A DEDICATION TO PLANNING
With 15 years worth of event planning and organizing under his belt, John Llona has built a name for himself in the Philippine wedding industry. Operating under as John Events, he and his team offer planning and coordination, as well as custom packages, for all types of events.
Llona found his passion for event planning during his second year of college, where he took up Civil Engineering. Because of his fondness for hosting events, the young Llona initially wanted to become a broadcaster, but his parents were against it. He worked around the situation by finding ways to do both at the same time. Llona started as a wedding host for a year, then gradually began to plan weddings and events.
“Event organizers bring clients’ visions to life through planning, scouting and managing suppliers, up to the execution of everything on the day of the event. I would say the time and effort are more manageable during the planning, as you have time to make adjustments, compared to the day itself of the event. It’s like planning the whole event for a year or more then you’ll be gauged in just less than 24 hours, based on how successful the event was executed,“says Llona of his work.
As an organizer, Llona and his team have handled more than a few events over the years, each with a multitude of challenges that he has to face head on.
“People think that being a wedding planner is all about glamorous outfits, dining at fancy restaurants for meetings, cake tasting, going to industry parties, [but all of that’s] really the opposite of what we do. Event organizing is one of the world’s most stressful jobs. We do everything, from the messy, get-our-handsdirty [stuff] to tedious admin work, just to make clients happy,” Llona reveals.
Because delivering results sometimes entails going above and beyond the job, Llona has developed key strategies for resolving any possible issues that may arise.
“We set proper expectations. We don’t sugarcoat things. The client needs to know how things will look like on the actual event. Disagreements are normal. We handle things in a professional way. As long as you don’t talk trash or disrespect each other, everything can be settled nicely. By the end of the day, it’s the client’s decision that will suffice,” he stresses.
As a result, John Llona Events has amassed a patronage that’s comprised of satisfied customers.
“Most of our clients are just ordinary people. And I think that’s the core value of our job— making incredible events for ordinary people. It’s like making ordinary things magical,” Llona points out.
He also believes that having a strong track record, with no integrity issues, no negative feedback from their clients, gives them an edge over other event organizing businesses.
“This business is not just [about] making money—it’s being part of every amazing love story.
Event organizing is [about] making dreams come to life.
It’s my turning point, I think, making people really happy,”
Llona affirms.