The Kirkbrides team includes Wedding Planners and Assistant Coordinators that join us for the wedding days. We share the planning process, vendor relationships and ongoing planning information. We have a very polished and professional team with true friendships that have been built through working together. Please read on to learn more about our lead planners who work hand in hand with brides with all the plans and on the wedding day.
About Us
Judging by her last name, one could say that this line of work is truly where Valarie, the owner of Kirkbrides, is meant to be. Her experience in wedding and event planning began in Los Angeles in 2002, when she trained in the world of private mansion events, discovering her career passion. Throughout this time, she was fortunate to travel to work on events in New York, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Cleveland. In 2005 she moved back to Cleveland and established Kirkbrides. Over the years of planning hundreds of weddings, she developed invaluable venue and vendor relationships in the area and created a detailed planning process that the entire team uses. She currently enjoys managing the operations, marketing and finance aspects of the business.
Valarie's background in various investment, marketing and project management positions in the corporate world has helped her create a business oriented approach to planning a wedding. Valarie holds a Master of Education degree from John Carroll University and a Bachelor of Science in Communication degree with a Business Minor from Ohio University. Valarie loves yoga, theatre, and enjoying life with her two
daughters who are fellow swifties.
She feels grateful to work with the amazing women who make up the
Kirkbrides team and honored for every wedding that Kirkbrides plays a part!
Kirkbrides Founder and Team Manager
Valarie Kirkbride
Jayna has always been passionate about helping others in bringing their design ideas to life. After assisting family and friends plan their own events, she knew a career in wedding planning was a perfect fit. She was eager to join the Kirkbrides team in 2018, shortly after planning her own wedding.
Working in numerous restaurants and holding many different positions for over 10 years has certainly instilled her passion for hospitality. Her warm and generous spirit provides the peace of mind that your wedding day will be organized and seamless. Her favorite part of the wedding planning process is getting to know her clients on a personal level to be able to design their wedding day to be as unique as their love story.
Jayna has a bachelor’s degree in Math Education from The University of Akron. Her joy for educating students radiates through her process in guiding clients and helping them bring their vision to life.
SENIOR WEDDING PLANNER
Jayna Brately
Katie loves styling, organizing and caring for those around her, so when she met Valarie in 2012, it was the perfect opportunity to turn her natural skill set into a fulfilling and exciting career with Kirkbrides.
Katie’s diverse background in journalism, business administration, and political campaign management makes her adept at managing the distinct needs of her clients. Her passion for art and travel has expanded her aesthetic and cultural spectrum, influencing her ability to infuse a wedding with intriguing details that mirror the unique personality of a couple. Her creative flair, calm disposition, and careful attention to detail make Katie an indispensable asset to her clients. She finds great joy in executing their creative visions while keeping the plans organized and thoughtful.
Katie loves to watch the expressions of the couple and their families throughout their special day. She considers it a privilege to experience the warmth of such irreplaceable moments in their lives.
Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Art History from The College of Wooster. She became a Senior Planner with Kirkbrides in 2014 and is honored to work with an amazing team of creative and talented professionals.
SENIOR WEDDING PLANNER
Katie Foulds
Growing up, Jess always knew she wanted to be a part of the Hospitality Industry. She started working in restaurants nearly 20 years ago and attended culinary school with intentions of managing or owning her own restaurant or bakery. After years of managing restaurants that plan changed slightly. While managing a microbrewery in Phoenix she was in charge of planning many promotional events, beer release parties, tasting dinners, and anniversary festivals for the business and she started to realize how well suited she was to event planning. Jess left the restaurant industry and began working for a high end catering company in Phoenix, Arizona while simultaneously interning at a wedding planning and design company. After completing her internship she happily took on a full time position as part of the planning team. Her years of experience in restaurant management has helped her be able to manage multiple people and teams to ensure everyone stays on track. She loves any excuse to make a list and keep things organized!
Jess grew up in Lakewood and after over a decade living in multiple different states and even as far away as Galway, Ireland, she moved back to Cleveland to be closer to family. She was thrilled to become a part of the Kirkbrides team so quickly after moving back to the area.
Jess holds an Associate’s degree in Baking and Pastry Arts and a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. She loves to be able to help take away the stress of event planning and allow couples and families to fully enjoy their special day.
SENIOR WEDDING PLANNER
Jess Hedge
Vicki joined the Kirkbrides wedding planning team after more than 10 years of event planning experience in various roles. She has always had a passion for events, but weddings have always held a special place in her heart. The timing could not have been more perfect when she joined our team in 2018. Vicki was able to bring along a fresh perspective on how a beautiful, personalized wedding should look for her couples.
Vicki works hard to maintain a high level of customer service and attention to detail. She gets to know each and every one of her couples to the point they often feel like she is one of their family as the wedding day approaches. It is this level of dedication to her couples that leads to her planning and executing the most beautiful, flawless, and stress-free weddings. With her love of accurate timelines and ability to solve a myriad of problems, Vicki exudes a calming presence that allows for a relaxed and fun wedding day for her couples.
Over the years, Vicki has built a fabulous rapport with the many wonderful vendors in not only the Cleveland area, but throughout the country. These important relationships will ensure that her couples receive only the best products and services the area has to offer. Vicki is always learning and adjusting to the ever changing world of weddings. It is this mixture of experience, dedication to detail, and ability to adapt that make Vicki a wonderful choice to plan your perfect wedding day!
SENIOR WEDDING PLANNER
Vicki Hlousek
Ajia joined Kirkbrides in 2018 as an Assistant Coordinator with the hopes of growing into the Planner role one day. Her passion for event planning started at a young age while assisting her mother in planning her own birthday experiences and various work events. This grew into planning her high school’s homecoming and prom and continuing into different projects while in college.
Ajia’s positive personality and can-do attitude coupled with her large smile, makes every event she plans special and keeps her clients at ease. Ajia loves to see the smiles not only on the couple’s faces, but everyone involved in the wedding because it gives her an intrinsic feeling that can’t be described. Her eye for style and attention to detail helps her make sure every event is personalized and unique to her clients. Ajia loves seeing the couple’s ideas become a reality while making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. Her incredible organizational and communication skills make her a great asset to the Kirkbrides team.
Ajia owes a large amount of her development for event planning to Bowling Green State University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and Product Development, double minoring in Entrepreneurship and Marketing.
Ajia Mason
SENIOR WEDDING PLANNER
Whether it be an intimate affair or an over the top soirée, Brianna loves any excuse for a party. Event planning has always come naturally to her and after many years of utilizing her talents for friends and family, Bri decided to make it official with Kirkbrides in 2017.
Bri has an affinity for integrating chic trends along with traditional components to create a celebration that is completely personalized to her clients. From classic and timeless to modern and bold, she draws on influences from fashion and interior design by working with layers of texture and color to bring interest and depth to her well thought out designs. She loves exploring her clients personal style to successfully accomplish their vision for the day. Bri understands beautiful design is nothing without a sound logistical plan. She approaches event planning with great attention to detail, thorough communication, and adaptability. Her organizational skills combined with her personable nature and ability to be a creative problem solver make her the ideal event planner.
Bri graduated from John Carroll University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. She is honored to collaborate with the talented wedding vendors in the area, especially the accomplished team at Kirkbrides. When Bri isn’t busy planning a wedding, you can find her with her husband, Pete, and their four children CT, Rory, Quinn, and Liam.
Senior Wedding Planner
Brianna McKeown
From a young age, Leigh Perrino found joy in planning and executing the perfect event.
Her experience planning her own wedding and helping numerous friends and family
members with theirs led her to join a wedding planning firm and hone her skills. After
taking some time out of the workforce to start a family, Leigh connected with Kirkbrides
in 2017 and the rest is history. She feels privileged to work with so many talented and
dynamic women!
Leigh specializes in coordination of wedding days, as well as planning rehearsal
dinners, brunches, and bridal showers. With impeccable taste and an extraordinary eye
for detail, Leigh goes above and beyond to create a client experience that exceeds all
expectations. She takes the time to cultivate meaningful relationships with her clients,
guiding them through the planning process with grace and support. She knows that your
special event should be not only a reflection of your love but also an expression of your
individuality.
When she’s not orchestrating flawless events, Leigh uses her organizational and
creative skills as a wife and mother. With 3 daughters, she spends her free time as PTO
President of their school, planning festivals, fundraisers, and other events. Leigh loves
fashion, home design, gardening, and enjoying life with her husband, Brian, and their
daughters, Charlotte, Lucy, and Eloise.
Leigh Perrino
ASSOCIATE Planner
Ashley specializes in month-of coordination of wedding days, rehearsal dinner, brunch and bridal shower planning.
Before joining Kirkbrides in 2016, Ashley worked in the corporate world for years in client service roles and finally decided she wanted to put her love of details and party planning to good use. She had started a family and wanted a career that would allow flexibility, creativity and the chance to help people and Kirkbrides was just the place.
Ashley has always been the party planner within her friends and family, coordinating birthdays and holidays and making sure all the details are perfect. She had always been told that she is a wonderful hostess and makes everyone feel welcome and comfortable. She has a calming sense about her that makes even the most nervous bride feel at ease on her wedding day.
Ashley considers it a privilege to be part of such a special day in her clients lives and loves that she can use her organizational skills to help create the wedding of their dreams. Ashley holds a Bachelors in Business with a Marketing minor from Baldwin Wallace University.
ASSOCIATE Planner
Ashley Kitzberger
Meryn has always been naturally drawn to planning and after years of honing the skill among friends, family, and through a variety of career paths, Meryn joined the Kirkbrides team in 2019 and her passion for weddings has only grown in the years since. Meryn specializes in wedding day coordinator, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, and bridal shower planning.
Meryn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from The University of Cincinnati and her attention to detail paired with her enthusiasm for all things beautiful has helped her shape a variety of events of all shapes and sizes including birthday parties, social gatherings, fundraisers, conferences, and of course weddings!
After almost 10 years in the hospitality industry, Meryn has (almost) seen it all and her experience has led to a cool demeanor that can rarely be shaken. She believes there is no problem that cannot be solved with a little brain power or a bit of super glue.
When Meryn is not spending time tracking the newest wedding trends and creating unique occasions, she can be found curled up in a corner with a book and a hot cup of tea or out cheering on one of Cleveland’s great sports teams!
ASSOCIATE Planner
Meryn Ramunda
Kerry has always loved to be organized and thinks there's no greater satisfaction than crossing items off a to-do list. As the Assistant Manager of Marketing and Operations at Kirkbrides, she helps behind-the-scenes with the multitude of tasks required to run a successful event planning business -- so basically, she gets to make lists and cross them off for a living!
After spending more than a decade in a fast-paced corporate career in Marketing/PR, Kerry started as an Assistant Coordinator and Marketing Assistant with Kirkbrides in 2018. She grew up in Alaska and Michigan and immediately fell in love with the Cleveland area when she moved here, sight unseen, over 15 years ago. She has a Bachelor's in English with a triple minor in Humanities, Anthropology and American Ethnic Studies from Central Michigan University; and a Master's in Cultural Policy from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Kerry loves to work in the wedding industry, whether it's as an Assistant Coordinator running around on wedding days or sitting behind a desk organizing photo galleries, because the entire job is about creating beauty and happiness, which we can always use more of in the world.
ASSISTANT MANAGER OF MARKETING AND OPERATIONS
Kerry Noonan
AMANDA HLAD
RACHEL MORACZ
RACHAEL GENCO
STEPHANIE KORDICH
Senior and Assistant Coordinators
McKINLEY OSSES
