I hope you all had a great Christmas. It was certainly a wintry week, but a very pretty one. The ice covered world, uh, gorgeous! Then add the dusting of powdery snow atop that glittering crystal, ah-ma-zing. I know all my photog friends were outside snapping up a storm. This Christmas I was not able to travel to Alberta to visit Jas and my family, so I snuggled in at my parents for a very, very quiet Christmas. With my siblings living in other States and Countries (and Jas living in Alberta), it means that holiday’s usually are just my parents and I. This December, my mom and I put up the Christmas tree, with a few hilarious hiccups along the way, decorated the house in enough pine boughs to make you think you were walking through a forest, and had Peter, Paul and Mary’s Christmas Album playing loud enough for even the smallest creature outside the house to hear.
With December drawing to a close and Christmas Decorations being taken down, and a New Year just within reach, I am reminded that each moment is special, no matter how quiet and small, as long as I spend it with those I love.
This Christmas season, my mom and I dragged in our massive Christmas tree from outside and in the process, we lost a few branches. Instead of throwing them away, I decided to take the 4 branches and multiply them into enough boughs to cover our entire house (and presents) in fresh, lovely smelling pine. Below, you will see the simple directions to make boughs that you can hang anywhere from your front door to the back of chairs, and many places in between.
1. Select your branches: I chose 3 different types of evergreens for a total of 8 branches.
2. Arrange your branches: I chose the biggest branch and placed the smaller branches on top of it, trimming away excess.
3. Wrap your branches: I wrapped the ends of the branches where they are gathered together with florist wire and then florist tape. Wrap enough of both so that the branches are secure.
4. Tie a bow: I chose to wrap a red satin ribbon around the ends, but you can use anything you want.
5. Place your bough: Depending on the size of your bough, you can hang it on your front door, on the back of chairs, on the wall, on Christmas presents.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2013-12-15 19:33:192014-01-01 19:34:22Take A Bough
I feel like December snuck up on me, completely out of nowhere and hit me over the head. Bam. Last night I was frantically researching easy Christmas cookie recipes, wrapping presents (yes, I have almost all my Christmas shopping done, with gifts en route to Denver and Reno as we speak), and looking over my notes for my final wedding of 2013. A few days ago I finally had time to try my hand at decorating a mug with a sharpie (I’ve only seen a million tutorials on Pinterest). The perfectionist in me probably made it a hundred times harder than it should have been, but two hours later I had my decorated mug. Will I ever use it? Never. Can you imagine if the gold started to wear off? I would probably cry.
This past weekend I was gifted a lovely bouquet of flowers from a very dear family. When I got home, as I was unwrapping the cellophane, I noticed a few stems didn’t have blooms, while others were a little smushed. The not-so-lovely side of buying flowers that are all pre-picked at the store for you. So, I tromped outside into my snowy yard and cut a few branches of leaves and greenery, and rescued this sweet little bouquet. See, you can make a grocery store bouquet look lovely!
With that said, I hope you all enjoy this beautiful, wintery week. And may all your days be merry and bright.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2013-12-10 20:55:062013-12-20 22:58:01It’s the Most Wonderful Time
With one wedding left for 2013, I find myself cocooning inside my house covered in blankets, staring outside at the chilly air. Oh wait, that’s only in my daydreams. With only one wedding left, things are winding down on the wedding front, but picking up on every other front. So, instead of sitting inside with a cup of steaming tea, I find myself bundling up in my woolen scarves, with a mug of hot chocolate in hand, running around town for clients, emailing late into the night, picking up thousands of fabric scraps that have migrated all over the house, and feeling like autumn has literally passed me by in my sleep. Is it winter already? I was looking at my planner today, thinking to myself that I should get started on my Christmas shopping, wondering if I have time to pick up my tofurkey before next week, and wondering if Superman has a phone number so he can help me with those mundane tasks like buying clothing labels, hang tags, and POS supplies. Thankfully, I have some pretty fantastic friends and family who have given up their days-off to help me winterize my succulents, create my fashion brand, make jewelry, and guide me on balancing event planning with fashion design. For you, I am forever thankful.
I am also thankful for nights when my internet is on the fritz, so instead of working, I get to take the night off and watch (I mean really watch, not working and watching) a movie with popcorn. When the sun shines for just a couple hours and I can finish spray painting my trunk.
After all, we can be thankful for even the smallest things in life.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2013-11-19 11:00:252013-11-22 20:49:06Where has autumn gone?
You may have noticed that JS Weddings and Events has undergone a slight makeover. What you may not know is that it was completely by accident.
When I started my business “unofficially” 5 years ago, I was still figuring out who I was. I think I was going through my funny, awkward stage… again. I was fresh out of college with my fancy degree, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with either. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and I was tired and confused. It wasn’t until October when I was in Greece for 3 weeks with Jas that I had some time to do some soul searching. That’s when I decided to start my own wedding planning business. So there, on the isle of Santorini, I started writing my business plan on napkins.
The next five years, I learned more about who I was, my strengths and weaknesses, what not to do, that making mistakes is sometimes the best way to learn, and that if you are kind, people will respect you. Last year, my dear friend Amy, redesigned my website. She has such an amazing talent in graphic design, and she did such an awesome job of giving me the website I wanted. A few months after that, I had a web developer integrate my blog into my website, and somewhere along the way, he hard coded everything in (ie: it messed some things up). I didn’t realize this until months later when I was trying to update pictures and information.
So, I hired Andrea this past June, a web developer and designer to go in and fix the problem. It turned out to be a lot easier to just build a whole new website. She was so patient with me as I tried to convey who I was, what my style was, and what my business was about. She made me think about things I had never thought about or even thought would be important. In building my new website, I realized this was the chance I needed to finally convey who I am and what JS Weddings and Events is all about, because at last, I knew.
The journey to knowing wasn’t easy, but returning to school 2 years ago for a degree in fashion merchandising and design, and making a best friend with an interior design student (the designer behind Quite Contrary), who knew exactly what her style was, gave me the encouragement and confidence I needed to push me to this point. So here I am. Here is JS Weddings and Events. We are a little bit old souled and vintage, a little bit romantic, but always classy. Take the antique look of gold, the romantic blush of pink, and the classic look of navy, and you have a brand. With a really big love for all things lovely at the center.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2013-10-20 17:19:442013-10-26 17:21:35Who I am: A Journey
