Today we’d like to introduce you to Lottie Fowler.
Lottie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey into becoming a business owner is a bit unorthodox. I studied Art & Design at UNT and have always been drawn to a more creative environment but the stable move for me was to transition from college into the corporate world. I would go on to work for large companies like GE and the Chicago Tribune in finance and risk management.
Weddings were nowhere on my radar until I would get engaged myself!! I ended up loving the process of planning my wedding: the logistics, the time management, and event direction were strengths that I already had in a conference room/team building/corporate setting. But I found that in the world of weddings, I was allowed to continue using those strengths while coloring outside the lines. I got married in 2008 and quickly after started my first planning company called Couture Events by Lottie.
We had great success as a planning company but had not embarked on the design aspect quite yet. It wasn’t until 2012, we re-branded as Grit + Gold to become a full in-house, boutique and bespoke planning + design company. Since our transition we have brought on more staff, grown our brand identity and hit our stride for consistency and quality in our events, Today we have two offices, our headquarters in Fort Worth with a satellite office in Bishop Arts – Dallas and looking for our next expansion steps.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being an entrepreneur of any capacity takes GRIT. When you start off, you find yourself acting as customer service, payroll, HR, IT and on and on. It’s a tough road to determine the healthy steps for your business, when to grow, how to grow, at what pace to grow so that the quality isn’t affected.
For me, it’s been a marathon, not a race. I learned slow, I failed many times before getting it right, I made changes slowly and searched my soul continuously. My first planning business, Couture Events, was great. I learned a ton but would eventually grow out of that business.
At the time, it felt like a failure when I didn’t love that business anymore. Little did I know, I didn’t love it because it wasn’t me. It didn’t represent who or what I was really capable of. I didn’t even really know what a rebrand was. LOL. Now my brand and clients are my everything.
Every choice I make, every image I post, every update my website or blog all point back to that brand. It’s been a bumpy road but with passion and tenacity, I feel like I found my lane.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Grit + Gold story. Tell us more about the business.
Grit + Gold is a Dallas/Fort Worth wedding planning and design studio. We approach the design + planning process in a way that creates functionality, simplicity, and beauty.
We are highly decorated with publication features not only locally but globally.
We are set apart because of our corporate background approach yet see with a creative eye. With this streamlined integration of design and planning, we ensure unparalleled quality to our clients.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We are looking forward to more corporate and social events, venue management and who knows… maybe even open a venue ourselves. 😉 Dreaming BIG over here!
Pricing:
- Day of Packages starting at $1600…
- Month of Packages starting at $3500…
- Full service planning and design – 10% of total budget
Contact Info:
- Address: 509 N Winnetka Ave.
Suite 200 Dallas Texasor
2060 Kenley St Fort Worth Texas - Website: www.gritandgoldweddings.com
- Phone: 214-223-3866
- Email: lottie@gritandgoldfw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gritandgoldweddings/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gritandgold
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/gritandgold
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/grit-gold-fort-worth-2
Image Credit:
Shannon Skloss
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
