Listen to the Podcast About Plum & Poppy
Podcast Summary
In the latest episode of the Felix and Fingers podcast, Sarah Keeker, an experienced wedding planner from the esteemed venue, Plum & Poppy, shared insights into the upcoming wedding season. As excitement builds, Sarah keenly anticipates upcoming weddings, including a high-cost event at Hotel Carmichael that stands out for its multitude of unique and personalized details.
Sarah emphasizes the importance of infusing personal touches into every wedding to transform a standard ceremony into a memorable event unique to each couple. With a bride’s big day at the newly opened Westwood venue on her schedule, she shares her excitement at being part of the inaugural events at the beautifully designed, European-inspired venue.
Highlighting the dynamics of the wedding market in Indianapolis, Sarah, a former New York City resident, lauds the city for striking the ideal balance between providing diverse opportunities and maintaining a personalized, intimate market atmosphere. The Plum & Poppy wedding planner celebrates Indianapolis’s wealth of artistic talent and robust vendor options without the stifling competitiveness of busier cities like New York.
With years of experience planning weddings in various settings- from bustling city events at the Carmichael to serene barn weddings, Sarah brings extensive knowledge to every project. According to her, the variety in the market adds to the charm of being a wedding planner in Indianapolis. Besides being a highlight of Plum & Poppy, Sarah’s insights into the city’s unique wedding market make for intriguing consumption for anyone interested in the business of matrimony.
Learn more about
Plum & Poppy
This interview was provided by
Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos
Podcast Transcript
Felix And Fingers (00:24)
Hey, what’s up? It’s Matt from Felix and Fingers and today we’ve got Sarah Keeker from Plum & Poppy on the podcast. Sarah, what’s going on?
Sarah Keeker (00:33)
Just starting wedding season, know, getting busy.
Felix And Fingers (00:36)
Yeah, tis that time of year in Indiana, is it not?
Sarah Keeker (00:40)
Yeah, it’s always fun to like dive back in. So I’m excited for it to get started.
Felix And Fingers (00:46)
That’s awesome. Are there any special, extra special I should say, events in specific you’re looking forward to?
Sarah Keeker (00:54)
This Friday is actually one of them. It’s the highest cost per person wedding I will have ever done. So it’s pretty over the top. So many really fun details we have spent all this time and energy planning that I’m super excited to see come to life. So lots of extra special details. It’s at Hotel Carmichael. Yeah, it’s at Hotel Carmichael, which they’re incredible there. So always love being in their space and…
Felix And Fingers (01:10)
Where’s it gonna be? Like, wow.
Sarah Keeker (01:19)
just a lot of really like extra fun, tiny little details and that’s my favorite stuff. So super excited to watch all that come together for the sweetest bride. She’s awesome. So really excited.
Felix And Fingers (01:30)
Cool, tiny little details. ⁓ is really what it’s all about, right? What they’re gonna remember and things like that.
Sarah Keeker (01:32)
you
Yeah, it helps make it personal. You know, that’s all the stuff that takes it from just anybody’s wedding to only these people’s wedding. It’s really fun. So I’m there on Friday. And then on Sunday, we have a wedding at Westwood, which just opened last week. So really excited to be in a new space as well, which is really fun. They’ve done such a beautiful job creating that space. We’re excited to be one of the first weddings in it.
Felix And Fingers (01:59)
Cool, what’s that like?
Sarah Keeker (02:00)
so that’s the six pence, the company that are the people who own that opened a new venue in Westfield that they’ve been building and they just had their grand opening last Saturday. And so that client is getting married there on Sunday. It’s a beautiful, European inspired sort of venue. It’s gorgeous. They’ve put so much thought into all the details. so it’s fun to be a part of new venues opening. So really looking forward to being there too.
Felix And Fingers (02:24)
Cool. How do you feel about Indianapolis and just the Indy area at large for like what you do specifically versus, you know, maybe other places?
Sarah Keeker (02:37)
Yeah, I love this market. I used to live in New York City and I was not a wedding planner when I lived there, was a chef a million years ago and lived there, which is super fun. And I think this is like a perfect size market. I’ve considered moving when I was younger and other things. I’m like, India is a big enough city that we have some incredible opportunities and vendors and artists and people doing really neat things.
But it’s not so big like New York that you’re swallowed up by it or that the scale is overwhelming. It still has, I know most of the vendors I get to work with every weekend. I know about their kids and their dogs or their families and things like that. So I feel like it’s just this sweet spot of like big enough we have all these incredible people here, but not too big either that no one knows each other and that it feels impersonal.
Felix And Fingers (03:29)
And a lot of people, you know, want to get married there. It’s a lot. A lot of weddings are happening there and both on the city scale of things, downtown, cool events, something like the Carmichael and lots of barns. And I’m sure you’re someone like you has seen both ends of the spectrum. Can you give us a little more about what are the similarities? What are the differences?
Sarah Keeker (03:41)
Yeah.
Yeah, we have, I mean, we, I’ve done it all in 15 years of being a wedding planner. We’ve done hundreds of weddings and we have done, actually last year we did the smallest wedding I’ve ever done, which was eight people, but on a very grand scale for eight people. And I have done a wedding for 660 people in a field in Whitetown on some property that a client owned. so
We have just seen the gamut and that’s what’s, and we do a lot of cultural events too. So we do South Asian weddings. We’ve done weddings for clients from every country all over the world. And I love that each event is so unique and really sort of my favorite parts about my job is that it’s never the same twice. So even though I’m working at Hotel Carmichael multiple times this year, the weddings are so unique and different and the clients are so different. So.
every wedding still feels really special and unique, whether we’re sweaty and in a barn or at the Intercontinental or Hotel Carmichael. You know, we work a ton at Newfield, Scottish Rite Union Station, the Arts Garden, Conrad, lots of lovely spaces, Bottleworks, you know, they’ve been around a long time, all the museums downtown. Indy has some really wonderful offerings. The North Side has so many beautiful locations too. We work at a lot of Ritz Charles properties, Black Iris.
these new six fences, new venue, the Westwood. So Indy has such a diverse market. Do you want to get in married in like a very rustic barn? just did a wedding at Trader’s point creamery two weeks ago. You know, truly like cows downstairs, very rustic, but still lovely, incredible food, beautiful scenery. Or do you want, you know, really classic Scottish right cathedral ballroom wedding? Indy has all of it. So I think there’s
truly something for everyone and so many great vendors working in all of those spaces that you can have something exceptional, whatever your preference.
Felix And Fingers (05:45)
think that’s a great way of putting it, like you said, somewhere like a New York won’t have the barns, but maybe somewhere.
Sarah Keeker (05:53)
No,
no Barnes in New York City.
Felix And Fingers (05:55)
somewhere in Ohio might not have
the cool buildings or the fancy overlooks or things like that. It is cool that you can get both in Indy. So let’s get a little more specific here. Let’s talk entertainment and your experiences and things you’ve liked about people you’ve worked with, things that maybe left a bad taste in your mouth, and just generally what you look for when your clients will come to you and say,
We’re not really sure or maybe they are sure. You know, I guess I’ll just stop there and like you let you take it from there.
Sarah Keeker (06:28)
Yeah, there are a fair amount of people who are like, I don’t know, band or DJ, and they haven’t quite decided. And there is coming online more and more in our market, some like cool hybrids, you know, like DJ with a sax or DJ with a live drummer or some fun combinations like that. The first time I ever had that was…
Gosh, eight years ago at the Ritz Charles and this client said, we went to this wedding in Chicago and our friends had like live musicians with a DJ. I was like, that sounds weird. I don’t know. Like I was like, I don’t know how that’s going to work. I’ve never seen that. And it’s hard to understand until you see it. And then you’re like, that’s so cool and fun. so again, there’s things to love about both.
A live band brings an energy and an atmosphere that you definitely can’t get in any other way. But there are people who want to hear Bruno Mars and they want to hear, you know, the they want to hear Taylor Swift or whatever that version is of that song that they want to hear. So I think there’s a right fit for everybody in terms of which route we go. What I look for is professionalism in either regard.
whether it’s a DJ or a band, there’s things that take place in a wedding where you need great MC work and people to really cue formalities. when that’s, that’s probably my pet peeve is when that’s not done well and it’s clunky or awkward and guests are like, what’s happening? Why is it weirdly silent? What’s going on? We can’t hear. Or someone who has too much to say, I think also leaves a bad taste for people. There’s that fine,
balance of engaging and fun, but not talking so much that everyone just completely ignores what’s being said as well. So professionalism is at the top of what we’re looking for, whether it’s a band or a DJ, engaging with the crowd, really reading the room, same goes for a band or DJ, someone who is feeling the energy, seeing what guests are responding to and then adjusting accordingly is
sets up for great success of a really fun party, which is what everybody always wants is guests to have a great time.
Felix And Fingers (08:44)
Isn’t it amazing how many elements there really are that go into it that the average person never really comes to think about?
Sarah Keeker (08:52)
yeah, there’s a million ways for it to go wrong. there’s, yes, absolutely. All those little, and there’s little things that like drive, you know, like some of those like little gaffes, I’m like, I might not land as much on clients, but I’m like, you know, to me, I am noticing those little silences and those moments that we want it to be super polished in a really.
seamless experience. So that’s at the top of our list when we are referring vendors, as well as people who are great to work with. You would think that is implicit, but there are a lot of people in entertainment that view weddings as like their concert. And I’m like, this is not a concert. The guests are here for these people who are getting married. And so the focus needs to be around the couple at all times and their preferences and the day being about them.
That’s just not always the energy that’s brought to the day. So we really like to work with partners who are super focused on making the client stay as good as possible and their experience really great, as opposed to showing up and being like, where’s the green room? Where’s my food? Where do I, which all of that matters too. Like we all of that should be taken care of, but keeping the client experience at the forefront of what’s the priority that day.
Felix And Fingers (10:01)
Well said. It makes a lot of sense. you know, my background as, you know, starting off just as a musician and in the last couple of years getting into the wedding space, dueling piano space, events, you do recognize a difference in those attitudes. And there’s so much more than just how well you play the piano or how well you sing Sweet Caroline, you know. There’s a lot more to it. And all these points that you’re…
Sarah Keeker (10:02)
You
Felix And Fingers (10:27)
you all these things that you listed out and you didn’t even mention like be good at playing music, you know.
Sarah Keeker (10:32)
I get that’s like implicit. suppose. Yeah, exactly. Like, yeah, you have to be good at the skill you’re hired for, but yeah, it’s that team player attitude. I think just is truly what we look for in people who are great partners at weddings. Cause stuff happens and we need people who are like, yeah, that’s not what I was supposed to do, but that’s what’s going to make this client stay great. So let’s do that. You know, we just want people who are on board to adjust and, make for an incredible day for the client.
Felix And Fingers (10:39)
Yeah.
Sarah Keeker (11:01)
the end of the day.
Felix And Fingers (11:02)
Sweet. So you said that you were a chef in New York, cheffing it up. And what kind of culinary work were you doing?
Sarah Keeker (11:08)
Yes.
Yeah. So after I, about halfway through my time at Purdue, was like, Ooh, I don’t want to do this job, but I just need to graduate. So I graduated early from Purdue and then went to culinary school in upstate New York and then worked for Danny Meyer in New York city, at union square cafe. He is widely known for Shake Shack. Now when I worked for him, there was one Shake Shack, in Madison square park. And now there’s obviously thousands.
But I worked in this fine dining restaurant there. and it was an incredible experience. His whole focus is on hospitality and taking care of people. And so I carry a lot of that with me. He has some incredible books, setting the table on, on how you treat guests and how you work in a service based industry. so, I carry a lot of that with me to this day, but it was a very young, fun experience where, you know, young in your early twenties, living in a big city, very exciting.
you
Felix And Fingers (12:07)
Yeah, so do you feel like while you were out there something called out to you to want to get into events or like how does one go from chef in New York to a wedding planner in Indianapolis and follow up to that? What would you say from what your vision was while you were maybe thinking about it while you were chefing of what you could do to now these years later what you are doing? You know, I’d like to hear what
Sarah Keeker (12:18)
you
Felix And Fingers (12:35)
Positive impact you feel like you’ve made from that initial idea to now all these years doing it
Sarah Keeker (12:41)
Yeah, that’s a great question. I have a very unique way into wedding planning. So I moved home, I had a sick parent. So I moved home from New York City to be with family. And then by the time that all kind of resolved, I had been here long enough, it was like, well, my life was here. This is very much post recession. And I was kind of trying to figure out what to do and talking to a friend and…
She, like many people who had a four year degree had like five jobs because there was not one good one. So she was kind of piecing it together and she’d started this wedding photography business and she was like, you’d be a great wedding planner. Like your background in catering. had bartended and worked a million weddings when I was, you know, in culinary school in upstate New York and had worked in restaurants and things growing up. And I was like, okay, that’s great. I have zero other thoughts of something I’d like to pursue.
I planned a dozen of her clients’ weddings for free, immediately loved it, and have had paying clients ever since. I have this distinct memory of working in the kitchen in New York and being like, no one else here should ever talk to a guest. All of these people in this kitchen are not warm and fuzzy, are not customer service focused, are going to curse at someone, should not talk to anyone else. And I was like…
But I love people and I like talking to guests. The very first wedding I worked, it was this beautiful blend of client facing and working back of house logistics. And I was like, I feel like I am using all of my skills to their fullest. I would always have described myself as a person who wanted to help other people. And I think I always thought that that meant you had to be a nurse.
or a doctor or like work in the medical field. And I really feel so fortunate that I found this calling where I get to help people. get to take a day that can be really stressful and overwhelming and make it better for people and take a lot of things off of their plate and ease the stress leading up to it and allow them to enjoy more time with their families and this day that’s super important that they’re gonna remember forever. so.
It was definitely sort of something I stumbled into. was not like five years old being like, I want to be a wedding planner, but it is absolutely something I love and I’m passionate about. And I feel so fortunate that I get to have a job that I enjoy going to. I, to this day and all these years later. So I think that I get to see the tangible impact of my work all the time. You said, what’s kind of the impact. And I get to see it. I get to see it in.
people when they hug me and thank me at the end of their wedding days, when their dads thank me in toasts, when they write me heartfelt thank you letters after their weddings of how much they appreciated what we did for them. It also is really gratifying to have this job where you get to see an impact. Not all jobs do you have that, but I get to work really hard at something and then watch it all happen. And so it’s very fulfilling.
Felix And Fingers (15:38)
I love that. Cool. Well, thanks so much for coming by today, Sarah. I’m going to see you at that event that you’ll be hosting and I’m really excited about in May. So thanks for inviting me to that and I’ll see you then. Thanks for being on the podcast. It was great to hear everything you had to say and I will talk to you soon.
Sarah Keeker (15:39)
Yeah.
Yes, I hope.
Bye.
Sounds great. Thanks a lot. Have a good one. Bye.
Felix And Fingers (16:00)
Later,
stare it bye.
