Virginia Edelson attended her brother’s wedding recently and left with the same emotion she wants guests at her clients’ nuptials to feel: “We were celebrating two people in love,” she says. “It was about celebrating the event as a moment, not as an event. But as a distinguished event planner, it took her years to reach the point at which she wasn’t running down a checklist while attending someone else’s party. Now, she enjoys letting someone else do the work.
Edelson launched her events company, Bluebird Productions, in 2010. She took her experience from working events at The Little Nell, along with her pulse on the arts world, and created a business where she could have her finger on “every piece of the puzzle,” she says.
Almost 10 years later, Bluebird Productions is one of the region’s leading wedding and event companies. Since starting, it has decreased the number of weddings it does annually—from roughly 25 to 10—but increased the service level, along with the average client budget. Edelson’s couples spend anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million, and start planning the festivities more than a year in advance.
In fact, business is so good, BP recently acquired the company of Jane Floyd, who is arguably the godmother of Aspen event planning. “We only do full-service weddings,” says Edelson, “and we handle everything down to picking the groom’s sock color. And we do it the Aspen way.”
Nearly all of Edelson’s couples come from other parts of the country and typically choose Aspen as their destination because they have a tie to the community, such as a second home, fond vacation memories or a family member living here. “Our brides are usually in their late 20s or early 30s,” Edelson says. “They’re professionals, well-traveled and well-educated.”
That discerning clientele puts extra pressure on Edelson to deliver a unique product. To do that, Bluebird Productions doesn’t work with the same vendor team repeatedly and customizes each wedding to the couple. Monograms and cookie-cutter ceremonies are not part of her team’s game plan.
Edelson says they move beyond basics like starting with a couple’s signature colors and instead ask what she says is the most important question: “When looking back at your wedding, what emotions would be used to describe the day?” From there, she builds their version of perfection. Part of Edelson’s secret to planning is traveling, where she gets inspiration from global trends and connections.
She is also an avid runner, which she prioritizes between work and being a mother of two. “Life is very full,” she says, and that balancing act is what she loves most when it comes to both work and play. While she’s full speed ahead, Edelson also embraces the celebration part.
Photography by: Olive & West Photography | shot on location at Bluebird productions studio
