Meet Emily Gaikowski | Luxury Event Producer

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

Hi Emily, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started Heartthrob Events in 2016 during the tumultuous election cycle, and it felt like the best use of my energy and strengths during a really disparaging time. As a queer person, I wanted to create a network and service that was inclusive and welcoming for everyone, and that very much was not happening (and still isn’t happening enough!) for weddings and events. It was a time when a lot of folks were realizing that the personal is the political, and of course weddings and events are deeply tied in with the political and always have been. Expressing queer joy is a radical act, as is taking up space in an industry that is traditionally white, cis, het and heavily gendered. I think of weddings as a way to transport your loved ones to a different place for just 6-8 hours, giving them a much needed break from the world at large. I knew I wanted to do this forever when I witnessed the power of creating joyful queer events and walking my clients through some of the biggest milestones of their lives.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The fact that I am still here, thriving, after the pandemic and some disastrous political years (with more to come), means that I am obsessed with weddings and events because they are not for the faint of heart. I knew after my first few weddings that I wanted MORE, and loved the rush of the build, seeing how happy my clients were, and then getting to tear it down and start all over. I come from a background of psychology and public health, and managed clinical behavioral trials and worked in academia prior to starting my company. I would officiate for friends just for fun, and have been throwing parties since I was old enough to know what they were so when I realized I could make events my entire career there was no looking back. I bring all my professional skills into this job, it requires a ton of finesse, crisis management, teamwork and troubleshooting, and requires a really thick skin. The learning curve is FAST in weddings and events–if something goes wrong you’ll definitely never make the same mistake again. Heartthrob Events was grown from a place of deeply loving people, an obsession with queer community and nightlife, and a desire to help guide people through some of the biggest and more important parts of their lives. The work is wildly challenging and the pandemic left a lot of event professionals forever scarred, but my industry friends are like family and we always step up to help each other. You have to really, really love people in this job, and I do!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am an East-Side LA snob and a proud Atwater Village resident. I actually love all of LA, but am still enchanted by my little hamlet here by Griffith Park. When people visit I set us up for success by showing them all the best places like Village Cafe on Los Feliz Blvd. (very Gillmore Girls vibe), karaoke and drinks at High-Low, shopping on Fig and York in Highland Park, and of course so much hiking. I do a lot of Cinespia during the season, and think anything revolving around LA history and Hollywood lore is really magical. When I do venture to the West Side I do a lot of swimming at Will Rogers, cruise up to Reel Inn for the shrimp plate across from Topanga Beach, or relish in the people watching at Taverna Tony. I love Olympic Spa for a K-Spa moment (an LA must), and love to pop over to Eaton Canyon for a little waterfall hike. Tons of secret treasures in LA, and a million little villages to explore.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a lot of amazingly talented and highly skills LGBTQ+ event producers who came long before me, and their work was so inspirational as I figured out how to navigate this industry. I created much of my early work alongside Marisa Suarez-Orozco of Tropic of Flowers, a gay floral, stationery and event designer, named as one of the “industry-leading changemakers” by The Knot.

Website: https://www.heartthrobevents.com/

Instagram: @heartthrob_events

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/heartthrob-weddings-and-events-los-angeles-2

Image Credits
Hannah Greenwood Photography
https://hannahgreenwoodphoto.com/

Margot Landen Photography
https://margotlandenweddings.com/

Jenny Quicksall Photography
https://jennyquicksall.com/