Christmas Is Coming

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

“Christmas is a coming and the bells begin to ring,
The holly’s in the window and the birds begin to sing.”

This past week I spent holed up inside, prepping for Christmas and listening to Christmas music from every speaker in the house. The past few months have been a flurry of schedules, meetings and to-do lists. It wasn’t until December 1st that I realized Thanksgiving had come and gone and pretty soon Christmas would be too, and I had yet to take in the joy of the season. So for one week, I cozied up inside my house watching Christmas movies, drinking cocoa, decorating for Christmas, and enjoying the most wonderful time of the year. Now, if only it would snow.

Happy Thanksgiving

Every year it seems that more and more of my family doesn’t make it home for the holidays. Having siblings that live out of state and country has been the story of my life though, so by now I should be used to it. Each year it seems to be just my parents and I, settling into quiet evenings around the house during the hustle and bustle of November and December. It’s easy for me to be envious of all those other families that live so close to each other or who all get together on Christmas, no matter the distance or miles. However, I have learned to appreciate and truly cherish the times that all six of us (my parents and siblings) are together under one roof (it’s been 6 years) and for the time I spend with my Canadian family. Now, with Thanksgiving almost done and with Christmas on its way, I am looking forward to December where the Swagman house will be a little louder, a little more full, and just a little more festive. With a brother coming home to visit from Southeast Asia and a sister and her family coming home from the West coast, I couldn’t be happier. Now, if only we could get the one other brother and his family home too. Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you enjoy your time with your families.

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

For more pictures of the tablescape, click here.

Autumn Bonfires

It can be said that I take things to the extreme. Like, when throwing my best friend a baby shower. Or, when ordering so many olive branches that it literally looks like a vineyard in my basement. That’s my nature, to take things and make them awesome on a grand scale. So, when shooting a lifestyle campaign that revolves around a bonfire party, what do I do? I take it to a whole new level. I really do think I am incapable of the less is more approach. I love the small details that add to the overall look and feel of an event, and it’s only when I have run out of ideas that I’ll stop (so, basically, never). Luckily, my fondness for the grandiose makes for some pretty cool lifestyle pictures and a lot of fun with some pretty fantastic friends. Mission accomplished.

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Finding Balance

“Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.” Rumi

My life has been a delicate balance that is precariously close to toppling over. Some days I feel like I am juggling way too much and that something has to go, but that’s not a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Obviously there are good days and bad days. The good days are the days that I focus on each business, meet with clients, get some spec sheets done, have time for some quick phone calls or text messages to friends, and a few minutes to myself to recharge. The bad days are days that I spend entirely at my desk wrapped up in just one of my businesses and ignoring the other completely, not finding time to even reach out to a friend that needs a little encouragement, and realizing at the end of the day that I did not even brush my hair.

Oh sure, I look like all my ducks are lined up in a row, and most days I like to think they are. But there are the days that I feel like I’m balancing one thing too many and that at any second it’s all going to come toppling over.

So, while I am not willing to sacrifice something in my life in order to keep sane, I have learned to rely on others for help. I have learned to delegate and not control, I have learned to let go and trust. This is a big step for the perfectionist, controlling, self-reliant person that I am. But in order to regain balance in my life, this is what it takes. Plus, it’s a lot more fun having people by your side helping you on your journey.

Grand Rapids Wedding Planner

Busyness, Business, and Beauty

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

I have been busy. That may be an understatement. These past few weeks have been a marathon of business meetings, client appointments, photo shoots, event proposals, floral quotes, fashion designing, and sleepless nights. Apparently I do my best thinking at 4am in the morning. However, it’s in these times of busy and stress that I am reminded (by a little Canadian birdie) to enjoy. Enjoy everything. I am reminded that this adventure for me is only beginning and that half of the beauty is in the journey. I tend to get so caught up in the finished product, the end result, the tear down at the end of a wedding, the finished garments of a spring line, and somehow I seem to miss all the beauty. So, somehow in-between all the craziness that is my life, I am trying to laugh a little more and to enjoy hard life lessons. I am learning to enjoy the stumbling and faltering, and I am trying to find the beauty in everything.

Grand Rapids Fashion Designer