01/16/2024
If you follow this account, you know that I don’t post as much as I should. When I do, however, most of our posts are filled with happy moments and days within people’s lives. It’s taken me several weeks to post this...mostly due to my own processing of the situation. We lost someone very important to us at the end of October and I wanted to share what he meant to me.
Steve Parsons first came to us as a client. He was my first same-gender wedding client the year it became legal in Virginia (2015). He was my teacher on preferred terms and helped me look at my marketing and general vocabulary to ensure it was inclusive to all couples. We had 6 wonderful months planning his and John’s wedding with a stellar team of vendors (including friends Lisa Blumenstein and Holly Heider Chapple.) It was truly a day I will never forget.
After the wedding, Steve would send funny emails or text messages and we would continue to get together, building our friendship. He was thoughtful, witty, sometimes snarky (but in a good way) and one day he told me he wanted to be my intern. Steve was in his 60’s, so I thought that phrase was funny, but we welcomed him to our team with open arms about a year after his wedding. Steve used to work in hospice care. He told me how rewarding it was to be able to celebrate with couples at the start of their lives, after having the experience of helping so many people at the end of their lives.
Steve always had a fresh suit, his own folder and pens (because he liked his better) he had to learn the hard way that you have to wear sensible shoes to a wedding when you are on your feet all day, and he was a wonderful representative of our company onsite at events. Always smiling, always wanting to help, always excited to catch up on what’s going on in our lives when we had a little break or over dinner.
In 2020, Steve & John said goodbye to Virginia for a move to Texas, which they had been planning. We had a few other team members (Kristen Puzzo and Kristin Corrigan) move during COVID, so it was a time of transition for our team. I was so grateful that I got to see Steve one last time in Austin (1st After that visit, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer (the same disease that took another special person not too long ago) and on October 29th, he passed at the age of 69.
Steve will always hold a very special place in my heart, along with all of those on our team (past and present) and anyone who had the good fortune to know him. We are looking forward to celebrating his life in Austin later this Spring. Steve, endless love from your soul sister. XO
Kelley Cannon Events is a full service planning & design firm servicing clients in Virginia, the District and Maryland, as well as destinations worldwide.
