From the Blog
Ricci & Stephen
June 27th, 2010One of the best parts about being an event planner is truly helping someone fulfill a vision they didn’t know they had to begin with.
When I met Ricci and Stephen in December of 2009, they had about 6 months until their wedding and no real idea where to begin. Over the years, Ricci has been more occupied with her future in molecular medicine (she is currently working on her PhD) as opposed to the color palette of her wedding day. And Stephen is a guy’s guy….a high school history teacher with a passion for Johnny Cash and firearms. He wasn’t so concerned about the flowers and the colors as he was with just wanting to be married to Ricci and see her happy.
We met about once a month and did a lot of work electronically, but it was fun to see Ricci’s vision take shape pretty quickly. Words like organic and leafy and natural and light soon turned into a color palette of lilac, white, sage green, and gray. Turns out, Ricci and Stephen are fans of thunderstorms, and the shades of the day fulfilled that vision quite unexpectedly, but also very happily.
The garden-like atmosphere was accentuated by a ceremony backdrop of tress at varying levels and 2 large urns filled with a multitude of flowers including hydrangea, orchids, and leafy style greenery. The buffet was amazing, compliments of Metrochefs, and the cake was beautiful and tasty thanks to A Better Cheesecake.
But more importantly was the special family atmosphere throughout the weekend. The ceremony was led by a family member, the toast by the groom’s brother-in-law, and friends traveled from near and far to see Ricci and Stephen and their families.
As the weekend came to an end, though, it was obvious that a vision had been fulfilled. Ricci’s vision of her organic garden party looked amazing. But it felt even better because of the vision they both had of a weekend of family and friends celebrating their love and their future together.
I am so happy I could be part of the discovery process for Ricci and Stephen and help them fulfill the wedding day vision they may not have even realized they had.
P.S. A big shout out to the Bullock Family from Camden, South Carolina, and Dr. Joyce Haines and Dr. Earl Whitlock. They are truly class acts and made me feel like part of the family. Thank you!
Entrepreneur.
June 5th, 2010I used to joke that the word “entrepreneur” was Latin for “I don’t have a job.” I’ve come across a number of people who – when asked what they do for a living – their response is, “I’m an entrepreneur.” Upon further probing, I discover that they dally in a number of different areas – maybe its a little real estate here … a little selling stuff on eBay there. And that just seemed odd to me.
How does one make a living doing tid bits of things here and there? Don’t people go to school and/or master a skill and then go work for a big company? Or pick a field of study like medicine or engineering and follow that path until they want to retire? My grandparents did it, my parents do it, and I’m doing it now too as part of my daily life as a working professional at a major metropolitan university.
I’m a play-by-the-rules kind of gal. I’m a Gen X’er. I like structure and plans and strategy….which is part of the reason I am a great event planner. I like a TO DO list, and I like to cross things off of it. I internalize my stress and take on way too much, and then I need my defined down time with limited interruptions. Even in this blog post, I’m explaining how I separate my daily routine from my new “entrepreneurial life.”
However, in my new “entrepreneurial life,” I’m discovering many new things about myself that I probably knew all along but never really ALLOWED myself to grasp on to and run with. I’m reading books about being an entrepreneur (currently devouring What If? & Why Not? by
Jen Groover), embracing technology (you should “LIKE” Jenna Felder Events on Facebook!), listening and learning from others both older and younger than me (thank you Michele Norris, Lee Williams, Carol Morsani and Emily Ley), opening myself up to some vulnerability (you have no idea how horrifying this actually is for me), and ALLOWING myself to think beyond my 9 AM – 5 PM world, and what I can accomplish beyond the rules of the 8 hour work day. I’ve discovered I like being passionate about something.
So while I’m negotiating the waters of how to answer my own question of, “what do you do for a living,” I’m embracing my passion for planning and strategy and creativity and people, and funneling it into a new venture for myself. And hopefully a new opportunity for us to work together. Special events are not only about colors, candles, and calla lilies. Special events are about people and a passion for sending a message that represents who you are and what your hopes, dreams, and goals are.
Welcome to my “entrepreneurial life.” It’s nice to meet you.