Personal: That's A Wrap!

Y'all. The 2014 wedding season is officially over as of this past Saturday. I cannot believe I just said those words! This year, I have been fortunate enough to be a part of 22 celebrations, 5 styled shoots, & 3 bridal portrait sessions, and I've attended 3 educational workshops in Charleston, Dallas, & Serenbe, Ga. It's been the most amazing year ever - a journey of a lifetime! In all honesty, when I took over The Graceful Host 2 years ago, I could never ever have imagined where this business would end up. I had never owned a business - I mean, how do I do this for real?! Of course I learned a lot after my first year of business being truly on my own, and I started to write down some goals and dreams for my next year of weddings - the 2014 season. But I think the most important step I took after 2013 ended was to begin to refine the brand of The Graceful Host. Who is The Graceful Host? What does she do for fun? What are her favorite things? What is she like? I asked myself pages and pages of questions and spent hours reflecting on what this business really means and why I even want to be a wedding planner. What's my "why"? Why do I do this? How do brides benefit from my services? What can I offer my brides? I had the opportunity to attend a few workshops this past year that have really helped me focus my direction of The Graceful Host. These workshops have been some of the most beneficial learning lessons of my entire year!

As I look back on the past 10 months, I'm in serious shock and awe. I can't even believe that I have had the chance to work with 22 truly amazing & special brides over this past year!! Just one word comes to mind.... THANK YOU! Thank you to each of my beautiful brides, dapper grooms, & their sweet families for putting your trust in me to plan and execute your wedding just as you've always dreamed. Thank you for giving me the chance to be creative and create an experience, not just a wedding day. Thank you for putting confidence in me to source a vendor team that would give you the best day ever. Thank you for letting me handle all the little details so that you can enjoy not only your wedding day, but the planning of your wedding day. Thank you for your kindness, respect, and love as you allowed me to be a part of your family for that important weekend. And most of all, thank you for choosing me to be a part of the biggest day of your life. My heart is seriously just bursting thinking all of this through. I know that hiring a wedding planner is an investment for couples and many don't want to take that money away from their budget. I totally get it! But to those of you who have invested in me - thank you for seeing the value of my services; for seeing my passion for this job; and for putting your wedding my hands.

I have to extend another heartfelt thank you to each of the vendors I've had the chance of working with over this past year! From old friends to new, it was such a pleasure to work with such talented professionals! I am grateful for all the support and kind words I've received.... It means so much to me to have people who understand exactly what I am going through as a creative entrepreneur, and to listen to all my questions and concerns. I'm a huge fan of creating a network and I believe in building others up because in doing so, you create a better environment for not only yourself but for everyone around you! Within such a supportive group, I've been able to bounce around crazy ideas, collaborate with incredibly talented people, and really challenge myself both creatively and personally. I'm so thankful to everyone who has believed in my dream and has helped me in my path to achieve all of my goals. It means the absolute world to me!

I am looking forward to 2015 and all the amazing couples that I have the pleasure of working with. I cannot wait to see where the next few months will take me! Cheers to the journey, friends! :)

XO,
A.

Celebrate with Funfetti Pancakes

This morning I wanted to do a fun little post to celebrate meeting my sweet husband 8 years ago today. Crazy to think how fast time flies by! We met the second day of school, after moving into the dorms at Elon University. I am all for celebrating anything because life deserves a celebration! So, whether you're celebrating back to school (I think that deserves a celebration - don't you?!); or adorable babies being born; or a new engagement; or to simply celebrate that the week is almost over - it is totally your call! But, be sure to celebrate something just for you today... And maybe try out these super easy to make funfetti pancakes!

For pancakes, you'll need:
- (2) eggs
- (1) cup of funfetti cake mix (or you could use yellow cake mix.. any brand will work)
- (1) cup of pancake mix (any brand)
- (1) cup of mix
- Rainbow sprinkles

For the glaze, you'll need:
- (2) teaspoons of vanilla
- (2) tablespoons of unsalted butter (melted)
- (3) tablespoons of milk
- (2-3) cups of powdered sugar
- depending on the consistency of the glaze  you're going for

Directions: Start with the pancakes. Place all the ingredients for the pancakes in a bowl and whisk until blended. But it's okay if a few lumps and clumps are in the batter. Scoop about 3/4 of the batter onto a skillet or into a pan - I used a griddle here. Bake like a regular pancake. This will yield about 8-10 pancakes. For the glaze, you'll just mix the butter, vanilla and milk with the beaters while you slowly add in powdered sugar. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle the glaze over warm pancakes and serve.

Funfetti pancake tutorial

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What will you celebrate this week?! Hope you enjoy the recipe. This yummy treat will definitely be a new tradition within our family's celebrations.

XO,
A.

Pursuing Your Passion

Back in April of this year, I had the chance to attended an incredible workshop called Pursue: The Workshop in gorgeous Dallas, Texas. I had stumbled upon this wonderful two-day conference in gorgeous Dallas, Texas through the power to social media. (Thanks, Instagram! Y'all should really check out @PursueWorkshop!) After learning more about the amazing speakers and the philosophy behind the workshop, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it! It was everything that I was looking for and each session spoke to me. And what an experience it was! The oh-so talented Lindsey with Lindsey Lenae Photography created this adorable video from our short little slice of heaven - and what a joy it is to relive this experience and be reminded of all the talented ladies that attended! Thanks for sharing, Lindsey, and for lending us your talents!

Attending workshops and retreats like Pursue and Bliss & Bespoke are important to me on many levels. I place a great deal of emphasis on education. I believe that we never stop learning and growing throughout our lives, regardless of our careers & aspirations.  As a classical singer by trade, I know first hand that it takes practice and patience to perfect your craft... and even after all that hard work, you're still never finished learning. For me, with my performance background, I am always striving to perfect my passion for design and styling.  I want to continue to learn new tricks, stay ahead of trends, and to develop best practices for my little business! When you have the chance to learn from & network with the best in the business, the educational investment is well-worth it.

Such cute reminders from all the incredible speakers and vendors who helped make Pursue come to life for all the attendees. I LOVE walking into my office each day to look at these!

This sweet print was given to me by a dear friend that I met at Bliss and Bespoke. I'm telling y'all.... as a small business owner, it means the world to me to have a network of friends that know exactly what I'm going through and who know my passions - because we share the same dreams! I absolutely love this beautiful reminder. (And, it was so perfect for this blog post!)

I'm also grateful to have the opportunity to have had these head shots taken by the lovely and talented film photographer Amanda Watson - thank you so, so much!! Your work is so breathtaking, Amanda. I'm glad I could be a tiny part of your gorgeous portfolio.

Always keep reaching, y'all! Whatever you dreams may be - you can make it happen!

XO,
A.

So, Whats Up with the Pineapple?

From time to time, I've been asked, "what's with the pineapple"? And after stumbling upon a really interesting article from the latest issue of Southern Living magazine on the history behind pineapple decor, I thought it would be fun to share the meaning behind The Graceful Host's pineapple symbol.

But first, a quick little history lesson - because the pineapple has a very interesting history, believe it or not!  The pineapple got its English name from good ole' Christopher Columbus, who brought it back to Europe from Guadeloupe Island, which is off the coast of Mexico, as an exotic treat from his second voyage the New World.  The name was given for its resemblance to a pine cone.  Later, ship Captains and sailors would spear a pineapple and then display it on their porch to show that they had returned home from foreign posts and were ready to welcome visitors into their homes.  In the early days, the exotic Pineapples were the crowning glory of lavish American banquets, and were considered the height of extravagant hospitality. Within larger, well-to-do homes, the dining room doors were kept closed to heighten visitors' suspense about the dinner table on the other side. With pomp and full drama, the doors were flung open to reveal the evening's main event to guests - and visitors would see a pineapple-topped food display!  The guests' felt particularly honored by a hostess who obviously spared no expense to ensure her guests' dining pleasure.  In this manner, the pineapple became a visual keystone of the feast and came to symbolize the high spirits of social events.  It's only natural that the image of the pineapple would come to express the sense of welcome, good cheer, human warmth and family affection inherent to such gracious home gatherings.

So, why use the pineapple?  Well, the pineapple is the universal symbol of hospitality, which I think is so important for weddings and events.  Being a good hostess and treating your guests to an amazing night is a huge priority.  That's why you work with a wedding planner - so that you can be a graceful host on the biggest day of your life!  In addition to it being the international symbol of hospitality, for me, the pineapple resembles tradition and history.  I absolutely love traditions - a love that was instilled in me from my great big Italian family.  "It's important to remember where you came from, in order to know where you're going" - something my grandfather would say all the time.  I love using the pineapple as a representation of The Graceful Host because it symbolizes the journey that this little company has gone through over the years.  It's an icon for the Southern culture that I love; each marriage that I've witnessed; each couple that I've had the pleasure of knowing; each rebranding effort; each change I've made to improve the experience of TGH brides; and the future we have to look forward to.  To me, it's a powerful symbol that embodies so much history and immediately conveys the mission of The Graceful Host - Perfecting The Art of Celebration.

XO,
A.

Bliss + Bespoke Retreat: Recap

A few weeks ago, I attended an amazing retreat called Bliss and Bespoke in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.  I stumbled upon this retreat after seeing a post on Instagram. The power of social media, y'all.  I clicked to find more information and was sold immediately! I knew this was just the kind of thing I needed to push my business to the next level.  I jumped at the opportunity to learn from amazing women that I've long admired and looked up to (like Joy Thigpen, Jacin Fitzgerald, Tara Guerard, Leila Lewis), and to have the chance to surround myself with a community of wedding planners from all over the country.  Bliss and Bespoke was more than I could have ever imagined - and just what I needed! Though there were many takeaways from the entire week and all the incredible speakers, a biggie that resonated  loudly with me was the challenge to identifying your core. Why do you do this job? What do you love about it? What are you passionate about? What do you value? Honestly, you don't have to be a wedding planner to use your core values to drive you toward success. Even brides and grooms could use this way of thinking when starting to plan for their wedding day! I realized (or, should say, have started to realize) what core values are within my business, and what gives me so much excitement about weddings.  And, I'm a little shocked at how simple it is - I want to see others happy. Everything I was exploring kept coming back to happiness and joy.  I truly do love this job.  Sure, it's fun to go to tastings with couples, to pick out centerpieces and design floor plans. But, there are a lot (like a lot, a lot, a lot) of things that go on behind the scenes - and, truth be told, most of these tasks are not so glamorous and not so fun.  But, to see a bride get excited about her design plan, or a groom melt over the perfect cake flavor, or a couple laughing and dancing so carefree on their wedding day…. it all comes back to joy, and everything leading up to that point was 1,000,000% (x's infinity!) worth it.  My "why" is my clients.  And, that is exactly why attending a retreat like Bliss and Bespoke was important to me - so that I can truly give my couples the best experience possible, and to keep my passion for this industry burning brighter than ever.

I want to share just a few photos (from my trusty iPhone, of course) from this incredible experience.  I'm going to call this Part One of my recap because these photos just don't do Bliss and Bespoke justice!  Everything was executed perfectly by an amazing little power duo - Katie and Betsy.  I cannot even begin to thanks these two ladies enough for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime!  Words really cannot even begin to express my gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to reignite a passion within me to focus on what matters most and bring that passion to my brides and grooms.  I've come back and jumped into work energized, inspired and ready to create beautiful weddings.  And, now, I also have a whole new network of friends that truly amaze me.

I can't wait to share more from this experience - as well as some actual professional photos from the oh so talented Caroline Lima and KT Merry!

XO,
A.

A Year in Review: 2013

2013 can only be described a whirlwind year.  From tons of gorgeous brides to beautiful details to magazine inspiration shoots, this year was one for the books! I am so incredibly humbled and in awe over 2013. In 2012, I took a leap. A big leap. Prior to owning TGH, I was actually an employee of TGH. I met the amazingly talented Heather Gear in 2010, who hired me part time to help with the execution of weddings. Meanwhile, I was working in corporate communications for a healthcare company in Charlotte, and I was planning for my own wedding in New Orleans!  Juggling two jobs and working 7 days a week isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I was so in love with producing weddings with Heather that it didn’t feel like a job – it was so much fun! Eventually, we started to collaborate on design concepts, and I was began to get a better picture for the Charlotte wedding industry through various networking events.  But, in 2012, Heather had something big to tell me – a total game changer that I would’ve never seen coming – she told me that she was no longer accepting brides for 2013 because she was planning to “retire”, and that she’d like to give TGH to me.  If I remember correctly, I think it took a few minutes for me to pick up my jaw and process what she had just said. And, as they say, the rest is history. On December 31, 2012, the day of our last wedding together– a fabulous New Years Eve wedding at the Ballantyne Hotel – I officially took over ownership of The Graceful Host.  Which I now realize was the dream job I never even imagined.

You know the saying “If you want to see God laugh, tell him your plans”?  Well, I bet he had a giant laugh over my life plans.  If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago where I’d be at this point in my life, I would’ve said something insane like living in New York City and singing professionally, touring all around the world.    Let’s just say I’ve never lived in NYC for longer than two months, I’ve only been involved with two opera productions professionally within Charlotte, I’m happily married to my college sweetheart, and I live in the suburbs with two insane cats.  Just a little different than touring the world, right? Never in a million years did I think I’d be so lucky as to own this business, and experience pure love and joy every weekend of the year.  And, I could not be happier! I know now that this is the life I’ve always wanted, and it does make me laugh thinking about my former plans.

In 2013, I took that leap I mentioned earlier and quit my real job in communications to go full-time with weddings and run The Graceful Host to its fullest potential.  It was scary - but a good scary. I am excited to wake up every day and do something that I’m so incredibly passionate about. But, enough about all of that - let's get to the pretty stuff!

Would you take a look at all the beautiful brides and handsome grooms we've worked with over the past year. I love them all so dearly! It's been such an honor to be a part of your wedding planning!

In between weddings, I got a call from Charlotte Wedding Magazine asking if I’d like to participate in an inspiration shoot for the Summer 2013 issue by designing a fiesta-inspired wedding.  I was floored to have received the call and was (still am!) so incredibly honored by the opportunity.  This was an absolute dream come true for me!  I had about three weeks to pull together the design and secure a vendor team for the shoot. It’s challenges like this that are so exhilarating! I had a blast working with the Charlotte Wedding Magazine team and all the vendors involved with the shoot.  My design and inspiration was brought to life before my eyes and captured by some incredibly talented photographers. It felt so great to come up with concepts that are different from the traditional wedding ideas, and I loved the opportunity to show brides how to use color – especially bold colors. (See the full blog post!)

I still get so excited to see my couples grace the pages of magazine and wedding blogs! And, we had a quite a few features and published weddings this year - from Southern Weddings to Style Me Pretty to The Knot: North Carolina.

I have to thank each of the amazing couples I've had the opportunity to work with for putting your faith and trust in me to produce your dream wedding. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am so honored to know you and to call you a friend.  And to each of the incredibly talented vendors that I've had the pleasure of working with over the past year - THANK YOU!  Thank you for your hard work, dedication, passion and amazing service to each of these brides and grooms.  It truly does take a village to create a flawless event, and I am so grateful for you!  Over the past year, I've had the chance to get to know more individuals in the Charlotte Wedding Industry - and, ya'll, there are A LOT of amazingly talented vendors in our little city.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from each of you, and to get to know you better.

All in all, 2013 was a year I'll never forget.  It was a year full of growth - both professionally and personally. I cannot wait for 2014 and all the excitement that is sure to follow! I am 110% along for the ride - and I am just loving the journey!

XO,
A.

Merry Christmas from The Graceful Host

Christmas is a special time of year for family and friends. I love hearing stories of generosity between strangers and witnessing kindness among all the hussle of the holiday season. As many of you know, I'm originally from New Orleans and my husband is from Ohio. So, our Christmas consists of a lot of travel! It was definitely an adjustment on our part to wake up in a hotel room and then hop on a plane on Christmas morning, rather than sleeping in our own comfy bed and coming downstairs to breakfast, seeing if Santa came to visit. Some days it's overwhelming preparing to leave home and experience whirlwind holiday travel. But, then I remember that Christmas is about family and I think about how fortunate I am to be able to travel, and to see grandparents, aunts and uncles, in-laws, cousins, and friends that I rarely get to see. I remember that I am blessed to live this life and to have two amazing families to visit. Just a little side story: One of my favorite traditions is sending a Christmas card. As a kid it was always very annoying dressing up in matching outfits and smiling with my brother until my mom got the "perfect" shot. Trust me, it took a few dozen ... rolls of film. But, I really love looking back to see how we've grown as a family. Once I was going to have a family of my own, I started bugging my then fiancé, Todd, to let me put together a Christmas card, but he thought we should wait until we were actually married to send out a card together. (Men!) You better believe I started designing our first Christmas card as Mr. & Mrs. as soon as I saw the first advertisement come through my inbox! Of course, for our first Christmas there were many photos to choose from since it was such a big year. But, for our second Christmas card, I ran into some troubles. It seems, without even realizing, we had not taken a single photo together since our honeymoon in June 2012! Fail. This year, I didn't have time to get photos taken, even though I have so many incredibly talented photographers at my fingertips. Double fail. So, I used a photo from our honeymoon in Cabo. Which, ironically, we took ourselves! I had to send out a Christmas card even though I didn't have the perfect photo because traditions are so incredibly important to me. Please excuse the old, very unprofessional photo! But, the sentiment holds true.

Our 2013 Christmas Card:

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And, I wanted to share just a few photos from my trip home to New Orleans for the holidays! My dad and brother refused to have their photos taken so there are some important people missing, but oh well. Also not pictured, are the annual Christmas Eve trips to the casino on Canal Street. It must be a lucky time of year because Todd walked away with $310 and my brother with over $500!

Merry Christmas 2013

The nature of wedding planning is so intimate, and my brides and grooms are like family to me! I want to extend a big cheery Merry Christmas to you and yours. And to all of my 2013 brides - I hope you enjoy an amazing first Christmas together as Mr. and Mrs.! I wish you joy and happiness this holiday season. I hope your days are full of family and friends! Cheers, from my little family - Ashley, Todd, and Lucy (my adorable furry assistant) pictured below.

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XO, A.

We've Rebranded!

Today is a big day for The Graceful Host! I am so excited to introduce our new logo that now reflects our ever-evolving brand personality.  As many of you know, The Graceful Host has been going through a little rebranding.  I wanted to design a new logo that fit the brides and grooms that we work with.   We're a little bit classic, a little bit whimsical, a little bit modern, a little bit rustic, a little bit formal, a little bit vintage and a little bit eclectic.  Needless to say, designing a logo that fits the many personalities of this company was a big job!  I've spent many, many hours working to redesign my logo, and to reflect the new brand of my little company.  But, I think we've hit the nail on the head.  I'm so, so, so excited to reveal our new logo, a long with a new brand story.

Who is The Graceful Host?

Easy. It's you - our clients!  By hiring me as your planner, you're able to be a graceful hostess on the biggest day of your life.  Talk with guests, eat and drink with your friends, and dance the night away with your new spouse without having a single thing to worry about. I love my job because I love to see brides and grooms happy. Seriously, nothing is more rewarding to me. When it came time to reflect on where we've been over the past few years, and where we'd like to go, I felt that a rebrand was definitely needed. The Graceful Host has changed over the year - and I want our logo and colors to reflect the personalities of the weddings we create.  So, what does a TGH bride look like?  To me, she is many things.  She's busy.  She's got plenty of free time.  She's got a big personality.  She's a little shy.  She's crafty.  She's not-so crafty.  She's rooted in tradition.  She's dead-set against tradition.  She's funky.  She's timeless.  She can't get enough color.  She's not really into color.  She's got so many ideas.  She has no idea where to begin.  She's a bride.  We cater to the many personalities of a bride-to-be.  After all, each wedding is hand-crafted and unique to each bride and groom.  The inspirations we gather come from your love story and your unique and individual style.

I'm so excited to reveal our new logo - and I hope you love it, too!  Let's be honest, ya'll, a redesign has been a long time coming.  After much thought, consideration, and reflection I've come up with a new typeface, new colors, and a whole new story.  I'm so excited to re-introduce The Graceful Host to Charlotte, North Carolina!

P.S. Incase you were wondering, the symbol for The Graceful Host is the pineapple because the pineapple stands for hospitality. I've chosen this icon because it's so important to me that your wedding guests feel like they were taken care of during your event.  As the bride and groom, you're the host and hostess of the night - this is your party and your time to soak up every experience throughout the day!  By hiring The Graceful Host, we'll make sure you're a "graceful host" on your wedding night.  We'll take care of the logistics and heavy lifting to ensure your event is flawless.  I'll do my best to help you create an environment and unique event style so that your event will be one you and your guests will never forget!

XO,

A.