A few weeks ago I went to tour the lovely The Wizard of Oz Manor. I was informed by Kim, the event director, that it is believed that the Wizard of Oz was conceived and written here. The manor is located right on Lake Macatawa, with a view just as stunning as the actual home. Inside, it’s like you stepped back in time to old world New England. No really, it is.
In April, I get to direct and design a style shoot here and I am so excited to see everything come together within the space. I am working with some amazing people to create a masculine, New England style shoot with a hint of nautical glamour. Add in one awesome custom designed invitation suite, an amazing seafood menu, sweet treats, gorgeous linens, vintage china, a cigar bar (yes, I said cigar bar), and a lot more pretty details… April can’t get here fast enough.
Photos courtesy of Royal Manors and Andrew Ingram
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2015-03-24 21:22:512015-03-24 22:06:26The Wizard of Oz Manor
In a world built upon numbers, I have been finding it rather hard to not let numbers define me. But here comes the truth, it bothers me more than I let on. Maybe I’m the only one out there that is having a hard time with this; letting a simple number define me. But, I think if we are all honest with ourselves, we let numbers define us in some way.
From the moment we are born, numbers are used to measure us. 8lbs, 3oz, 16in long. 14 hours in labor. Only 4 hours of sleep last night.
Then comes elementary school. Four golden stars on our report card for Excellent. 1 golden star for Needs Work, or in some cases Poor.
Whether our high school years are a success or not are based on a 4.0 scale, on our ACT and SAT scores, how many friends we have, how many goals we scored or saved.College and grad school are just the same. Acceptance letters, grades, and job offers.
Then, as we grow up and enter the work force, we start to secretly compare our starting salaries with others. We start to measure our self worth based on how many square feet our house is, how expensive our car is, how much money we have saved up. How many customers we have. How many likes we got on that last post.
How many likes we got… While I’d like to think that I don’t let most of those above examples dictate how I feel, I will be the first to say that I rely a little too much on those pesky social media numbers to influence my mood. This past week I watched a video. You have probably all seen it, but for me, it resonates way to close to my heart.
“Self respect, self worth, self love all start with self. Stop looking outside of yourself for your value.” Rob Liano
I seem to be comparing my numbers with other people’s numbers far more often than I would like. And, for the record, I come in way under. I am one of those people who constantly checks my Instagram account after I post a picture. After I post a blog post, I will sit there hitting refresh every so often to see how many of you lovely readers actually read it. Pathetic. I know.
The past few weeks I have been trying to stay off of social media. Why? Partly because this week has been hectic juggling my two companies and getting ready to launch my Spring 2015 Collection. But also because I want to get to the point where I can look at social media as fun again and not as a burden or a measure of my value. It’s a work in progress. But most things in life are. And, hopefully soon I’ll be able to stop comparing {my numbers} and just be content.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2015-03-14 15:53:512015-03-14 15:53:51It’s A Numbers Game
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2014-12-31 16:00:262014-12-31 16:08:16Ringing In The New Year
In 3 short days, 2014 will come to a close. In looking back at the past 12 months, I find myself struggling to come up with the right words to describe such a big year.
While there is always a lot to juggle in life, I made things a little more precarious by starting a new company. Being the overachiever that I am, I felt that I could sufficiently handle everything on my plate. I learned very quickly that this was not entirely efficient for my body and brain.
In light of this, I decided to take on extra help. In the past, I have always had an intern to help me. But, with the new pressures in life, I added two more people to my little team. Learning how to manage these new set of hands was a learning experience for all of us. However, I am so thankful to these wonderful friends for sticking by my side and working so hard at each wedding. They were real troopers considering there were weekends where they were up for +40 hours straight clipping blooms, ironing linens and having my perfectionistic presence hover over them.
This year the weddings were a lot different than in the past years. This year I was able to design a lot of the elements and was given more freedom in the overall aesthetics. It always means the world to me when a bride hands over the design aspect of her wedding to me and lets me have fun. I was able to have my hand in the designing of invitations, choosing specific blooms, and honing my calligraphy skills. To those that do calligraphy, you are amazing. Seriously.
In October I was invited to join the other West Michigan Event Planners for an evening at Boatwerks in Holland. Tom from Boatwerks generously hosted this get together and talked about the big plans they have for weddings. It was a lovely time and I am so glad that I was able to meet these great women who I am constantly inspired by. In an industry that is so often seen as competitive and full of comparisons, I felt that these women were more about being a community where we can look to each other for help.
Next year there are some pretty amazing weddings lined up and I am so excited for each and every one of them. They will expand my skills and push my creativity to new levels, and I’ll have to stretch my imagination more, but I look forward to the adventures.
Thank you to everyone for making this year truly fantastic.
See you in 2015.
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2014-12-30 11:27:522014-12-30 11:27:52A New Year
Planning a New Years Eve party, literally back to back with Christmas, seems like a daunting task. Cleaning the house, buying the food, prepping the food, and styling the whole event is enough to make even the most organized person weary. However, before you write off the whole idea of hosting a NYE party, remember, it only needs to be as complicated as you make it. Of course, for me, it is extremely complicated. But, this December I found myself with a few extra minutes to plan a small NYE party, complete with gold glittered hats.
Yes, I know you can buy party hats, but, I had some multicolored ones lying around. Being the queen of DIY (that’s a lie; it’s more about repurposing old things instead of buying new things), I decided to spray paint them gold and cover them in gold glitter. My only advice when spray painting cheap party hats? Let them dry completely in-between coats, otherwise you will have drip marks, which will show under the glitter. When it comes to putting glitter on the hats, after you let the glitter and glue dry, paint over the glitter with one more coat of glue. This helps with the trail of glitter that you are bound to create whenever the hats get touched, placed or even breathed upon.
Steps:
1. Gather up some party hats (try the dollar store or your local craft store) and spray paint (an array of colors are available at your local hardware store or craft store).
2. Cover the ground with lots of newspaper. If you are able to, always spray paint outside on in an extremely well ventilated area. Spray paint the hats in thin coats, letting them fully dry in-between coats.
3. Paint clear craft glue (ie: Elmer’s) on the area of the hat you want covered in glitter. I covered about 3/4 of the hat in glue, with a more glue at the bottom and getting progressively less towards the top.
4. Sprinkle glitter on the hat (over a paper plate). Once you get all the glitter you want on the hat, let the hat dry.
5. Once the hat is dry, cover the glittered areas in one more coat of glue and let it fully dry. Voila. Glittered hats.
Now, you are all thinking that this was more of a pain than what it was worth. And, I’ll be honest with you, you may be right. Would plain gold hats, or even the multicolored hats have been sufficient? Probably… But not for me. So, if you find yourself with extra time and want to spray paint paper and get covered in glitter, this is a project for you. Cheers!
https://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.png00Jessica Swagmanhttps://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/logo-pink-1030x925.pngJessica Swagman2014-12-26 12:03:042014-12-26 12:05:17Glitter NYE Hats
