Through the Pandemic and Forevermore: Finding Lifelong Passion in Event Planning

Image Credit: Forevermore Events

It was a day like any other. Evelyn Toh was feeling restless. Ideas pinged about in her head, and she couldn’t sit still. Didn’t want to. She needed an outlet for her ideas, and to see them be brought to life. She knew, then. Knew that she could never be cooped up in an office for long hours, and found the event industry a highly interesting one. A lightbulb moment occurred: planning events was the perfect avenue for idea generation and organisation, and since then, Evelyn has not looked back. Years later, she’s now the founder of Forevermore Events, planning weddings one at a time, and persevering through the pandemic.


Wedding Planners Who?

Wedding planners are quite in demand now, as couples seek ideas, professional help, and collaborations to make their wedding day a memorable one. But more than 10 years ago when Evelyn started out, event/wedding planners were almost unheard of, and definitely not popular. Suffice it to say that Evelyn didn’t give up back then, and she certainly wasn’t about to give up even in the face of a pandemic, even though Forevermore Events was highly affected. Throughout the last two years, Forevermore Events’ operations came to an almost complete standstill, as events simply weren’t allowed. At the moment, events are slowly making a comeback in compliance with the SOPs, but if like us, you’re wondering what it was like for them during the pandemic, Evelyn spills the beans.

Image Credit: Forevermore Events

Through the Pandemic

During the pandemic, in terms of events, there were no events. Operations came to an almost-complete standstill. Out of necessity, Forevermore Events introduced virtual (online) events, but the demand simply wasn’t there. Forevermore Events mostly plans weddings, and many couples didn’t feel like a virtual wedding or ceremony was the right thing for them, and especially those with more traditional families insisted that the tea ceremony had to be done in person. Whenever SOPs allowed for it, Forevermore Events organised small, intimate weddings, or in some cases, just the tea ceremony. And when asked if she thought she would give up at any point, Evelyn gave us a resounding no.

Image Credit: Forevermore Events

Never Gonna Give You Up

The reason? A) It’s her passion and B) after the pandemic, people would still need/want to get married. To be fair, even during the pandemic, some couples still got married against all odds, so really, it’s only about how difficult or easy it is to pull off a wedding. During the lockdown, Evelyn still kept in touch with her clients, organising online consultation sessions as it were. Furthermore, they had existing clients, so they couldn’t just up and leave. With each update that came from the government, Forevermore Events communicated with their clients, and played it by ear that way. After several ups and downs and back and forth, things are slowly, cautiously inching back to normalcy, and the events industry is once again catching up.

Image Credit: Forevermore Events

Meaningful Connections Thanks (?) to COVID

B.C. (before COVID) seems like a really long time ago, and so different. With this, we asked if there are any differences in the events then and now. Evelyn revealed that the greatest difference is the number of guests. The amount of guests on average has decreased by almost half, due to a combination of venue SOPs and the host’s/couple’s preferences. The reduced number of guests allow the couple/host to spend more time with each guest, and to create meaningful memories with a smaller group. Forevermore Events helps foster these connections by coming up with a variety of activities, such as through games or lucky draws. It’s different, but a good different this way.

Image Credit: Forevermore Events

Forevermore

Ever since setting up 10 years ago, Evelyn has only had one mission in mind: to make every client happy. Take it from her, she knows that planning an event can sometimes be frustrating, and brides can sometimes turn into Bridezillas. It is her fervent hope that each client who approaches her for event planning is a happy client at the end of it all, and not feel that it is an exhausting chore instead. Making her clients’ feelings and preferences a priority, Evelyn always opens with “what is your dream wedding?” and planning it into reality. She treasures each moment, and find each event as touching as the next. Her favourite moments? The vows, the tea ceremony, and the march in.

Image Credit: Forevermore Events

For the couples, from Forevermore Events:

A wedding is a pretty big deal and an important milestone. Whether it’s a wedding for 10 or 100, a ceremony would still be nice to commemorate the milestone. Don’t be too cincai–it’s worth the celebration! 🎉

We would like to thank Evelyn Toh from Forevermore Events for sitting down with us, and sharing all the behind-the-scenes stories. Be sure to visit Forevermore Events:

Or check them out on the Top 10 Event Stylists in KL & Selangor!