Meet Jes Barkman | Virtual Wedding Consultant & Business Coach for Wedding Pros

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jes Barkman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jes, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
I think something that would surprise most people about the wedding industry, mostly because of the way SO MANY industry pros portray it as being the pinnacle of success, is that not everyone wants to be part of the luxury wedding market. I am one of those people who prefers to work with “average” or budget conscious couples and there are a lot of very successful business owners in Colorado who are right there with me.

My success as a business owner isn’t defined by whether or not the floral budget is more than the cost of most TOTAL wedding budgets, if we get featured in Martha Stewart or having a reception at _________ (insert Aspen wedding venue). I define my businesses success on whether the couple has an easy and as stress free as possible planning experience, walks away from their wedding saying “that was one of the best days of my life!” and if their guests had a great time and full heartedly believe that can happen at any price point.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Knotted provides something totally new and different to couples in Colorado by offering 100% virtual wedding and elopement planning! This is a far more affordable, FAST and fun alternative to either planning your wedding solo or hiring a traditional planner. After helping thousands of couples all across Colorado I have created an amazing system to ensure every couple gets customized service to fit THEIR wedding vision, budget and needs while matching them with some of the best venues and vendors across the state to ensure they have one of the best days of their lives!

What’s my story? I have a very unique personal and professional background that allows me to be able to do this very specific niche in the wedding industry in a way no one can.

Personal Experience

Anyone who knows me would describe me as a Mountain Town Expert – there isn’t a single mountain town in Colorado in which I can’t tell you where to eat, sleep, hike, and of course find the best thrift store. I pride myself on the knowledge of undercover local whatever you can think of in every town and have been a local in many of Colorado’s most beautiful small towns. My parents used to worry about all this moving around, but it is what has provided me the resources and connections to fully customize couples and their guest experiences. The goal for me is to provide everyone with one of those WOW memories from every wedding.

Professional Experience

I got my start in the industry by being in the right place at the right time and got a job at one of the busiest wedding venues in CO – Lionsgate Events Center. When I started there they had been in business 26 years and were doing close to 400 events on a property that had 3 venues onsite. As I’m sure you can imagine, the experience I got there as the Sales and Marketing Director within only a few short years is absolutely unparalleled. I had my hand in hundred of events of all shapes, sizes and budgets and was able to meet amazing vendors, many of whom I still work with today! The majority of my role at the venue was in educating couples on what a realistic budget would look like, envisioning their perfect day and creating the initial action plan to make it all happen!

From there I followed my heart back to the mountains where I helped start a few ranch wedding venues before launching Knotted, at the time as a wedding and proposal planning company in January of 2020. That first summer was…tough…but I successfully ended my season with 36 events. Three years later, I have cried happy tears at almost 100 events and counting and still know – THIS is what I am passionate about. I have planned weddings and elopements all across the state, in Utah and even Mexico and have continued to make lasting vendor relationships with some of the best in the industry. No other planners I know have worked such with such a vast array of clients, budgets or locations.

Beyond that – if you’re still reading this, I’m just like you. I value experience over just pretty pictures (though we will get those too!), think spending absurd amounts on ONE DAY is silly, and believe planning doesn’t have to be an over the top stressful thing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m not much of a city girl so as soon as I get to Denver I try and pop out to a small-town nearby or the outskirts of town, some hidden gems I love:

-the farmers market and Common Thread Consignment on South Pearl
-tea at The Huckleberry in Louisville
-Stem Cider in Lafayette

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without a doubt my biggest supporter in this business adventure has been my husband. He has believed in me when I didn’t, been there at 1 AM on a wedding night to clean up the mess with me, given up his garage for a wedding storage shed and been my #1 fan since day one.

Website: https://www.knottedevents.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knottedevents.co/

Image Credits
Hannah Rummel, Meredith Diamond, Haley Hawn, Whitney Rae and Sarah Soulseed Photography