My Life - Kate Park, Owner of Kate Park Events Ltd
How would you describe yourself?
In 3 words I’d say honest, hardworking and creative.
Where is work?
Everywhere and anywhere! The office is in Sale but we meet clients wherever suits them and the purpose of the meeting best.
What did you want to be when you were younger?
I wanted to be an actress – either on the stage or on screen as I loved singing, dancing and acting. I studied at Arden College and the Manchester School of Acting to pursue that dream and ended up working in events where I always say each event is like putting on a show!
Is there one aspect of your life that your 18 year-old self would be shocked at?
That I bought my family home from my parents. If you told me at 18 that one day I would be buying it off my parents and moving in with my own family I would have never believed you.
Name a few of your favourite places to be...
I love to go somewhere different on holiday every year, this year I’ve been to New York and Crete with the family, and have an ever growing list of countries I’d love to visit – the world is a big place! I also love going out for good food, some of my favourite restaurants being Peter Street Kitchen restaurant in Manchester and Simon Rimmer’s Greens restaurant in Sale.
What or who inspires you and why?
Selfless people. I am amazed by doctors and nurses, they work so hard and quite literally save lives every day. We did a conference for radiologists earlier in the year and I was in awe of their ability to look at these scans and give incredibly detailed diagnosis.
What’s the one thing that propelled you?
Having children gave me an entirely new perspective on life and I felt invincible. I set up Kate Park Events when my eldest son was 2 ½ and my youngest was 10 months old. It wasn’t a planned decision, I just found myself in a situation where I either took the leap or settled for a part time job, possibly in an industry I didn’t love.
What was the last gift you gave someone?
A client of ours found out she was pregnant whilst we were planning the wedding (I was one of the first people she told!) so when she had the baby I sent a personalised box with the baby’s name and filled it with clothes and toys for the baby, big brother books for their older son and goodies for Mum.
Tell us a secret/fun fact.
I auditioned for Pop Idol (the original X Factor) where they found the members of the band Hear’Say.
Who or what would you place in room 101?
Liars, I can’t abide them!
What’s the one song you have on heavy rotation?
My guilty pleasure is musicals! I don’t have a particular song on rotation but I have a musicals playlist which is on a constant shuffle. You’ll see me belting out songs if you drive past me on my way to and from meetings.
Congratulations on recently celebrating 10 years in business, how did you celebrate?
On the day of the anniversary I took the team to Fenix restaurant in Manchester and then hosted an International Women’s Day celebration at Peter Street Kitchen in March to thank past and present clients for their support throughout the 10 years.
How has the industry changed over the last decade?
Social media has made a massive impact and changed the events industry forever. Whereas we used to rely on word of mouth or venues recommendations, now the majority of our work stems from images and videos of our events being seen and shared on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
Could you share a recent wedding experience you’ve worked on?
We worked with a couple who got married at the beginning of June at Grantley Hall who knew what they wanted for their big day but gave us the creative freedom to bring their vision to life.
The couple were an integral part of the planning process to ensure their day was unique and personal to them but they trusted us explicitly throughout which allowed us to make decisions on their behalf and therefore execute (in their words) ‘the best day ever!’
They really used our service the way I envisaged it to be used, which made it both successful and enjoyable for all parties – It was a pleasure to work with them and plan their wedding.
What is your favourite wedding trend for 2024 and what do you think will be popular in 2025?
QR codes for uploading photos, white heart sunglasses to create those viral TikTok videos and bows have all been major trends of 2024 and we are now working on new designs and ideas for our 2025 couples (which if I told you about, they wouldn’t be new for our 2025 events!)
But I have to say, although trends are great, what I love is creating a bespoke wedding to suit the couples’ individual tastes making their day unique to them (rather than it just being ‘on-trend’)
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