Katie Bartlett

Katie Bartlett is a seasoned business development, partnerships, and events professional with more than 20 years of experience across the hospitality, food and beverage, and event industries. Her career began in the service industry before she pursued culinary training at the San Diego Culinary Institute, where she developed her skills in pastry and event-related work. She eventually transitioned from creating wedding cakes and working in hospitality to wedding planning and event management, building a career centered on creating successful experiences and lasting professional relationships.

In 2013, Katie founded Eat Drink N Be Marry Wedding Planning & Business Consulting, transforming her firsthand experience into a growing events and consulting business. What began as day-of wedding coordination expanded into comprehensive event planning, business consulting, venue strategy, and partnership development. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a strong ability to generate revenue through relationship-driven sales, including growing wedding sales to $1.5 million annually and helping generate more than $2 million in annual event revenue through referral partnerships. Her experience also includes leading event sales, negotiating contracts, managing pipelines and event P&Ls, and coordinating cross-functional teams across high-volume venues.

Katie's professional philosophy is strongly influenced by the belief that successful events and businesses are built on trust, preparation, resilience, and genuine relationships. Her own challenging wedding experience reinforced her commitment to ensuring clients feel supported even when unexpected circumstances arise. Today, she combines her perspective as a founder, sales leader, event strategist, and hospitality professional to help organizations strengthen their partnerships, improve event revenue, and build sustainable business channels. With expertise spanning sales, business development, wedding planning, event coordination, and hospitality management, Katie is particularly interested in bringing her relationship-building and revenue-growth expertise to a remote business development or partnerships role.