Chic + Socially Conscious NYC Styled Wed

Chic + Socially Conscious NYC Styled Wed

A weekend off during high season is a most treasured gift in a wedding designer’s life. So, when Christen of Wed Altered called me last October on the Monday before my only weekend off through December, I was a bit frazzled. But, then things got very exciting, very quickly.

A live shoot during Bridal Fashion Week in New York City? What does that even mean? Well, just that. A collaboration in a beautiful space to showcase some of the best talent in and around NYC all while fashion week happens around us, run way shows and all. We were a bonus to fashion week, so to speak. I never heard of anything like it. Obviously, I was in 110%.

This phone call happened at Monday at 3:00 PM. I had about an hour drive home. I didn’t start making phone calls to my vendor friends and partners until 5:00 PM. Some didn’t get phone calls until Tuesday! But, by Wednesday morning we had 12 vendors that were behind us and were ready to go! The incredible rush of putting together such a event in such a short amount of time, all while being in between two events myself, was complete exhilaration. A complete joy to be reminded of the wonderful people I am surrounded by and the incredible Dee Kay Events team that came together for such a great event.

View More: http://alexisjune.pass.us/wedalteredoctober2014

Wed Altered hosts a buyers salon during NY Bridal Fashion Week that gathers designers who believe that design should not suffer at the face of sustainability, ethical values and social consciousness. Some of these designers were inspiration enough for us to create the live shoot. But, we were given a specific color palette of plum, blush, light orange and green. Everything else? We had free reign. A designer’s dream!

We pulled in lots of different textures to offset the random color choices, focused on pops of color for the floral and muted tones of gray and plum for background. Louis Roros of Sayrewoods Florals did a fantastic job of creating centerpieces that reflected the modern vintage feel that we love so much. Although we never discussed a bouquet design, on the day of the shoot, I made an impromptu one from the centerpieces. It turned out beautifully!

Liz from Octavia & Brown must have brought her entire studio vintage rentals studio to use. It was incredible. We were like kids in a candy shop amongst the beautiful vintage floral dishes, gold flatware and amazing stand out pieces. It really made for a unique table scape, transformed the space and added warmth and vitality to the blank canvas we had in front of us.

View More: http://alexisjune.pass.us/wedalteredoctober2014

Brandi of Alexis June buy klonopin from india Weddings has an impeccable eye and talent for both digital and film. She captured the day perfectly, along with Shawn and Alessandra of Sweet Start Weddings. The cinema feature captures the excitement and beauty of the entire day.

The best part? I was able to keep to my own business philanthropy to inspire or lift up at least one person during a styled shoot (read: Styled Inspiration). I was able to have my cousins, who are sisters, be our models for the day. This was their first time trying on wedding dresses! It was a complete honor to be there with them for this. The first dress I put Joan in is the one she said she would pick for her wedding dress. What a compliment!

By the way, these girls are Iron Man competitors – Iron Women, I should say. They run, swim and bicycle for miles on end…on purpose! Thousand of miles between the two, these two sisters inspire woman and men every day to get up, get out of bed and just go. They coach and train others to keep on going on to reach their marathon goals. I am thrilled I was able to have a day to give back to them for all that they give to the world.

After a 19 hour work day, when you look back at the incredible team behind you that is there to help you succeed, you can’t help but think you’re going to wake up and it will all be gone. I still have to pinch myself! These photos not only capture beauty, but they capture the labor of love of every vendor and model who dropped everything that week to make this happen. These photos are my heart. These photos are my gratefulness. These photos are the future. Success is not measured in dollar signs, or the parties you’re invited to, or who knows your name. Success is in the relationships you build. The friendships. The love.

I hope these photo inspire couples about to wed to concentrate on the love around them. That’s what matters most in this world.

As for my weekend off? That’s what all of January was for, wasn’t? 🙂

View More: http://alexisjune.pass.us/wedalteredoctober2014

View More: http://alexisjune.pass.us/wedalteredoctober2014

View More: http://alexisjune.pass.us/wedalteredoctober2014

View More: http://alexisjune.pass.us/wedalteredoctober2014

For more photos, see our feature in the Black Sheep Bride.


 

Photography: Alexis June Weddings | Event Design: Dee Kay Events | Bridal Gown Boutique : Wed Altered |
Bridal Gown Designer: Olivia Hwang | Hair : Styles On B | Makeup: Nicole Sievers | Venue: The Altman Building  |
Florals: Louis Roros Sayrewoods Florist  | Vintage Rentals: Octavia & Brown | Invitation Designer: Corinna Beau Letterpress |
Equipment Rentals: Party Vibe Entertainment  | Cinema and Video: Sweet Start Weddings | Live Sketch Artistry: Ivana Masic
Crushing on Croatia: The Ultimate (Honeymoon) Utopia

Crushing on Croatia: The Ultimate (Honeymoon) Utopia

It’s no secret that I am very proud of my Croatian heritage. Through my non-profit and many other efforts, I try to write about the Croatia that I know as much as possible. So, when someone as lovely as Brittny Drye from Love Inc. Mag approaches you about a feature on the motherland, you jump up and down. But, when she says it’s about honeymoons, you throw yourself across the table and kiss that girl on the cheek!

It was so incredibly fun writing this piece. It brought me down memory lane through my own honeymoon experience. I’m very grateful for the nostalgia, but it also made me want to explore some parts of Croatia that I have yet to see.

Croatia is currently on Fodor’s top destinations on the rise for 2015. If you are looking for gorgeous scenery, friendly people, excellent cuisine and a unforgettable time, Croatia is the place to be!

Click below to read the entire feature beginning on page 70:

Love Inc. Mag, Croatia Honeymoon, Dee Kay Events, Love Inc. V3 Cover

Special thanks to Zvonimir Kusec of One Day Studio for the beautiful photos.
And, to all the wonderful vendors I experienced to make my trip unforgettable:
Water Polo Cruise | Villa Neretva | Like Croatia | Pan Adriatic | Adriatic Travel Inc. | Croatia Travel

 

Hello, Gorgeous!

Hello, Gorgeous!

Refreshed. Renewed. Restored. We have a new look, and we can finally share it with you!

When you first go into business for yourself, you don’t realize how much actually goes into making the business run. From accounting to sales to marketing, it’s much more than the service that you provide. A successful business is not driven on talent alone. Running a business is sort of like marriage. Love is awesome, so is your fresh idea, but it takes more than love (and your idea) to make a marriage (or your business) work.

Here is what my brain was like when taking the first steps to making the Dee Kay Events:

“Ahh! This is going to be great! I’m doing what I love. Woot woot! OK. I need a website and business cards. How hard can that be? Technology has come very far. I can do this. OK, but wait, I need a logo too. Simple. I know graphic design and have some great friends that can help me along the way. But, how do I represent the business so that my clients can understand the scope of work that I do? What if my logo sucks? What work do I even do? What are my services? What am I even doing? I really just want to lay down right now.”

In the beginning, you may just put something together and not put much thought into it. You have a website. You’re legit, right? Not exactly.

Dee Kay Events just celebrated our second birthday a couple of weeks ago. And, let me tell you, I have learned more about myself during this time than any other part of my life. The ups, the downs, the joys, the fears. My head spun in a million different directions, but I also tilted and shifted my business in so many different ways.

The journey of being a business owner is the beauty of being an entrepreneur. You don’t even realize all that you are learning until a day like today. Just like marriage, it takes a lot of communication, compromise, letting of ego and being humble. Although still not perfect, and I never will be, I am very proud of where I have come, the work I have done and the smiles from the service that I provide.

It was time to refresh, get grounded and go full speed on this crazy business train.

So, what do we do? Style. Inspiration. Event design. Production. In other words, your insurance policy of happy for your event!

Welcome to the new look of Dee Kay Events! Be sure to check bios, photos and our Love Notes: beautiful hand written notes from our clients! Remember to share the love too!

Eventfully Yours,
-Diane 🙂

P.S. Thank you to my incredible vendor friends for all of their wonderful help! Miro Celic for all the wonderful new head shots; Liz Geddes from Octavia Brown for letting us live in her studio space for two days; the wonderful Nicole Sievers of NSMUA for making us all pretty; Russel from Styles on B for the curls; and, the Dee Kay Events team for putting up with my crazy. 🙂