time and culture. As a livable philosophy, it’s about actively going into the world to overcome obstacles and discover one’s true potential and purpose.
Childhood Dreams: The Birth of a Passion
Lauren Grech’s modern-day odyssey embodies this message of authenticity and mirrors this timeless narrative of metamorphosis.
From a childhood fascination with weddings to a brief detour as a forensic scientist, to the helm of a thriving luxury wedding planning company. Lauren Grech’s journey is not only a testament of passion, perseverance, but the power of following your dreams. Her life is one example of how personal growth and development can lead you on your own heroic path. Lauren ultimately embarked on her Hero’s Journey, leaving behind a promising career as a Forensic Toxicologist to become a wedding planner, starting LLG Events after planning her own wedding and recognising her true lifelong calling.
Growing up, her parents’ separation was incredibly hard on her. As a child of divorced parents, Lauren’s fascination with marriage began at an early age when she lived in a household without her father. Surrounded by a strong, traditional matricarial mother from Peru, her great-grandmother and sister, her family valued traditional career paths. As a child, Lauren faced significant internal pressure to pursue professions like medicine, law, or education as those were the professions seen as the most impactful, enabling her to help the most people. Her initial path led her to college and graduate school where she applied to countless physician assistant programs and medical schools, but ultimately got rejected. Undeterred, she shifted her focus to forensic science, earning a Master’s in Science in Forensic Toxicology and starting her career at the New York City’s Medical Examiner’s office.
The Forensic Science Detour
Lauren’s work as a forensic toxicologist involved studying how people died, compiling toxicology reports, and assisting with identifying the cause of death. After 6 months, the work became taxing and really hard to handle. She talks about the tragedy and trauma the families faced and how it was all too overwhelming. During this time, Lauren’s family took a trip to Peru, where she witnessed firsthand the construction empire her Abuela built over the course of 10 years. This included hundreds of brand new apartment complexes across Lima, Miraflores and Lince. Her Abuela simultaneously built a real estate brand, ran for congress of Peru while running many companies within her portfolio. Lauren was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of her grandmother and realised that if she wanted to help the most people, she needed to find something she was passionate about. 1 year later, as she was planning her own wedding, she began to sense her true calling. She found herself daydreaming about wedding planning, scrolling Pinterest boards, doodling her next wedding design and creating her first company website.
In Winter 2015, three months after her wedding, an offer came from another lab for a full-ride in a PhD in Forensic Toxicology to continue her research. An offer that many would have viewed as the opportunity of a lifetime, Lauren knew it was not for her. She gave her 2 weeks notice and left the company to start LLG Events, a luxury wedding and event planning company based in New York City.
A Leap of Faith: Starting LLG Events
LLG Events was incorporated in March 2015 and was immediately dedicated to the world of luxury weddings. Lauren started her business servicing clients at the luxurious Oheka Castle on Long Island. It was there she learned the ropes about wedding planning under the guidance of their General Manager and Director of Sales.
Lauren’s entrepreneurial turning point came when she read Gene Simmons, Building an Army Of One and secured her first paid wedding in New York City. With the revenue, she went all in on LLG Events, self-funding the venture and moving into Brooklyn Heights to advance her career. Moving closer to the city was part of Simmons’ advice, that entrepreneurs belong in the city where there is money and deal flow.
Establishing LLG Events in NYC and Beyond
This financial sacrifice and startup mindset paid off as her business grew. Lauren and the newly minted LLG Events soon secured landmark weddings at Cipriani Wall Street, Cipriani 42nd Street, The Rainbow Room and The Plaza Hotel. Each of these events propelled her further into the New York City wedding market, expanded her network and she became a formidable player in the luxury wedding industry.
By 2017, 2 years after her inception, LLG Events had expanded internationally, orchestrating a New Year’s Eve wedding in the Loire Valley, France. This marked the beginning of Lauren’s foray into the global wedding market, with subsequent destination weddings in Tuscany and Lake Como, Italy, Abu Dhabi, Bora Bora, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. And she has no plans of slowing down. She alludes to starting her own TV show, expanding into the London wedding market and exploring new venues never before seen in the wedding industry.
Going Global and Finding a Niche
Today, LLG caters to a high-net-worth clientele. Some of LLG’s most notable (and viral) weddings are held at the most prestigious venues globally, such as the Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Villa Balbiano in Lake Como, Italy, the Four Seasons in Bora Bora, Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and The Plaza Hotel in New York City. Her weddings often feature unique and extravagant elements but most importantly each wedding showcases LLG’s ability to deliver exceptional, luxurious experiences, across many locations, every single time. The professional skills required to orchestrate multiple weddings simultaneously at this level cannot be ignored.
Lauren’s clients trust her discerning eye, and the expertise she brings them when it comes to navigating the modern wedding. Simply put, this melange of creativity and performance is rare and her inspiring journey with LLG Events is a testament to the power of following through with your passion. To never give up and to always listen to your instincts.
Looking Forward: Lauren’s Commitment to her Craft
As Lauren continues to grow LLG Events and innovate with the wedding planning industry, she remains dedicated to serving her couples, on the most important day of their lives. Creating truly unforgettable and luxurious experiences that reflect the unique vision of her clients and their future together.
Rolling Stone UK newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this featured content