Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah Gilliam.
Hi Savannah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Honestly, my story is one of those “I didn’t plan this but looking back it couldn’t have happened any other way” kind of stories.
I spent years working as a paralegal in probate and estate law. On paper it was a stable, respectable career. In reality, I was slowly realizing that I was spending most of my waking hours doing work that didn’t light me up, while quietly building something on the side that made me feel completely alive.
I started coordinating weddings years ago almost by accident — a friend needed help, I stepped in, and something clicked. I discovered that I was genuinely good at managing chaos, holding space for people on the most emotional day of their lives, and making sure that every moving piece landed exactly where it was supposed to. I started Peony Wedding Co. while still working full time as a paralegal, taking on clients evenings and weekends, building systems in whatever hours I could find.
For a long time I told myself I wasn’t ready to go full time. I wasn’t established enough, experienced enough, financially prepared enough. The truth is I was all of those things — I just hadn’t given myself permission to believe it yet.
In April 2026, I finally did. I left the law firm, went full time with Peony, and I have not looked back for a single second. Within the first few weeks I had 32 signed clients across 2026 and 2027, a team I trust completely, and a clarity about what I am building that I have never felt before.
The best part? I built all of it while exhausted, constrained, and running on fumes. I cannot wait to see what happens now that I get to show up with my whole self.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge I have faced is one that I think a lot of creative entrepreneurs will recognize: learning to bet on yourself when the safer path is right in front of you.
I had a good job. A stable income. Benefits. A career I had spent years building. Leaving that — especially as someone who values security and takes responsibility seriously — was genuinely terrifying. There were so many moments where I talked myself out of making the leap, convinced myself to wait one more season, one more year, until the business was just a little more established.
At the same time, I was running a full-time wedding planning business on the side. The exhaustion of doing two demanding jobs simultaneously, pouring everything into both while never fully being present for either, took a real toll. I was not able to give Peony the attention it deserved. I was not able to give myself the rest I needed. Something had to give.
What finally pushed me over the edge was a simple and honest question: if I keep doing this, what am I actually protecting? The answer was a version of stability that was costing me everything I actually wanted.
I also want to be honest about the learning curve of running a business. There is no roadmap for this. I have made pricing mistakes, taken on clients I should not have, learned hard lessons about the importance of contracts and boundaries. Every one of those experiences made me sharper, more confident, and more intentional. I would not trade a single one.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Peony Wedding Co. is a boutique wedding planning company serving couples across Sarasota, Tampa Bay, St. Pete, and the Gulf Coast of Florida. We offer full service planning, partial planning, and day-of coordination — but what we are really known for is showing up for the weddings that require genuine expertise. Historic venues, private small historic estates, tented private property events, large-scale celebrations that most planners would find overwhelming. That is where we feel most at home.
I specialize in historic venue weddings — the Powel Crosley Estate, the Edson Keith Mansion, Centro Asturiano de Tampa, private historic estates, etc. Places that couples fall in love with because they feel like nothing else. These are the spaces that have a story, that feel significant the moment you walk through the door, and that require a planner who has been there before and knows every quirk, every rule, and every creative solution. I also specialize in tented and private property weddings — the ones built from scratch on family land or open fields where there is no venue coordinator to call when something goes wrong at 7am. I have rewired broken string lights the morning of a wedding and the bride never knew. That is the job and I genuinely love it.
What I am most proud of is the culture we have built. Peony is rooted in what I call approachable luxury — the belief that a wedding can feel elevated, intentional, and completely beautiful without ever feeling stiff or out of reach. Planning with us should feel like having a calm, organized, genuinely excited friend in your corner. Someone who handles everything so you can actually enjoy your engagement. That balance of warmth and expertise is what we are known for and what I am most proud of.
What sets us apart is simple: we make it feel good. A lot of planners can execute a beautiful wedding. What is harder to find is a planner who makes the entire process feel calm, joyful, and completely personal from the very first conversation. That is what we have built Peony to be. 🌸
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The wedding industry is going through a really interesting evolution and I think about this a lot.
The biggest shift I see is couples moving away from the traditional wedding template and toward something much more personal and specific to them. The ballroom wedding with a standard timeline and a generic centerpiece is being replaced by private estate events, micro weddings with 30 people and an extraordinary experience, multi-day celebrations that feel more like a hosting marathon than a single party. Couples want their wedding to feel like them, not like a Pinterest board from five years ago.
This is genuinely exciting for planners who specialize in complex, non-traditional events — because those weddings require real expertise. You cannot coordinate a 400-person tented wedding on a cattle ranch with the same playbook as a hotel ballroom. The planners who thrive in the next decade will be the ones who have built genuine specializations, deep vendor relationships, and the operational infrastructure to handle events that do not come with a built-in venue team.
I also think the role of the wedding planner is going to continue to be validated in a way it has not always been. There is a cultural shift happening where couples understand the value of having a professional manage one of the most logistically complex days of their lives. The “I can just do it myself with Pinterest” mentality is giving way to a real appreciation for expertise. I see that shift happening in real time in my own business.
Pricing:
- 1850 Day of Coordination
- 3500 Partial Planning 6 months out
- 8000+ full service planning! Support from start to finish.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.peonyweddingco.com
- Instagram: peonyweddingco
