Monday, May 13, 2019

Welcome Summer 2019 Intern




Greetings, Knot Your Average Events followers! My name is Kayla Wetherell and I am Jennifer Ball’s new intern this summer. From now until August I will be writing blog posts about my experiences this summer, as well as keeping up with all social media platforms, so I hope you all get to learn a lot from me as I learn from Jenn.


Some fun facts about me that make me who I am; I am bubbly, outgoing, extremely talkative (maybe too much), detail oriented, passionate about anything I set my mind to, creative, and very hardworking. I enjoy leadership roles, taking charge, being put in stressful situations, because that is where I excel the most, and I also love making those around me happy.

For those who have no idea who I am, let me share with you a bit about myself. I am a 21 year old recent college graduate. Go Spartans! I graduated May 10th, 2019 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. While attending UNCG, I started out as a Kinesiology major with a minor in Sports Coaching. My goal going into college was to become a Division 1 Cross Country and Track coach, because I used to be on the cross country and track team at UNCG, but my career aspirations changed somewhere along the way. My sophomore year, I changed my major to Community and Therapeutic Recreation and my minor to Sociology. I changed my major and minor once I realized my passion for event planning, so here I am.


After my internship with Jenn, I plan on becoming a destination wedding planner. I want to one day have my own wedding planning company and travel the world, while doing what I do best, making memorable experiences for those around me.



The BEST is YET to COME

~Kayla (2019 summer intern)


Sunday, May 12, 2019

To the Moon and Back



Happy Mother’s Day to the sweetest woman I know!

My Mom, my best friend, my go to when life gets hard or even when life is going well. I am blessed to call you mom! You have made life so much easier to go through knowing I have you to call on. From being there when I found out I was pregnant at 17 to being there now as I had my 4th baby at 26. You were there to help guide me in the right direction and to always help me remember what really matters in life.
 
 You never let me go too far astray; you are always there to remind me of my goals in life when I’m not sure what I want anymore. Thanks for always supporting my goals and doing whatever possible to make them come true. When it came to marrying the love of my life…you were right by my side. 





You quickly encouraged me to hire your professor and mentor for our wedding so that we could be together and just enjoy the day.  You attended several planning meetings and even stayed up late helping me make final decisions…and on wedding day with the KYAE team working behind the scenes you were able to be right by my side all day long. 




You are my biggest fan! I could go on and on about all the accomplishments you’ve had as a mom through my 26 years of life. But honestly your biggest accomplishment is loving me to no end and letting me know just how much Christ loves me too.



Happy Mother’s Day Mom love you to the moon & back!




Your Daughter Heather Lee (2017 KYAE bride)
*wedding day photo credit:  Photos by Christina Forbes

Without Worry



Jenn and her team was beyond amazing, I cannot image a more perfect day and her team that made it happen! Our entire family was able to enjoy our wedding day without a single worry because Jenn and her team took care of every detail, so effortlessly!  My mother was able to enjoy our wedding day to the fullest.



I don’t know where I’ll be without my mother.  All that I am is attributable to her.  Her strength, grit and intelligence is something I am profoundly grateful for. 



Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who raised me into the strong, independent woman I am today!

~Anya (2018 bride)

My Bodyguard



From the moment I got engaged I knew that my son Spencer would be the one to walk me down the aisle. I asked him if he would take on the most important task of the wedding and that was to give me away. He took on the role like a champ and became Mom’s “bodyguard.” He has and will always be the #1 man in my life.



The night before the wedding, Spencer and I spent the night together, just the two of us before all the craziness started the next day. We talked about future plans and things he wanted to do. Time he and I’ll cherish forever.



He spent all day with me the day of the wedding relaxing with the girls and just taking in the whole process. When I asked him what his favorite thing about the wedding was he said “Seeing you so happy!” 



He was a part of the process from beginning to end and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Plus, he was able to keep the biggest secret of all from his new step dad! I think he was more excited about surprising Johnathan than I was with both the Duke & Carolina mascots.  The day was a little overwhelming for Spencer, but Jennifer and her team made him feel comfortable and special every second.  He even got to hang out with the mascots right before they come out for the big reveal.  This totally made Spencer's night.  We danced the night and ended with a family dance, just the three of us.








Not only did Jennifer assist us in planning our wedding she even took care of our honeymoon in Sandals.  We made sure to stay home to celebrate Easter prior to flying off to our honeymoon.  Since Spencer couldn’t come along for our honeymoon we decided to let his pup enjoy her first adventure and shares our travels with Daisy.  Between our butlers at Sandals and Jennifer back home… it all just happened like magic.


~Courtney (April 20, 2019 bride)

Saturday, May 11, 2019

My Biggest Fan



Who is your biggest fan?  If you asked me…

I’d have the easiest answer: MY MOM! 

Although I had a dad in my life, my mom pretty much raised me as a single mother and she never missed a beat.  She was at every soccer game, cheerleading opportunity, dance class or recital and awards banquet (which was a lot and constant).  She was the first one to fix a scrapped knee from falling trying to keep up with playing with my brother and all of his friends in the neighborhood or she was the first to wipe the tears from a broken heart… 

When I decided to start my own business she encouraged
me to follow my dreams.  She was the first one to get a copy of my book I wrote.  When I got the crazy idea to go back to college for my Masters and graduate when I would be 40 to start a new chapter in my life, she said I can’t wait to cheer you from the stands again and see what you do with this knowledge.  No matter what the future holds, I’m sure she’ll always have a front row seat, cheering the loudest and clapping…



If you asked me WHY I started planning weddings I’d have the 2nd easiest answer: My MOM!



When I got married right out of college (pre-wedding education & experience) we attempted to do it all (see our blog post sharing this full story).  We survived is the best way to describe it… but unfortunately, she didn’t get to fully enjoy it.  Her, our family and friends busted their tails all day cooking food, setting up and cleaning they didn’t get to be guests.  The worst was that my mother missed our first dance, toasts, and cake cutting because she was the busy one behind the scenes…

Several years later I got the calling to become a wedding planner (who knew), and from that moment on I never wanted a mother to miss those important moments again.  We understand most see planners, coordinators and designers as an additional cost but realistically we tend to save lots of money, time planning and stress throughout the process and the day in general.




I remember starting to plan my second wedding (see that blog too) and she was so quick to ask “what can I do?”  My response…”nothing, just enjoy the moment and be by my side as a guest.”  I was blessed to have her there to walk me down my Caribbean aisle and love being able to see mothers relax and enjoy every magical moment that happens on wedding day.






Now, our couples and anyone that surrounds me knows my mom and I go on weekly

daughter momma date nights… usually to the movies and dinner.  I know wedding planning and life gets busy, but take one day out of the week if you can to go to dinner or see a movie with your mom.  You only get one, so take advantage of the time you do have because one day it will only be a distant memory.




Happy Mother’s Day not only to my BIGGEST FAN but to all of the mothers we’ve allowed to enjoy every magical moment and for those we’ve yet to meet….



Never Stop Needing Your Mom


All my life I’ve looked up to my mother. As a child, she was comfort, 24/7 caregiver, snack warden, maker of breakfast…lunch…dinner and dessert, helper with homework, CEO of transportation and related activities, and on{rare}occasion, disciplinarian. My hero.



As a teenager, mom was consistent embarrassment, never-understanding, the fashion police, harshest disciplinarian in the world, yet a shoulder on which to happy or sad cry, a picture of strength and grace, pusher to achieve and solidly my greatest supporter. Still {secretly} my hero. As an adult, I have come to realize that at times mom was exhausted but never gave in, worried and never lost hope, a problem solver extraordinaire, truly wonderful in the chaos we call life, and a true best friend. Not-so-secretly my hero.

 

The reality is, I’ll never stop needing mom and she will never stop putting her needs aside to help her family. So, when it came to our wedding, mom’s definition of “relax and enjoy” matched the dictionary definition of “do everything and stress”, which takes on a whole new meaning with your Italian mother.



Then we met Jenn. From our first interaction with Jenn, she told us that one of her goals as a planner was for mom to be able to truly relax and enjoy the wedding. Disbelief – mom will still stress, but we will pretend she is calm. Nevertheless, we decided to put our trust in Jenn and I could not be more thankful that we did.



Jenn was true to her word and absolutely delivered a fantastic wedding that allowed mom to simply sit back, relax (really relax), eat, drink, DANCE and deliver a pre-composed essay length toast. I would be remiss if I fail to mention that Jenn made this possible even with the last-minute wrench of Hurricane Florence crashing our wedding!




Being able to share one of the most special moments in life with my mother on a stress free day is a priceless gift and for that, we thank Jenn and the wonderful Knot Your Average Event staff, wholeheartedly and forever.




Kristen (past bride)

(photo cred: Liz Grogan Photography)

Right By My Side



Ever since the day I was born, my mom has been there for me. I turn to her for advice, guidance, support, and so much more. Of course she is always willing to give her input, whether I want to hear it or not. We have had our ups and downs over the years, but one thing always remains constant is our strong relationship with one another.



Our relationship is so special and I knew there was no one else I wanted to have help me plan my big day than her! Just like when asking my bridesmaids to stand by my side, I sent my mom through inter-company mail at work a card asking if she would help me plan my wedding. Of course she said YES! To me it was so important to have her by my side not only through the planning process, but also on the day I was going to marry my forever guy.




My mom was with me every step of the way during the wedding planning from meeting with Jennifer Ball our wedding planner to picking out flowers and to discussing music with the DJ. I found relief in that I could rely on my mom to help me when I needed it most because as most of us know wedding planning can get overwhelming at times! 



I was so thankful and appreciative that we chose Jennifer Ball as our wedding planner. She went above and beyond on my wedding day (as did all the vendors) and I did not stress about anything… even with all the rain we had! I am also thankful that my mom knew she needed a wedding planner to keep us both organized and am glad that person turned out to be Jenn.



The bond that my mom and I built with Jenn during wedding planning is still strong today. I am truly blessed to call Jenn a friend and am thankful that I can still reach out to her when I need it even to bust a move with the wedding guests!



Heather Long (past bride)
(photos cred: CSaul Photography)