Flowers and Leather Events

10/11/2022

Wrote a little something personal a few months back and decided to hit publish tonight while I’m adjusting to a 13 hr. time difference and major jet lag in Thailand. (Also, website needs a little refresh after this vacation!)

I’ve always considered the number 3 to be a lucky number in my life. Maybe it’s because I was born on the 3rd day of the month and subjectively decided that’s my lucky number, or maybe there really is something more cosmic behind it. Regardless, I’ve gone through life choosing to believe tha...

14/08/2022

Some people have asked me recently if I’m still doing weddings - and the answer is yes, but less. 😄 I know my feed has turned into more Rivian posts than wedding content, but that’s just the season that I’m in. ✨

I’m truly grateful to have a career with amazing coworkers and friends who make everything so much fun. Just in the past few weeks, I’ve planned and executed a summit for 400+ employees, coordinated Family and Friends Day, launched a bike share program, spent 24 hrs in GA for an event, packaged up weekly garden harvests, and celebrated birthdays with the best 🎉 along with many many other projects. 😅

As I head into another busy week and a branding photoshoot with next weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s to come and how I plan to grow in the next year. Honestly still figuring that part out, but it’s sure to continue being a wild ride. 🎢

20/06/2022

Today’s simple joys: ☀️
• journaling and coffee on my balcony
• discovering new music
• 9am Orangetheory class
• long walks with Chego
• reminiscing about this weekend’s wedding. love when I get to be wedding coordinator, designer, and reception florist all in one. ✨

17/06/2022

These sneak peeks from Allie and Lucas’ wedding are starting the weekend off right!! 😍✨💃🏻🪩

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14/06/2022

So much to catch up on over the past few weeks, but I’m going to start here. 🤍🖤 In May, one of my high school friends reached out to me on a Tuesday and asked if I would be available for their wedding that Friday night. Even though it was a busy week for me, with 3 days to plan a wedding, “no” wasn’t even a thought that crossed my mind.

Knowing their story and their love, I just knew I had to create the most amazing, memorable day for Rachel and Hannah. We hopped on a call that night after my work event and immediately started brainstorming all the things. Truly how I know I love weddings… I get so energized talking to couples about wedding ideas and logistics and how to pull everything together for one magical day. ✨

The next day I went to my warehouse in the morning to grab some decor and did a site visit that night at their friends’ home. 48 hours later, we were in a living room full of friends and family with so much love and joy and support for these two. They shared the sweetest vows full of strength, respect, humor, and kindness, and I was so honored to be in the room that night. Their happiness was palpable, and it truly gives me so much hope.

I shared with them that I wouldn’t say yes to planning a wedding in 3 days to just anyone 😉 but this was one for the books. I’m so happy to have played a small part in their love story. ♥️

📸: photography by the talented 1221 Photography

04/04/2022

When I say I’ll be your wedding planner bff, this is what I mean: 👯‍♀️

✨ I’ll snap pics and videos of your ceremony decor from alll angles during setup and get excited over sneak peeks with you.
✨ I’ll literally obsess over every single pretty detail with you, especially your wedding dress.
✨ I’ll be your biggest hype woman and advocate throughout the entire day - I got your back. 🙌🏼

As I’ve always said, the friendships and trust I’ve formed with my clients have been the absolute best part of owning this business. ❤️

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21/03/2022

🖤🤍

18/03/2022

🥂 Cheers to Friday and bonus cheers to booking my first destination wedding! ✨✈️ Planning a destination wedding has been one of my goals since I started my business, so I’m ecstatic to plan my couples’ June wedding in Hilton Head, SC! 🌴☀️ Hoping to do a little scouting when (aka my best intern) and I are down in Charleston in May! 🤩 Happy Friday friends!!

12/03/2022

✨ a glamorous evening ✨ smoke show for sure 🔥(tonight’s drink and tonight’s vibe)

08/03/2022

Posting a few more from this styled shoot 😍✨ - partly because I had too many favorites and partly because Insta can’t handle horizontal and vertical images all in one post. 😜

Creative team:
Venue: The Legacy Building -
Photographer: Samantha Suzanne Photography -
Event Coordinator: Flowers and Leather Events - Makeup: Beauty by A + K -
Hair: Wendi from Precision Hair + Beauty Lounge -
Paper goods: Apricity Ink -
Florals: Strawflower Florals -
Cake: Designer Cake Shop -
Rentals: Flowers and Leather Events -
and The Event Experience Company -
Models: Caleb + Carissa Mennen -

08/03/2022

As I’m going through last year’s calendar month by month (see previous post about back tracking mileage 😜), I’m realizing just how much I really did last year. Seriously blowing my mind… 🤯

This styled shoot from last February feels like a lifetime ago (or three), but it was one of my very favorite! It was such a joy to work with , and our models Caleb and - alongside our amazing vendor team.

It was the first opportunity I had to play around with my new rentals at the time, and I got to combine my creativity and organizational skills to help coordinate this shoot and bring her vision to life. ✨

Scroll through for some of my fave captures and bits of my design work. 🖤

Creative team:
Venue: The Legacy Building -
Photographer: Samantha Suzanne Photography -
Event Coordinator: Flowers and Leather Events - Makeup: Beauty by A + K -
Hair: Wendi from Precision Hair + Beauty Lounge -
Paper goods: Apricity Ink -
Florals: Strawflower Florals -
Cake: Designer Cake Shop -
Rentals: Flowers and Leather Events -
and The Event Experience Company -
Models: Caleb + Carissa Mennen -

07/03/2022

Some days owning a small business looks like sparkles and photo shoots and playing with flowers ✨… other days it looks like drowning in mileage calculations because you realized that you didn’t track any of your business trips last year for taxes (current status). 😫 Small business friends… please be smarter than me and track every 👏🏼 single 👏🏼 trip 👏🏼. It literally pays off!! 💸

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04/03/2022

Guess it’s time to share the same update that I recently posted on my website. 📝 While it’s true I turned off my inquiry form for now, I’m still very actively working on this year’s weddings, and I’m always open to the right opportunities depending on timing. Email inbox is always open. 😉🤍

I am not currently booking new weddings for 2022 or 2023. Because of recent transitions in my personal and professional lives, I’m taking a step back to reevaluate my business, so I can best serve my clients moving forward. I’m proud and humbled by how this little business of mine has grown throughout the years, but it’s time to consider what’s next - what I want to offer couples, how I want to show up in this space, how I’m able to spend my time, and where I want to be. Sometimes you just need to give your head and heart some space to think and grow, you know?

Most importantly, please know that I still love weddings, and I’m still deeply grateful for my past and current couples who’ve trusted me with one of the biggest events in their lives. The absolute best part of this business has been working with couples who turn into friends and getting to meet their families. I hope to start booking weddings and events again in the future. Who knows, I may decide to start booking again in a few months, or it may take a year before I feel comfortable balancing it all again.

Or maybe this business journey will take on a whole new life altogether. Only time will tell and show me the path with the most joy moving forward. ✨

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03/03/2022

Late night realization that the things I put on my vision board last year are really starting to come true ✨

Whenever I start to pour myself back into wedding planning and creating, I often find that the universe sends me little nudges that I’m headed in the right direction. 💫

Did you create a vision board this year?

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01/01/2022

Starting 2022 strong with a bathroom selfie and the only good photo of last night’s outfit 💃🏻✨

Yesterday’s wedding was so good for the heart ❤️ and the best way to end one of the most challenging years. Beyond grateful for my couples and their families who make me feel like family and create some of the sweetest memories with me. 🥰

Can’t wait to share more from this FUN and magical wedding! 🎉
#2022

20/12/2021

‘tis the season for office holiday party vibes 🎄

grateful for the quality time with my team in CA this past week! 🎉

13/09/2021

When life gets tough, snuggle your puppy a little harder. 🐶

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07/09/2021

I hope you feel this fabulous after the long weekend. ✨💁🏻‍♀️

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05/09/2021

Ending my Instagram hiatus with these STUNNERS 🔥 Two of our friends got married last weekend in Chicago, and I had the absolute pleasure of doubling as their guest and day-of coordinator. Their whole day was full of pure joy, love, and so much fun. They’re one of the sweetest (and most stylish) couples I know, and I can’t wait to see what adventures are in store for them. Thanks for trusting me with your special day. 🖤🤍
📸: the crazy talented

06/07/2021

Custom paper goods are always some of my favorite wedding details ✨ I just love how this sign incorporated florals that matched the wildflowers in their centerpieces! 🌸

If you’re looking for one-of-a-kind watercolor artwork and graphic design, check out my girl .b.art 💕She’s so talented and so good at bringing out the best in your style and vision. 💯🙌🏼😍

04/07/2021

First family road trip to Milwaukee 🐶🚙 Chego the adventure dog is being a great sport on our city walks. We even spoiled him with the biggest dog park ever. 🐾 🐕‍🦺 Happy 4th of July!! ❤️🤍💙

11/06/2021

My rentals are *almost* completely unpacked at the warehouse!! I have a few more boxes of items that won’t be in heavy rotation, but everything else is unpacked and ready to organize and categorize! I’m about to go all home edit on this little 10x10 corner of my world. 😅

I’ve been working on this in “all my spare time” with the huge help of my mom, Erik, and my girl . Little by little it’s coming together, because it had to before wedding season. 🤣

Let’s take a poll - would you organize by item (vases, candle holders, etc.), color, or style (boho, modern, vintage, etc.)?? Tell me below and share your availability to come organize! 😜

08/06/2021

You know what this season of life looks like? ➡️ Dropping off wedding vases to a florist in the Culver’s drive through line during a 30 min lunch break. And scrambling to create mock centerpiece setups at my dining room table so I can snap a few quick pics for a bride. And responding to emails late nights and early mornings with a slower response time than I feel comfortable with. To put it simply, this season is cray. 😜

I do feel so lucky to be surrounded by beautiful decor, relationships, and wedding day moments. But I’d be lying if I said this year hasn’t been hard. Amazing, but super challenging. And I know that ALL wedding vendors are feeling it, with the wedding push from last year on top of this year’s bookings.

But we are all SO glad to be busy again. That I know for sure. 💗

20/04/2021

Erin+Nate ✨ I’m so excited to be planning this couple’s NYE wedding!! 🎉🥂Erin and I went to high school together, and we actually met through mutual neighbors and riding the bus home together! I was so happy to reconnect when she reached out after her engagement. 💍 You truly never know how you might cross paths with someone again!

Their original wedding plans got put on hold due to covid, but now we’re back to planning their sparkly speakeasy style affair. 😉💃🏻 I am so excited to work on their design plan!! We’re also putting together welcome gifts for their guests who will be joining us from around the globe, so they can take a piece of Normal home with them. ❤️🌎

I’ve always thought a NYE wedding would be magical, so I’m looking forward to living vicariously through them. 😄✨ For now, enjoy these amazing photos from the talented !! 😍 @ Normal, Illinois

20/04/2021

🎉 New blog post! 🎉 It’s been awhile, so I thought I’d write a little catch up post about some life changes that have happened over the past few months.

If you’ve been following along, you probably know about most of these life updates, but I wanted to share more context. Plus my blog doubles as a journal of sorts, and I like to look back on posts from year to year to see how much has changed, or stayed the same. 💗 Enjoy! 😄

https://www.flowersandleatherevents.com/blog/catching-up-april-2021

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14/04/2021

Saturday’s wedding was so good for the soul ✨ After a rainy morning, the sun came out just in time for Kirsten and Keith’s ceremony! Their day was so special, with so many beautiful messages poured over them throughout their ceremony and speeches. So happy for these two and grateful to be a part of their day. Looks like you made it. 🤍

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Venue:
Wedding coordinator:
Flowers:
Decor:
Draping:
Dress:
Tux:
Dinner:
DJ: .hassle.entertainment
Videographer:
Cake:
Hair/Makeup:
Minister: Weddings by Brenda Protz

14/04/2021

Beautiful sneak peeks from Kirsten and Keith’s wedding on Saturday!! 🤩

10/04/2021

The perfect sign for a hell of a good time 💃🏻 SO ready to throw a party in this space again at !! It’s finally wedding day for , and I can’t wait to make it the best day ever for them. 🤍 Now if the rain can just hold off that would be great. 😅☔️

P.S. .reynolds92 we were reminiscing last night about how amazing and FUN your wedding was. That dance floor was packed all night!! 🎉 Round 2 for 10 year anniversary? 😉

24/03/2021

Life updates! ❕Dang it’s been awhile, and I’d be lying if I said the past couple months haven’t been very difficult in terms of balancing everything. I’m still adjusting to my new full time job I started 3 months ago and all the fast-paced projects/excitement/late night-early morning challenges it brings. 🙃 I truly do love it SO much, so I am just trying to balance that with my passion for my wedding business that I also love.

I’ve had to take a step back and just do what I can to support my current couples in the best way possible. 🤍 Less time actively working on growing my business and more time cultivating what I currently have going on, which is a lot. 🤯 2021 is almost fully booked, which is amazing! 🎉

In the midst of all this, we almost bought a house! 🏡It just happened at the (sort of) right time and we truly thought it was the house for us after looking off and on for 2+ years. But, the housing market is wild right now and they got several other offers, multiple over listing. 😬

So... instead we got a puppy!! Something we’ve also been wanting for even longer!! 🐶

Meet Chego, our mini aussiedoodle!! (Short for Manchego, our favorite cheese 😂) I’ve been calling him Manchego San Miguel Carbajal, which is quite the mouthful but hoping he picks up a little Spanish along the way.

He is truly the sweetest little pup and our lives are already better (and more exhausting) for having him. I’ve already told him he better get ready for adventures and shenanigans with us. ❤️

So while you may see me on here less often, I’m still here, doing my thing, still loving weddings and the time I get to spend connecting with my couples. My wedding season is about to kick off soon, so things are about to get even more fun! 😜🙌🏼🎉💍