Meet Sharokina Pazand of Citygirl Events in Lincoln Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharokina Pazand.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sharokina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started planning events – helping with little things here and there – and even planned some events for the organizations I belonged to in college. While I was never sure I could make a career of planning events I did dream of one day of becoming a professional event planner and having my own business.

I graduated with a double major in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Illinois at Chicago and went on to work in sales and marketing positions.

In the back of my mind, I was still dreaming of the what-if – what if I started my business? What if I could actually make it into a career?

I started my business officially on the side in 2009 and by early 2010 I had given my boss my 2 weeks’ notice. I remember sitting in my first office (it was a home office) thinking – ok, now what? I had quit with 2 weddings on the books and I ended up doing 12 events that year!

The biggest thing I did in the beginning was get out there, network, and build relationships. Some of the best vendor partnerships I have were created in the early days!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Ha! Smooth road. I wish I had something witty to say here (I’m not really funny but I try to be) but I don’t other than – no.

Some of the struggles I had included:

– Fighting people’s perception of me due to my age. I was 24 when I started the business and since I was young and the business was new people may not have been sure if my business would survive.

– Another perception piece was people constantly asking if I was making money, if I had a lot of clients, and asking how I could actually make this business work. I quickly realized that I needed to surround myself with my positive family and friends and tune out the negative people early on.

– Learning work-life balance. I was enjoying learning new things about entrepreneurship and working with clients and between those things, having consultations, working with new clients, and updating the website, social media, and blogging – well, there were many hours spent on the business. I quickly learned that although I loved what I did I could burn out easily if I didn’t pace myself.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Citygirl Events – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Citygirl Events takes a creative and fun approach to the event planning experience.

We plan weddings, social, and corporate events not only in Chicago but also across the globe. We work well with busy professionals, out-of-town and international clients, clients that need discretion, those that have found their venue but don’t know where to go next – and ultimately the client that knows they want their guests to truly experience this once-in-a-lifetime experience with them. We have a strong planning and design team that can help create the right feeling for your event, whether vintage or contemporary, large or small, from beginning to end. Our team is well-versed in destination events and can travel internationally for weddings, social, and corporate events.

We believe events exist to tell your story. Citygirl Events uses colors, sounds, textures, language, and organization to ensure that each guest in attendance can walk away feeling they were part of something greater.

Each event we plan incorporates the five senses for each guest. When planning events, we look at things from the guest experience. What they smell, what they see, what they taste, feel, and touch – all of these elements are important in creating the right atmosphere.

Clients choose Citygirl Events for different reasons. Here are a few:

We get to really know our clients. You’re not just another client to us. We get to know all of our clients – what they like, what they don’t, and most importantly – who they are. We’ll know your name when you call. That helps us craft the right experience for our clients and we want to do the same for you.

Our vendor partners are talented. We really get to know our vendor and venue partners and are always on the lookout for talent. As planners, we’re not the ones taking your photographs, cooking your food, or putting together your dessert table so we know how important it is to have the right team of vendors for you. Oh, and we don’t just recycle our vendors for each wedding. Your event is different than anyone else’s so we wouldn’t dream of using the same exact vendor list each and every time.

We know that planning and design go hand-in-hand. We feel that the key to a great event are logistics and design. Not only do you need to have a solid timeline with all of the key players knowing where to be and what to do, but everything needs to look and feel put together. Design isn’t always about the main color or a “theme” – it’s about how an event feels.

We strive to learn constantly. We are always taking the chance to learn and grow our skills. Whether it’s attending trainings or workshops, we are constantly striving to do better things. Citygirl is consistently asked to participate in shows to showcase styles and trends within and outside of the events industry and that helps us keep our skills finely tuned.

Our work has also been featured in the press, including the New York Times, Elle Decor, Lifetime’s hit show Married at First Sight – Season 5 in Chicago, People Magazine, Chicago Tribune, The Knot, ChicagoStyle Weddings, Bridal Guide, Brides Magazine, Style Me Pretty, WGN, NPR, and ABC7.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Citygirl Events specializes in planning and designing weddings, social, and corporate events and we’ve begun growing into doing more destination weddings and events and have even planned large non-profit conferences all over the country. As we grow, we want to continue to do great work and provide wonderful career opportunities for those that invest their time and energy into the Citygirl brand as event planners.

Contact Info:

• Address: 639 West Diversey Parkway, Suite 219
  Chicago, Illinois 60614
• Website: citygirlevents.com
• Phone: 312.725.8321
• Email: info@citygirlevents.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citygirlevents/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Citygirlevents/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/citygirlwedding
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/citygirl-events-chicago

Image Credit:
Jennifer Kathryn Photography
Kent Drake Photography
Dennis Lee Photography
Daniel Peter Photo
Tuan H. Bui, Photographer
Collin Pierson Photography
Ann & Kam Photography & Cinema
Jason Kaczorowski Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.