We're Turning Two!

Two years ago today, With a Flourish launched quietly from my apartment.  I had quit my job, advertised a couple of places, and called every wedding professional I could find to introduce myself and gather information on the industry.  I was excited and ready to start planning weddings and events.

Our first year, we had 6 weddings.  With the goal in mind to double the amount of events we planned for the first three years, we're well on track.  Over the past year, we planned 8 weddings, styled 2 weddings, did floral designing for 2 weddings, and created floral arrangements for a handful of other events.  We also planned a really neat fundraiser with the Green Party of Manitoba, and we're working on another fantastic event called EcoShift, planned for September.  It's been a great year, with a variety of interesting projects.

We added Styling Services, to assist on events that had the logistics taken care of, but needed help with the atmosphere and décor of the event.  It's quickly become popular with brides, and we're excited to take on more styling clients in year 3.

Globally Minded elements are at the heart of each event to plan, even though as of today we've changed our tagline.  I was nearly in tears this morning thinking about it, but it's time to simplify the tagline to reflect what I actually do, rather than what I thought I would do before launching.  I've always hoped to drop Globally Minded Event Management someday - I hope that one day it will just be a given that people do their best to minimize their environmental and social impact for their events.  Our new tag: Event Styling & Planning is easy to remember and simple.  We're still as globally minded as ever, and you can still come to this blog to read about eco-friendly weddings and events.

When the idea for a little green wedding planning business came about, there were no other wedding planners advertising eco-friendly weddings.  Now there's a handful that have added eco-wedding elements.  That's fantastic.  I knew of one florist, two invitation designers, and a few caterers that adhered to globally minded principles, so making green recommendations was more challenging.  Now I'm excited that when a bride and groom approach me about their eco-friendly wedding, there are way, way more options for them to explore.  Green weddings are no longer a hippie alternative - they're mainstream, beautiful, and just as elegant as any other wedding.

I continue to be thankful for the industry professionals that have supported me, spread the word about my business, given me favours when they didn't even know me, and put up with my occasionally quirky ideas.  My clients, particularly those who chose me when I had no portfolio, little experience, and just ideas and passion have been amazing.  Nicole, who designs my marketing materials, Adrienne who designs stunning decor and reads my mind, and Char who is always encouraging are the best sister-in-laws ever.  I have an adorable son who always asks if he can come along to the "wegging" and promises to "sit still and be quiet" if I let him come to work with me.  My husband has cut out hundreds of fabric circles, been my wedding slave manual labour, done my bookkeeping, made me coffee and breakfast every morning and encouraged me through many late nights.  This has definitely been a family effort.  The first two years have been wonderful, and I'm looking forward to a great year three for With a Flourish!

Since you read all the way to the end of this post, you deserve a SALE!  Check back tomorrow for a great end-of-the Summer and HAPPY BIRTHDAY WITH A FLOURISH promotion!