Creating spaces where people can unwind, appreciate world around them
Green Bay Packaging succeeds at sustainability
May 26, 2025
EAU CLAIRE – When it comes to setting the right scene, Kim Louise Munsch said she’ll do whatever it takes: sewing, painting, carpentry, hanging 183 battery-operated candles to mimic Hogwarts Castle’s Great Hall – you name it.
The latter project, she said, was to accommodate a Harry Potter-themed wedding ceremony.
Though Munsch said not all events serviced by her business – The Kim Louise Xperience – require quite that level of wizardry, she always brings creative magic to her clients.
“My ideal client, if you will, is someone who wants ‘outside of the box,’” she said. “They want it to be custom – they don’t want the same old stuff as everybody else.”
Using her design, decorating and planning prowess, Munsch said The Kim Louise Xperience transforms events into cherished memories.
Her services are suitable for virtually any event, she said, including:
- Weddings
- Holiday parties
- Corporate events
- Photo shoots
- Birthdays
- Graduations
- Showers
- Private parties, themed or otherwise
- Fundraisers
- Celebrations of life
Munsch said she’s been operating The Kim Louise Xperience full-time since October, and partook in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in February with the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce – officially marking the all-in pursuit of her dream career.
“This is my passion,” she said. “This is what I’m meant to do.”
Kim-agination
Throughout her career, Munsch said she imagined herself leveraging her knack for event planning into her livelihood.
No matter which office she worked in, she said she always found herself involved in planning celebrations, outings, meetings, picnics and the like.
“Even in high school, when I was the president of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), we planned events for that group, for the community,” she said. “I’ve always had a hand in events, and it’s always been something I’ve loved – the entertaining (and) making people have an experience.”
While working as an executive assistant, Munsch said she decided to level-up her legitimacy and commitment to her craft, and in 2015, founded Kim Louise Events & Designs.
Munsch, a mother of five, said the decision was born not only of inspiration but of infection, as a seemingly endless wave of strep throat wracked her household.
“It went on for about six months straight where there were at least two people, in the house of seven, who had strep throat,” she said. “So, I was missing a lot of work, and my husband at the time was missing work, and it just became a nightmare.”
Though she was able to leave the company on good terms, Munsch said her position was precarious.
“I was completely devastated,” she said. “Then, one day, it was like this light bulb hit as to why: 90% of my job as an executive assistant was planning events… and I realized that was the piece of my life I always felt (meant) something more.”
However, regardless of her enthusiasm, Munsch said her ability to grow Kim Louise Events & Designs was soon severely hindered.
“Shortly after starting the business, I ended up going through a divorce and became a single mom with five kids,” she said, “so, needless to say, there really wasn’t any time to build a business.”
While at times working multiple jobs – “because that’s what it took to survive” – Munsch said event work would still trickle in through the years, and she was able to earn certification with the Certified Wedding Planner Society, but she never had enough time to promote the venture as needed.
It was only in October 2024, she said, when her day job at the time was dissolving, that she decided to re-experience what she so loved: “doing the events, and the joy that having those events and those gatherings brought (to) people.”
Still, Munsch said, after nearly a decade of intermittent event work, going full-time again “feels like I’m starting from scratch.”
As such, she said a rebrand felt opportune, moving on from the more literal Kim Louise Events & Designs name to a more conceptual name in The Kim Louise Xperience.
Rebranded, refocused and readier than ever to – as kimlouisexp.com states – “create something unforgettable… designed to reflect your unique story with heart, purpose and style,” Munsch said she has embraced her passion anew.
“I’m loving it,” she said. “It’s a lot of work – and I still wear all the hats.”
The ‘X’ factor
What makes events with The Kim Louise Xperience so special, Munsch said, all starts with a “discovery” phone call.
The calls, she said, are not only a chance to discuss the details of and desires for the event, they are a chance for her and potential clients to get to know each other.
“Creating relationships is very important to me in all aspects,” she said. “I need them to know that I am the (right) person for them, and vice versa.”
Once both parties decide to work together, Munsch said she starts customizing a plan.
“I do everything custom,” she said. “I don’t (just say), ‘Here are my three packages – pick one,’ because I find everybody’s needs and wants are completely different.”
To meet her clients’ unique needs, Munsch said her creativity is limitless, with her vision for an event often pushing her into new crafts, such as building wooden arches, tables, lanterns and flower arrangements – using sola wood flowers, which she airbrushes herself.
From providing yurt tents, to decorating with ornate fabrics, lights and balloons, Munsch said the creative process has “always been a love” of hers.
Inspiration, she said, “comes from a lot of different directions,” including a recent moment when a glance at a Claire’s makeup pouch at the mall gave her a color idea, which “sparked me as to how I wanted to design a tablescape for an event that I was doing.”
Further showing how ideas arise, per The Kim Louise Xperience’s Facebook page, Munsch said she has recently started a collaboration with Eau Claire retailer Party Boutique, offering “quick, clever and creative party tips” inspired by items in the store.
Other than what she personally thinks up or comes across, Munsch said a further benefit of her relationships with clients is that many of them provide ideas and Pinterest boards to her throughout the process.
“Whether it’s the soon-to-be bride and groom, or the graduate, or the person retiring – getting to know them helps to incorporate some of what they love and what their personality is, into that décor and design,” she said.
Depending on the level of service clients seek from The Kim Louise Xperience, Munsch said sometimes she is strictly hired to handle an event’s aesthetics, whereas other events look to her for more of a managerial role, ensuring all the proceedings run smoothly and all other contractors – such as catering – are working in concert.
“I am the person who knows the problems and handles them, and makes sure nobody else knows the problem (is happening), because that’s my part of my job that day,” she said.
Munsch said her problem-solving, jump-right-in mindset builds rapport with clients, venues and vendors alike.
She said she also keeps building The Kim Louse Xperience’s repertoire.
“I recently took some courses and (earned) certifications on home staging and styling, and that’s a whole avenue I am looking to soon be adding to the business, where I’m offering home staging, home redesign and Airbnb styling,” she said.
Though Munsch said she currently runs the business on her own – bringing along extra, temporary help as needed – she may look to add permanent team members, including her daughters.
“I can tell how much they enjoy it as well, and I would love to be able to give them the opportunity to work with me and to have more flexibility for them to be with their kids,” she said.
Ultimately, though, Munsch said whether it’s different services or a larger staff, The Kim Louise Xperience exists to ensure clients and their guests “have an amazing time at (their) event, (and the) experience is going to be one that they will always remember.”
“The thing I enjoy most is the people who are there for whatever the celebration is – seeing their faces, hearing their reactions, seeing the fun that they’re having (and) the joy that being there brings them,” she said. “That’s what I love the most – and what makes me good at it.”
Such is her dedication, Munsch said, she said she’s willing to work on an event “anywhere – why not?”
“If somebody said, ‘Hey, I want to hire you to do my events in the Bahamas’ – all right, let’s go,” she laughed.
To learn more, visit The Kim Louise Xperience’s website and social media pages.
