Jen Bishop Knows How to Get the Party (Planning) Started
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
“I remember for my first event, I had just about two weeks to plan a banquet for probably 1,200 people, and we were on a really tight budget. We just had to make it happen,” Jen Bishop recalls from a mustard-yellow chair just inside the front door of Hygge’s Third Ward. “And I remember thinking: ‘This is awesome.’”
Bishop thrived in both the fast-paced momentum and the beautiful mess that was the process leading up to the actual event. Yet, there was something she truly loved about it all.
“I just really loved watching people enjoy themselves at the event,” she notes.
That love is still very much a part of how Bishop operates today. It’s also how she runs her business. {continued below}
Bishop owns and manages J. Leigh Events, a full-service, event planning company. It’s grown tremendously since she founded it five years ago, and today, she offers to clients a variety of comprehensive packages and services that guarantee event planning, management, and execution, but also a well-run, memorable, and stress-free experience. She plans events that range from large-scale corporate or community events to intimate bridal showers and birthday parties.
“I never thought about event planning before then,” she notes. “And then it just kind of fell in my lap, and I ended up falling in love with it while at my job.”
Ironically, Bishop never saw this career in events coming. She was working as an Administrative Assistant when event planning requests started to come to her. She had never planned events before – but was open to trying it.
“I never thought about event planning before then,” she notes. “And then it just kind of fell in my lap, and I ended up falling in love with it while at my job.”
A punctual and prudent Type-A personality who loves timelines and control of the chaos, Bishop thrived at not only just managing the details, but also seeing how all the pieces came together for the total picture of an experience.
There’s no one more than Bishop who understands and appreciates the time and energy that goes into designing a creative, fun, memorable event. Which is why she’s over-the-moon excited about J. Leigh Events recent product and service offering – Party Perfected.
- Leigh’s Party Perfected just might be party simplicity and branding at its finest – all your party needs in one box as well as a guide written by Bishop herself to help the party planner recreate trendy, party looks we gush over via Pinterest or IG.
Party boxes and add-ons are available now.
“There’s just nothing like seeing the end result, but more importantly – being able to see just how much fun people are having at an event together,”
With over 15 years of event planning experience, Bishop still lights up with real, authentic joy when she chats about any number of events she’s planned recently – from a grand opening celebration in the rain to 16 hours on site running an event to a 40th birthday party low country boil in a client’s backyard.
The success always comes down to the same thing; which is, ironically, what started her down this career path in the first place – experiencing another person’s happiness.
“There’s just nothing like seeing the end result, but more importantly – being able to see just how much fun people are having at an event together,” she says.
So, what’s her go-to advice on how to get the party planning started?
“Manage your time wisely, don’t go cheap on booze, and just hire me – I’ll make it happen,” she says with a bright smile.
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Julia Murray, owner of Julia Fay Photography, feels most at home behind a camera with a story to tell on the other side. Her business began during her sophomore year of college, while majoring in radio and tv broadcasting. Now residing in Charlotte NC, she primarily shoots weddings and other local small businesses like her own. Her favorite part about her job is the connection it brings between art and people.
