Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Elizabeth.
Nicole, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Just like you see in movies, I first became interested in wedding planning and floral design because my best friend got married! It was 2007 and as her Maid of Honor I had absolutely no clue what to do… so I went online and found lots of information on how to serve and support my bestie through her engagement.
After months of helping with her wedding colors, timeline, and vendor contracts, she mentioned to me that her planner was stressing her out. At that moment, a switch flipped in my brain and I started to pay closer attention to why she felt that way. Then, suddenly it clicked… my bestie was suffering from information overload! From that moment on, I focused on her emotional experience first. The details came second.
The following year, another friend got engaged and asked me to help her find vendors. I jumped to the challenge and after providing a list of vendors with contact info, package and pricing details, and the like, she made a comment that I should get paid for this… and she was right! I completed the most comprehensive wedding planning course I could find and received my certificate in 2008. At that moment, Sensibly Chic Weddings was born.
Fast forward to 2018, I’m thrilled to say I’ve been planning weddings for 10 years! Happy dance! Although my process has changed over the years, and I now offer floral design, my focus remains the same… taking the stress away from couples so they can focus on their engagement and dating each other. “Give me your chaos, and I’ll give you a spreadsheet” is what I tell my clients… and I mean every word!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh yes! The most surprising challenge I faced was my own self-confidence. There’s so much pressure put on wedding planners’ shoulders and worrying that I’m going to fail and ruin a couple’s wedding day is a swift gut punch. If I couldn’t believe in myself, how could I expect others to believe in me?
Having a close support system of family, friends, and wedding pros kept me strong, but I really had to dig deep and silence my inner critic. There are moments when I do get overwhelmed, and in those situations, I just take a deep breath (or 3) and remind myself to trust in my plan. Logistics is a natural gift for me, and I’ve learned to shift my slight paranoia into a plan of action. For any potential “what if…” scenario, I have a plan, and that is what keeps me confident.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sensibly Chic Weddings – what should we know?
“Planning is my passion. Floral design is my soul mate.”
Sensibly Chic Weddings is an extension of my passion and personality – to plan weddings and to emotionally connect with the couples I work with. My team and I work hard (sometimes obsessively) to direct a wedding day… and we do it with a smile! Details matter to us, but it’s the emotions of a wedding day that inspire us most. Emotions bring life! The joy, the laughter, the love, the happy tears… they all emote an infectious energy we enjoy being a part of.
We take pride in going beyond the date on our calendar to fully understand the couple’s love story. How the couple wants their guests to feel plays a huge role in the decisions made for vendors, colors, and the overall vibe of the wedding day.
Day-of and partial planning, vendor referrals, budget management, and floral design are the most popular services couples choose us for. From the moment we’re hired, we help each couple stay on track with monthly to-do lists, we build realistic budgets to help keep finances in order, and couples have full access to our brain during their wedding planning journey.
Our approach to floral design is a little different… we actually prefer to NOT see a Pinterest board or inspiration photos until after our initial meeting. Knowing the emotional and style vibe the couple is drawn to is really all we need to build a floral concept for a wedding… and the budget, of course! (PS: we love making flower crowns!)
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My greatest cheerleader is my Mom, Ramona! Without her support, Sensibly Chic Weddings would have remained just a passing idea. My parents Courtney and Ramona invested in my wedding planning course. Getting started was so intimidating for me, and I was able to learn hands-on as the assistant to Ricardo Tomás – The Architect of Beautiful Weddings. Many dear friends have encouraged me to pursue my passion, and a few of them even assisted me on wedding days, styled shoots, and bridal shows (Erica, Taylor, Sean, Alex, Dwenya, and Ashley… and my Mom, too)!
When the time came to transition into a full-time entrepreneur, my mentor Bob Barrese at SCORE.org (Addison) and trusted industry pros gave me the tools and advice to take the leap. For the past year, my assistant Rachel has been my angel, working 16 hour weekends to execute wedding days with precision and poise.
Contact Info:
- Website: sensiblychicweddings.com
- Phone: 469-343-4380
- Email: nicole@sensiblychicweddings.com
Image Credit:
Wondery, Jessica Rivard Photography, Ellison White, Love Pic Love, Deborah Huber Photography
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