Omaha Event Planner Profile: LimeLight Expressions

As Omaha’s Event & Wedding Planner of the Year six years in a row, LimeLight’s Kimmylea Konsel-Taylor combines out-of-the-box thinking with solid planning and execution.

Omaha Wedding and Corporate Events

Event planner Kimmylea Konsel-Taylor likes to envision each event from start to finish — long before guests arrive. As she discovers what her client wants, her mind explodes with ideas to create what she calls a “lifetime experience.”

Kimmylea began her career in marketing and event planning for First National Bank of Omaha, designing everything from trade shows to corporate blow-outs. While she was there, she even oversaw the bank president’s daughter’s wedding reception.

But after eleven years, she decided to funnel her corporate event-planning expertise into her own business. Kimmylea formed LimeLight Expressions in 2007, expanding her range of projects to include corporate events, weddings, and private parties.

“Besides our listing on the The Knot, all of our business is word of mouth. No advertising,” says Kimmylea. “We work hard at being the best of the best in this business, and our clients become lifelong friends — part of our family.”

Though Kimmylea’s team is massively creative, they also know how to channel their creativity into an organized and well-executed project. Her staff includes her husband Beau, who oversees constructive set-up and tear down for many of their events.

“We are family owned and operated. We love to take the stress off the bride, the parents of the graduate, or the company CEO. Our number one goal is to work seamlessly with our clients, become part of their brand, and make their event spectacularly flawless.”

Finding an Event Lighting Specialist in Omaha

When LimeLight started booking events, Kimmylea needed to find subcontractors who were motivated to do more than show up. She needed creative collaborators who would work as hard as she did.

She said, “I would hire vendors to help, and it would cost me a fortune! And then I would end up re-doing their job because it wasn’t up to standard.”

Kimmylea refuses to settle for poorly executed work. In addition to her team, she’s carefully curated a set of go-to contractors—including the event lighting team at FadeUp Design Group.

Starting with a Strong Vision

When LimeLight leased space in the building they still occupy, FadeUp Design Group was their neighbor. They started working together immediately.

This is their typical process. Kimmylea and FadeUp’s CEO, Heath Marrinan, meet together at the event space. Kimmylea shares her vision, then the two begin to bounce ideas back and forth, dreaming about what they can do within their parameters and budget.

For many events, FadeUp will create a 3D virtual model and video to help her cast the vision. The result shows a mockup of the actual space they’re working in, the assets they’re working with, and the lighting as it will appear on the day of the event.

This helps her team work more cohesively, and she’s able to use FadeUp’s 3D videos to help her clients get excited about what she has planned.

Kimmylea said, “The team at FadeUp are geniuses when it comes to using lighting to create drama. They’re experts in making the room look extravagant.

“But Heath and his team go way beyond dramatic up-lighting. Our clients love FadeUp’s custom lighting gobos. Talk about branding! Everywhere you look, there are corporate logos or the bride and groom’s names.”

FadeUp turns up the party with fully programmable light fixtures to take the event into a different dimension. They’ll also bring in their Road Dog DJ system. It features an integrated LED wall so DJs can project graphics, show videos, and create eye-candy to keep people dancing. To create a more intimate mood, they’ll highlight an individual table, a dessert, or a featured setting.

“Heath is completely high-end,” says Kimmylea. “He’s proven that he can take any idea and run with it. And double-bonus: Not having to check up on him gives me that much more energy to focus on my client!”

 

For FadeUp, they’ve had a series of great experiences with LimeLight.

Heath said, “Kimmylea is very organized. She’s good at visualizing the end result and making it happen with her resources. She doesn’t hog the ball, either. She lets everyone do their job and keeps everyone focused on the end game.”

Sustaining Lasting Collaborations in Omaha’s Event Planning Business

Despite the recent downturn in the event planning industry, LimeLight’s schedule remains full for the foreseeable future.

When asked why she works with FadeUp Design Group year after year, she said, “I choose FadeUp because they have the best design, the best execution, and the best equipment. And they are fully insured, so I don’t have to worry if something happens during an event.

“And because Heath listens and collaborates with my vision, I know he can nail any mood, any event, in any location.”

Because LimeLight Expression’s hard work, creativity, and attention to detail, Omaha Chamber has taken notice.

LimeLight Expressions was just named Omaha’s top Event and Wedding Planner for the sixth year in a row, qualifying them for the Omaha Business Hall of Fame.

Omaha’s Event Lighting Collaborators

Searching for something elusive to take your event into a higher dimension?

Ready to create drama without having to do everything on your own — or micromanage a vendor that doesn’t value excellence the way you do?

FadeUp Design Group is the creative partner that helps Omaha’s top event planners transform their concept into a reality. Our team knows what it takes to make your vision come to life—any setting, any mood.

Let FadeUp focus on producing the drama while you focus on your client. Let’s plan your next event together.

Contact us here.