Today we’d like to introduce you to Ninna Jacobsen.
Hi Ninna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As all good stories start, there was definitely a “problem,” and mine was that I could not nail down a job! I had made the hard decision to pack up and move back to my home state of Washington after spending a few years in Colorado—the place that became my home, and I loved dearly! My time in Colorado started with a leap of faith when I decided to attend Colorado State University after graduating from High School here in Washington. I quickly fell in love with the state, the people, the mountains…the sunshine!! I built a life for myself there that I didn’t anticipate leaving for a long time but after 5+ years in Colorado, I found myself in a crossroads of the next stage of life where most people I knew were starting to get married and have kids and I didn’t see that for myself there so I made the call to return home to Washington where all of my family live to start a new chapter for myself.
While I knew moving back to Washington would be hard, I did not anticipate finding a job to be such a struggle! I moved back in December of 2022, took some time to enjoy the holidays with family, and then suffered through the dark days of winter, jobless, interviewless, and feeling pretty discouraged! In my job search journey, I applied to roughly 70+ jobs, had 40+ interviews, but always received the dreaded “ we appreciate your time, but we have decided to move forward with another candidate” email. At that point, it really started to get to me. Was it something I was saying? Was it something I wasn’t saying? Did I really leave the life I built behind in Colorado to move back in with my parents at 25 and become the live-in pet-sitter that couldn’t land a job??? Fast forward 10 months (10!!) I went back to the drawing board and decided to get scrappy. With a background in marketing and a love for the event industry, I decided to start reaching out to all of the local family-owned wedding venues to see if anyone needed / wanted help with marketing. It wouldn’t be a full-time salary job, but at least it was something, and I would be helping people, which is truly all I’ve ever wanted to do with my career!
After a few ignored emails, some responses but no follow-through, I finally received a hopeful email…a venue owner saying, “Boy, could I use some help”.
I walked into that meeting in October of 2023 with not a clue what to say or what I was getting into but we hit it off right away and I showed her what I did for the previous company I worked for and she asked what my rate was…after making up a number on the spot that I thought was fair at the time (I severely under charged because I just wanted her to say yes!). We basically made a handshake agreement, exchanged numbers, and I told her I would come back in a week with ideas, content, and a game plan.
And from there, “Toasting You Marketing & Events” was born, and officially a registered business in January of 2024, but in that timeframe, I on-boarded 3 more marketing clients all within the wedding & event industry, built out my processes, systems, (a contract!), and asked myself…are we really going to do this?
Since then, Toasting You has evolved more into a wedding & event planning company. After I got my foot in the industry door, I also started assisting wedding planners, and I absolutely fell in love with wedding planning. It was the first job I had worked that wasn’t solely behind a computer, and it was amazing. At my first wedding, I thought to myself, “ I’m getting paid to talk to people!” and if you cant tell, im kinda a chatty gal. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot more to a 14-hour wedding day + planning meetings + working with vendors…but getting to connect and chat with people to help make a day they will remember forever is pretty neat 🙂
I spent 2024 / beginning of 2025 building the marketing side of Toasting You, took every chance I could to network and meet more professionals in the wedding / event industry, and I said yes to pretty much any opportunity that came my way. Which, in time, included one of those really great vendor friends I had met, asking me if I would help her plan a styled shoot. (Basically, a fake wedding for photoshoot / marketing materials for vendors). At this point, I had worked lots of weddings and even planned and hosted multiple venue open houses, but never a styled shoot, so naturally, I said, “ I’d love to!” That styled shoot happened in May of 2025, and I will say that marked the turning point of Toasting You becoming a wedding planning business over a marketing business! (While I still do both, I primarily focus on wedding planning!)
At that point, I knew I had built the foundation of a business that I love, in an industry full of entrepreneurs and small business owners who all give their heart to what they do and, most importantly, put their heart into supporting each other. I ended 2025 with 7 wonderful weddings under my belt, and various styled shoots I somehow planned in the mix, featured in 3 different publications. 2026 is gearing up to be an incredible season, and I can’t wait to see what is ahead. If its anything like the past season It will be filled with meeting more amazing vendors & clients, lots of happy tears, lots of quick problem solving, and the best part…countless milestone moments that my clients and my team all remember forever.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always obstacles and struggles, but if I’ve learned anything, if you believe you can do it, there’s a good chance you can actually do it…and it’s okay if you need to use some “fake it until you make it” tactics. It never crossed my mind to start a business, but I think every obstacle or challenge is a chance to learn something new about what you are doing or what you are capable of!
One of the early marketing clients I had (before I even had my own website up and running) reached out because they needed help with Google Ads. I had some SEO knowledge at the time, and I said, “I can help with your Google Ads, but I would love to focus on organic traffic via SEO and your website”. She was and still is a very well known vendor in the industry, and since she said okay, failure wasn’t an option to me! I honestly had no idea what I was doing or how to even log in to her Google Ads, but I found multiple online courses and, paired with the knowledge I had from my previous marketing work, I completely redid her website and restructured her Google Ads. I quoted / charged her a 40 hour project and it took me about 80 to get it all done but in 3 months I nearly doubled her organic website traffic, got her in front of the clients she was looking to bring in and with the help of the new Google ads she has expanded her business to primarily focus on corporate clients over weddings which she was trying to do for a while.
So overall, yes, pretty much every wedding, every marketing client, and almost everything I have said yes to has brought its own challenge or obstacle (some client facing, some internal, some self-inflicted), but there is no lost experience if you take the opportunity.
As you know, we’re big fans of Toasting You Marketing & Events. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Toasting You Marketing & Events is a Washington + PNW Wedding Planning & Marketing company. We specialize in wedding and event planning services, as well as branding & social media workshops designed for small business owners. Whether you’re walking down the aisle or building your brand, we’re here to guide, inspire, and execute with flawless precision—so you can focus on what matters most.
Both sides of Toasting You are rooted in connection. No two weddings or two businesses are the same, so I take the time to truly learn about you first, and quite frankly, that’s my favorite part! What are your goals for your wedding (obviously getting married!), but are you and your fiancé big foodies? Do you have a lot of guests coming from out of town? Have you always dreamed of the most stellar dance party at your wedding? By learning more about you and your goals, I can help craft your perfect wedding. And same with your business – what is your business, why did you start your business, and what do you want it to be! By learning more about you, I can help more!
What makes it all worth it at the end is the heartfelt reactions people share. When I get the emails that “we just booked our first corporate client because they found us on social media…your workshop worked!!” or the google reviews my brides and their family leave…truly to have such big and positive impact on someones wedding day or business growth is achieving my career goal of wanting to help people in a way I never thought I could! And that’s also the meaning behind the name “Toasting You.” I’m just here to help in the background and we are raising a glass to you, your hard work, your love, and your success!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Perseverance, resilience, and determination – For every “no” I’ve heard, in the right places I’ve received “yes” tenfold. Not without pivoting, taking a step back, re-evaluating where I’m at / what situation I’m in or even the occasional taking a day in bed to ignore everything and wonder “why am I doing this, this is a mess” but with perseverance I feel like I’ve built a career and a business Im proud of and that I cant wait to keep building…which is something I would have never said 5 years ago!
Kindness – always. Kindness, a friendly smile, showing people you care, and going the extra mile are always the right decisions, even if it’s not reciprocated. I never knew what I wanted to do for my career, but I always knew I wanted to help people. I feel like i’ve found that with helping small business and entrepreneurs grow through marketing and I also help bring peace, stability, and calmness to the day they are suppose to remember forever. And what’s even more amazing is receiving the same kindness from others in the industry.
Faith – If you are going to believe in anything, believe in yourself!! It can be hard, but if you set your mind to something, you can do it. Maybe not quick, and definitely not easy, you might have to pivot, but give whatever “it” is 110%, believe that you can do it, and I guarantee you can make it happen! At least that’s what I tell myself 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toastingyou.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toasting.you/
