An Interview with Veronica Joy of Veronica Joy Events

I cannot imagine a more apt description for Veronica Joy than her brand’s mantra: “luxuriously fun.” As a fellow N.Y.C.-based wedding vendor, I have always admired Veronica’s dedication to cultivating joy in every room she enters. To best understand Veronica’s journey in the industry and unique approach to event planning, I sat down with her.

You leverage over a decade of experiencing planning weddings and other luxury events. How would you characterize this experience? What specifically motivated you to create your own company?

So, I started working in corporate events, for The New York Times. And then I went over to Discovery Inc. — which is now Warner Bros Discovery — handling events for the Oprah Winfrey Network, HGTV, TLC … and actually, while I was at The New York Times, I started my business. I worked two jobs for six years before taking Veronica Joy Events full-time in 2022. It’s been very busy, and a lot of different things have gone on, but I always try to run my small business like I’m at one of those big corporations.

You serve clients primarily in New York, but also in destinations around the world. Are there any events — in any location!— that stand out in your memory as having been particularly exciting or fulfilling to plan?

So, while we very much have a New York client base, we love to travel. We’ve done a lot of East Coast weddings — Boston, D.C., Cape Cod … We’re really hoping to get to the South of France and Mexico; those are on our list of places we’d really like to produce weddings!

[In terms of events], it’s hard to pick a specific one, because every single client that we work with is so unique. But we recently did [a wedding] out of a blank warehouse space, and an art installation was happening [in the building] at the same time. And it was really, really cool to work with that art install and have it bleed into the couple’s vision for the day. It was a black-tie event, but we had food trucks, four different cocktail stations, and very colorful [decor]! We [also] transformed and flipped the room a few times, so it was really different and intentional.

You are often cited as having genuine excitement about planning and design; I think your website captures it best with the phrase “passion-driven event planning.” How do you so consistently infuse joy into your work?

I think I’m human. I really am so deeply connected with my clients, and we become dear, dear friends. I will say, though, that we are able to exude such joy and playfulness and happiness because we’re so prepared. We’re so locked in and organized that we feel confident in our ability to giggle with the client, dance with the client, and exude our joy onto them. If we are prepared, we can do anything, and we are always obnoxiously prepared!

How would you describe your event planning process, from consultation to execution?

So, once a client signs on with us, we work out of a wedding planning worksheet — a glorified Google Doc — which they’re able to have eyes on and work within with us. All parties have [access] to it. Instead of [our clients] feeling anxious and thinking, “Oh my gosh, I have to plan a wedding in a year!”, we break it down to manageable monthly to-dos. We send out a monthly email that says what we’ve accomplished, what they have to work on, and what we need to work on. We also meet with each of our clients monthly. That, I think, is where my corporate days shine through, because it’s all very detail-oriented and scope-oriented.

How would you describe the structure of your team?

We have one full time employee and event coordinator on our team. Her name is Gianna, and she’s amazing. She’s with me on everything. We’re copied on everything and manage all things together. And then, we bring a larger team on-site that’s been with me for many years. Everyone always knows what’s going on. I always say, “God forbid something were to happen to me, if someone looked at our documents they’d be able to run the wedding.”

I was struck by the sentiment of “feeling like a guest at your own event”; why is it so important that your clients feel this way?

[First of all], I think it’s a great [mindset] for the client to [adopt]. The kindest thing someone said to me on my wedding day was, “You were so present”, and that is the gift I love to give to my clients.

What is the best piece of advice you have for vendors looking to build strong working relationships with planners like you?

Get personal. People can see through the fluff of things. Being genuine and personal will get you far!

I was very intrigued by your project, Party of V. Would you mind explaining to me how Party of V works and why it is so important to you to help others cultivate authentic connections in this industry and beyond?

It hasn’t launched yet! I’m trying my best to get it off the ground. I’ve had Party of V in the works for, like, eight years. The thought’s always been there. I’ve spoken about it with so many people. I go on solo trips every year, and what I love about those solo trips is that you just get to meet random people in different situations. And I think not everything has to be a business transaction, it can be a soul transaction. So, what can I learn from you? What can you learn from me? And that’s also translated over the years into me wanting this dopamine-hit of fun. So, ideally, what I’m going to be doing — it will be dinner parties and social retreats for the “modern soul seeker.” So, it can be anything from a sound bath class to a rage room to an improv class, all the way up to a beautiful, curated, expensive dinner party or a two-day retreat in the Hamptons. And basically, I would be the trusted source supplying [these experiences] for people. Whenever I talk about going on a solo trip, someone’s like, “Oh my God, I could never do that. How could you leave? How could you plan that?” So, I want to curate experiences for those people, and I think we’re such a trusted brand that people will look at it, show up, and know we’ll take care of them.

Finally, is there anything on the horizon for Veronica Joy Events that you are able to share? What does the future look like for the brand?

Currently, we take a select number of full-service clients each year. We’re so selective because we put so much into [each event]. Everything has to be aligned; it has to work for them, but it also has to work for us. Going forward, we’ll be working to expand into destination markets like the South of France and Mexico. The goal is [always] to create events that feel both luxurious and fun, and of course to keep joy at the center of it all!