Here we go! One of our favorite blog posts of the year, probably because it’s just so dang easy to write about – our favorite parts of the past year! 2019 was one of our favorite years ever, both for Events Held Dear as a whole and in my own personal life. It had its ups and downs, just like any other year (and let’s be real, owning a business is never all smiles and rainbows) but all in all, it was an incredible year we are SO thankful for.
So, let’s fill you in, now that we’re back on the bloggin’ train with this swanky new website (all thanks seriously to the ladies at With Grace and Gold, I still can’t believe how much we love it)! Fourteen of these are obviously about our wonderful clients, as we would not be here without them. On top of those events, we had some really special projects we took on, and overall ended the year with nineteen events total – all incredible and all so worth it. Take a look!
We started off 2019 by hosting our second annual Bespoke Wedding Event in January! And as I type those words, I’m guilty of not putting on the third this January… busy season hit us hard this past fall, and if I’m telling the truth, I kind of (like, really) forgot for a short bit there all about it. Whoops. However, we do plan to bring it back, so hang with us!! We’ll be back with it.
If you are new to following us, The Bespoke Wedding Event is a curated bridal show we created about three years ago – we were tired of the same old large, overwhelming bridal shows, with lackluster vendors and crowded venues, and decided to take it upon ourselves to start our own here in Columbus! We handpicked all of our favorite vendors (about 35 of them) from florists, to caterers, to DJ’s, etc. and hosted it at Vue. We’ll do another post on it soon, and highlight all of those vendors as well – it was an event we loved, and one we could not have done without so many willing and talented professionals hopping on board with us.
The next event we hosted was in March for my best friend and her sweet baby boy! Before working from home and under this heated blanket (and currently there now) we co-owned a studio in downtown Columbus for three years, and it was the perfect location for her baby shower for all of her friends and family. We had about 40 people in attendance, cleared out the entire studio and brought in every single piece of furniture and rental items (so much work, but so worth it) and had the cutest fiesta-themed shower. You can read more about it on Ruffled, where it was featured! We had friends like The Jacksons Photography, Lasting Impressions, Evergreen Flower Co. and more who helped make it look as darling as it did.
May 2019 officially kicked off wedding season for us, by celebrating Sam and Bri at Station 67 in downtown Columbus – what we loved about their celebration was how calm and sweet they both were throughout the whole planning process. Bri was one of the least stressed brides we’ve had the pleasure of working with, and when she put on Crocs during the reception, we almost couldn’t love her more!
Next we celebrated John and Meg, working for the first time at Grange Audubon Insurance Center. While the venue name might be a mouthful, it was perfect for the nature-loving couple that these two are. The colors of the venue were bright, along with insane ceremony plants and flowers provided by Bear Roots Floral, and her sweet mom made all of her save-the-dates, invites and day-of signage. It was beautiful!
June sped things up for us, with celebrating those two above, plus another sweet couple and an insanely fun project with Ruffled! Our dear friend Hannah got married to the love of her life, Vic, and we were able to work again alongside so many friendors. They held their wedding at Swan Lake Event Center, and had over 300 guests join them for their big day. We’ve known Hannah for quite a long time, as Hannah as modeled for us in shoots in the past, so it was a joy to help make her day a success! Photos below by Jenna Powers Photography.
Ruffled is a blog we have loved for years, and I really started following them once my own wedding was published there five years ago (check it here!), so we were thrilled when they approached us about hosting their Ohio Styled Social. They create photoshoots around the country, handpick vendors in the area to design them, and we were lucky enough to have the owner, Amanda there in person to oversee and hang out with us all day. We had SO many talented photographers come and shoot that day at Jorgensen Farms (thank you guys!), and picking picking photos from that day is so hard… But they’re all so, so good.
Photos below by the talented Lauren Lee Photography.
For those of you in the industry, you know how wonderful styled shoots can be, however that does not mean they don’t come with so much hard work, preparation and many expenses. It’s basically putting together a mini wedding! For that reason, we were super picky about what projects we took on in 2019 and are so happy we worked with Ruffled, Old Slate Farm, Aiden & Grace and more for their Styled Social. You can see the whole shoot on Ruffled’s blog here!
Next on our list of projects, we put together a wonderful shoot with photographers Anna Peters and Anna Laero at Magnolia Hill Farm. They came in from both Seattle and Pittsburgh to work with us, and we were so thankful they did (I mean, look at their work – STUNNING). That, AND they’re both currently on the list for Belle Lumiere‘s End of the Year awards, if that tells you anything – go vote here! We’re excited to share this photo for now, until we can give you more 😉
It wasn’t long until we were back at Magnolia Hill Farm celebrating Greg and Livvy with all of their loved ones! The venue sits about 30 minutes from Columbus but is well worth the drive – it’s gorgeous white interior and exterior is the perfect blank canvas for events, and we had so much fun working alongside the both of them. It was also probably so fun because my husband was a guest, so having him purposely trying to embarrass me all night was, well…. worth remembering. Ahhhh, marriage.
And goodness, we’re only halfway through the year! And not even in our busiest season yet… but let’s keep going. July was INSANE. We were finalizing details for all of our fall weddings coming up, and in the midst of all the craziness and late nights, we had put together another wonderful project!
With a new season, working on a new website and brand, we really wanted to put together a shoot for us – one we designed from the heart, with vendors we adored. We partnered with Nicole Clarey Photography, Anna Lord Studio, Roots Floral Design and so many more at Kingwood Center Gardens to put together a romantic, color-filled shoot for our new brand – AND, however much I do want to share with you, you can see more once it hits Style Me Pretty on January 12th! We are so dang excited. For now, you get a photo of me hard at work!
Would you believe us if we told you that ten of our fourteen 2019 weddings happened between mid-July and early November? It was a whirlwind, but in the best kind of way. This next wedding was one of a kind, and a couple we absolutely adore (they actually just treated us to The Nutcracker on opening night!) – Paul and Cynthia were one of our more wonderful, older couples, but age sure doesn’t matter when you’re cute as heck and in love. See for yourself! She danced ALL night long, and even jumped up and down in excitement during the ceremony. Seriously, this woman just gets joy. We’re really excited to blog this one down the road for you all to see.
And one after the other, boom boom boom, wedding season was in full force for us! We had the honor of working with Samantha of Samantha Newman Photography on her wedding, and we always are super humbled when other wedding vendors choose us to help them celebrate! Plus she likes red wine as much as I do, so it was an instant bond. These photos of her and her husband Tanner in the Ohio Statehouse are some of my favorite ever.
Soon after, we celebrated Peter and Diane at one of our favorite events of the year (we keep sayin that, don’t we? We can’t pick one!). The Westin is always a favorite of ours, and we designed a gorgeous black-tie, Moroccan-inspired affair for their guests that blew everyone away. The band, the florals, the light reflecting off of the gold interior of the ballroom were sights to remember for a long, long time.
Fun fact: After this wedding I felt beat. All Sundays are pretty hard for us, as our bodies are recovering from a day anywhere from 12-16 hours long (did you know Planners work that long on their feet?!) but this one was particularly rough. It all made sense though when I took a pregnancy test the morning after this wedding and found out we were expecting! Probably my very favorite Sunday to date. So my dear friend Nicole came and took some announcement photos for us, which I’ll post later on!
Next up were three September weddings back-to-back. Being in my first trimester and working on my feet for long, long hours was definitely strenuous, but I kept it pretty much under wraps to most of those around me. We traveled and celebrated Ben and Amy in Wisconsin – Amy has been with our team for about two years now, so we would have traveled anywhere in the world for her! To know her is to love her, and she is one of the most hardworking women I know – plus, a stunning bride.
Then we were back in Columbus celebrating Lauren and Tyler, with stunning work from Evergreen Flower Co., Short North Piece of Cake, a La Jeune Mariee gown to die for and a first look that brought us (and everyone else spying) to tears.
And one more September wedding with Jacob and Gina, who were just so excited to be married! Food was one of the most important aspects of the day, as Jacob is a chef with Cameron Mitchell, and we’d say it was a pretty amazing party all around for the two of them.
In October, we had three more weddings (you Ohio brides loveeeeee fall!) and they kept us very busy and very happy. We had one of our largest design-filled weddings of our career at a personal estate in Delaware celebrating Keith and Autumn, and it was one of our favorite days of the year. We’ll share more with you as soon as we’re able to, but it was filled with: a clear span and clear top tent with a custom-built hardwood floor, two incredible wedding gowns, a tent entrance adorned with flowers, a 7-tier wedding cake and a fireworks show to end the night. A wedding that will be forever near and dear to us.
Next in October we had Ryan and Allison at The Columbus Museum of Art (one of our favorites!), where we were able to work the very first time with The Howard Brand! It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and these two were some of the most laid back couples, just excited to be married. The night consisted of a live band, late night snacks and the bride and groom being serenaded by the bride’s brother – a favorite moment of ours for sure.
Our October ended with a wedding straight off Pinterest, celebrating Mark and Beth at The Beverly Mansion. This wedding came straight from Beth’s creative mind (she’s a videographer here in Columbus, and a dang good one!) and we were just happy to hop on board and help her execute her vision. It was THE perfect fall day, with perfect details and a perfect team. Just look at that tree!
Shortly before Beth’s wedding, we finally shared with the world (of social media, that is) that we were expecting our first little love in the spring! I’ll have another post about this soon, talking about our excitement, our fears, what this means for my role with EHD (not a whole lot will change besides a small leave, don’t worry!) but for now, had to include this in the Best of 2019… how could I not?! I’m the happiest.
We ended our 2019 with the highest of highs, celebrating Andrew and Andrea! Andrea hired us when her and Andrew were long distance with him being in the Air Force, so it was such a joy to finally celebrate their wedding, but also the fact that they could finally be together and start their real life as one. We had an amazing team of vendors (again – we always have such great teams! Perks of working with a Planner, y’all!) – Together & Co., Vicki Breon Design, Sarah W. Hair, Angie Warren Artistry and so many more.
2019 was, one for the books. I loved it, and loved our clients. We have said again and again, that we genuinely miss so many of our clients after we’re done working with them – we really do. We love being a part of your day, and playing such a vital and important role. Engagement season has us even more excited to meet even more 2020 and 2021 brides – inquire with us here!
It would be remiss of me if I didn’t share my thankfulness for our EHD team and all of their hard work. Our day of assistants this past year: Natalie, Madi, Haleigh, my husband… we would not be able to produce the events we have without them. I would not be sane without them! I am just so thankful for them giving up their Saturdays to create wedding days for strangers – it’s a heart-filled job, one not everyone can do.
And Anna, our Lead Planner and Coordinator extraordinaire… where do I begin? She’s been my right hand gal: answering emails, booking her own clients and coordinating her own weddings, updating our Pinterest and Facebook, watching educational videos to better herself, making sure I’m not lifting anything heavy and eating all the snacks + drinking all the water (’cause you know, #pregnant) – she’s irreplaceable. And if you’ve worked with her, you know. Thank you, Anna.
Thank you to our team, friends, family, clients, vendors for an incredible year. 2019 is surely one we were blessed with and do not take for granted. Cheers!
