the day's business

What’s in a Name

0 · Mar 6, 2017 ·

Branding | The Day's Design | Ashley Slater Photography

Photography: Ashley Slater Photography

Back when I was in high school, I had this girlfriend who knew exactly what she was going to name her children. She had great taste and the names she picked out were adorable. But I couldn’t help but wonder about her determination to use these names. What if her future husband didn’t like these names? How could she be sure they’d stand the test of time and she’d still like them in 10 years? I suppose I just didn’t have her same confidence.

This friend doesn’t currently have children, although I’m sure they’re in her future, I will be curious to see if she’s waivered on her naming decisions throughout the years.

The idea of naming something has been on my mind a lot lately. As a mother of two children, I can attest to what a challenge it is picking the right name. You worry about the uniqueness, the life consequences of your choice, if others will like it, the way it sounds, the ease of pronunciation, the spelling, the meaning and significance and making sure that your cousin hasn’t chosen the same name – after all her baby will be born a month before yours. As difficult as it is to name a child, it’s just as crazy difficult to name a business. Sometimes even more so, because you’re trying to brand yourself and get a certain message across.

I have a couple people in my life lately who have been bouncing naming ideas off of me. And it’s made me reflect back to when I was naming my own business and how I finally settled on The Day’s Design.

Truth be told, it was a decision I didn’t make with much confidence. I certainly wasn’t full of resolve like my high school friend. I was thinking a lot about weddings and I wasn’t really sure where this little entrepreneurial adventure was taking me yet. I actually am a licensed cosmetologist, and much of my early wedding industry experience was doing hair on site for bridal party members. I had an interest in wedding planning and a degree in hospitality. I also had an interest in flowers. Suddenly there was an opportunity knocking at my door for paid floral services and assistance with an event. It was an awesome prospect that could potentially launch me into my future. So I realized I needed business cards and my business needed a name on said card.

Regardless of what direction my business ultimate landed in, it was going to revolve around the wedding day. This is the day that little girls dream of their entire life. So The Day’s Design was born. I had a couple other ideas picked out, and honestly I can’t even remember what they were now. It was kind of like throwing darts in the dark, and that’s where my name landed. But it seemed good, not too fluffy but wedding-ish. And the best part was I could keep the name whether I decided to pursue hair or wedding planning. I had a logo and business cards made and I was in business (kind of) as The Day’s Design :: Event Styling.

It was another year before I became officially official – quit your day job and register a DBA official – but this year will mark 5 years of official The Day’s Design business. It’s come a long long ways since those early days of really girly designs and my burlap and lace website.

It was around year 3 that I really began to define myself and understand my own aesthetic and what I wanted to create. Really, I’m still honing in on that, constantly evolving to be the best version of myself and my brand. But around that time I wondered if I should change my name. I knew at that point that I definitely wasn’t pursuing the cosmetology aspect and my name just seemed like 3 boring words thrown together.

I did a lot of thinking and soul searching during this time. Again, I think branding is something that will constantly and forever be evolving throughout the course of one’s business. I realized I could be dissatisfied in a couple more years with whatever new name I decided to choose. However, I still wasn’t convinced. Then one day as all these thoughts were swimming around in my head, there was another thought that joined. I was reminded of a song I used to sing as a child, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

This is the day. Suddenly my business name had dual meaning and it felt right. God creates every day, the good ones and the bad ones. He has made every single day in our lives, including your wedding day. And we rejoice and celebrate on that day. My business is filled with a heart of celebration and I was at peace in my naming struggle.

I’m going to hold out until fall before I ring the bells of 5 years celebrating. There’s more brand evolution and a new website coming soon. But for the moment I seeking contentment and celebration in each and every day that passes.

Family: Your Best & Worse Fans

0 · Oct 15, 2015 ·

Photography: Ashley Slater Photography

To my dearest family and friends – I love you all so much and thank you for reading my blog. This is not aimed at anyone in particular and please don’t take offense, this is written as a generalized business note. Please continue to be my biggest cheerleaders and best fans (and send lots of clients my way!). xo

You remember that episode of Friends where Monica is asked to cater her mother’s fancy party, but her mom has very little faith in her and so she sticks a few lasagnas in the freezer just in case she “pulls a Monica”? Does that feeling ever seem all too familiar?

Our families tend to be a biggest fans and worst critics. They’ll tell you they love you and believe in you, but then put a backup meal in the freezer. I’ve worked 30 + weddings on my own, made hundreds of flower arrangements and have a pretty awesome portfolio to prove it. But when they ask me to plan one teeny little party or create a small bouquet, they’re constantly checking in on me – like I don’t know what I’m doing. What gives?

Our family and friends have the very best of intentions, but sometimes they’re actually doing more harm than good. They try to give you good business advice. They tell you where to advertise and who to network with. They want to cheer you on. And they’ve been by your side as you grow. They watched your hobby become your career. They were there when your blog had 2 readers and they’re still there now that you have 200+ a day. The problem is, unlike an outsider, a new bride/client/business contact or whomever, they’ve seen you at your lowest and it’s hard to remember that you’ve grown up.

Think of your best friend from high school. Remember her snot-nosed little kid brother? How old is he? 11? He’ll forever be 11 in your mind, it’s hard to see him now that he’s 25 and a grown man starting a family – he’s just a kid! I suppose it’s the same for your family and your business. I’ll always be a little girl.

To conquer this – build yourself a kick butt website and show them! I still find myself having to fight the urge to roll my eyes when a friend of mine asks if I have a website. Of course I do, and it’s really impressive and helps me book some amazing couples. And I’ve been published, lots. I have great reviews. I might work out of my garage sometimes, but hey, everyone has to start somewhere. I was fully booked this summer, so someone somewhere believes in me.

Then remember that your family isn’t necessarily your “ideal client”. They may or may not have any familiarity in your industry and they don’t know who the key players are and how your work compares. They don’t stay current on wedding trends. They don’t know that your flower arrangements hardly hold a candle to Mr. Big Fancy Pants Designer’s because they haven’t seen Mr. Big Fancy Pants Designer’s work. So take their compliment whether it’s your best work or if you’ve seen better. Your brides might not have seen Mr. Big Fancy Pants Designer’s work either, and even if they have, they’ve come to you for a reason.

Step back from your friends weddings. Sure it’s flattering to be asked to be a part of a celebration of someone who is so close to you. And I love it when Mom sends a client my way. But again, sometimes they aren’t the right fit. Maybe they saw your website and passed and then Mommy told them all about her amazingly talented daughter (that’s you!) and they revisited it. Your mom might give you a little attitude for not taking it on, but your works suffers when you aren’t inspired, there’s a reason they didn’t connect with you right away. In the end, you probably did all parties involved a favor by understanding that you don’t have to work with every client that comes your way.

My advice it to take it all with a grain of salt. Whether it’s Mr. Big Fancy Pants Designer’s business advice or a heart to heart with your husband or Mom and Dad, you have to go with your gut. Don’t do things because someone else did or told you to. If it doesn’t feel right, it won’t turn out right because you must stay true to yourself. Not all paths to success are the same, you must find your own.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

0 · Oct 6, 2014 ·

I adore my photographer friends. The amount of artistic talent, stamina and imagination it takes in their profession is truly admirable. It is because of their camera knowledge and skill that my work is able to shine and I appreciate each and every one that works with me and shares pictures from events that we have worked together.

I also read several photography blogs on a somewhat regular basis. While I personally have no desire to be a photographer, I like to see their perspective of the wedding industry and always take note on how I can better myself as well. It is not uncommon for me though, as I’m skimming through their blogs to come across a post or comment about their work being either credited improperly or someone else using their work as their own. In addition, with the increasing popularity of Instagram (which is probably my very favorite social media), I often see rants about how important it is to credit their pictures on this platform as well.

While I feel that they have every right to get into a tizzy over this issue, I can’t help but want to cry out and share my side of the story. What about the other artist? Shouldn’t they be credited properly too? After all, it’s their bouquet in the picture, their dress, their makeup, their hairstyle or calligraphy… and the list can really go on and on.

I do everything I can to properly credit people’s work. I get a little upset when I see a picture of a really lovely floral arrangement that I’ve created captioned with only a photographer credit – which happened again just this morning as I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. And I personally struggle with calling the person out on it or not, especially when the caption on the photos is about how lovely the bouquet is. Why is the photographer always the main focus? Is it because their voice is so much stronger or is it something else.

So where do we draw the line? Should every picture we see on this grand old web be captioned with 20 different vendor credits? Or do we just pick the main one and people can dig for more? Why do I see so many photographer’s wedding posts stating the location of the wedding, but nothing else? I want to know who catered it, who her dress is by and who created that fabulous cake. This is our portfolio, our “word of mouth” marketing and how we make ourselves known throughout this world wide web. Shouldn’t we all give credit where credit is due?

Pictured above: me — fixing her veil and making sure her hair is perfect so Heather Cisler Photography has something gorgeous to photograph 🙂

One Step at a Time

0 · Apr 18, 2014 ·

Do you ever see people around you doing amazing things and think “well, that’s just part of their personality, they’re super bold and outgoing. I could never do that”. Oh my, I have these thoughts a lot. I tell myself that I can’t do things because I don’t know how. And I don’t even know where to get started or who to ask.

But once there was a time when I had never planned a wedding. At one point I had never emailed another vendor. There was a while when I never planned a photo shoot. And at one time I had never written a blog post and The Day’s Design’s website didn’t exist. But somehow I figured it out (right, wrong or otherwise!)

I was thinking about all of this this morning as I’m gearing up for Easter and then a busy week ahead of that. I started to panic, as I often do, thinking that my designs might not work out or something could go wrong. Both true points. But I have to start somewhere. If I never move forward because I’m scared of the results, then I’ll just be left standing still. And that just seems silly.

One step at a time. Whatever you’re working on, just take one step at a time.

I hope you have a fabulous Easter. I’m going to leave you with a picture from my first large scale photo shoot – I was 9 months pregnant and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. But Bradley James Photography rocked it for me! And the pictures are still some of my very favorites (you can see the whole feature here.)

Happy Easter!!

Planning Your Dreams

0 · Apr 7, 2014 ·

When I gave my business a name back in fall of 2011, I had this ridiculous notion that by somehow having a name and business cards, people would begin to take me seriously and business would just come to my doorstep. Ha… what was I thinking???

Fast forward 3 years now and I have such a greater understanding of business, life and dreams and how they’re all intertwined. Summer of 2012 was when I really began to put myself out there and make this dream my career and by fall 2012 it became abundantly clear that if I wanted to really make this work, I could no longer also work a full time job. Leap of faith = quit my full time job.

Now all of this is fine and dandy, I had a plan – a real life business plan, I had goals and a little bit of a path cleared out to make it happen. I even had a 5 year dream in place of where I’d really like my business to be.

However, if you never change anything, you’ll never grow and make these dreams a reality. It’s great to have a plan, but you also have to follow that plan. This is where I am now. I’m sitting here telling myself that eventually “this” is how I’d like my business to be. And eventually I’d like to add such-and-such additional services. It’s been over a year since I’ve been voicing thoughts and ideas out loud with no action to move forward. If I keep doing exactly what I’m doing right now, these ideas will never happen. Umm… reality check please!

Same rules apply for so many aspects of life. In your job, in your relationships and where you want life to take you. Sure there are unexpected bumps along the way, but if you never change anything in your present, how can you just expect that the future will be brighter? You have to work for something bigger. Set goals and accomplish things.

So it’s Monday and time for a fresh start. I’m pushing forward and going to MAKE my dreams come true! What are you doing today?

And the gorgeous blooms above were put together by yours truly and photographed by Ashley Slater Photography, thanks love!!

At the Heart of Business

0 · Apr 3, 2014 ·

There’s a line at the beginning of Dirty Dancing where Mr. Houseman is bragging a little about his daughters (if you’ve never watched Dirty Dancing – you can stop reading this right now, we are no longer friends!)

“My Baby is going to change the world”

“And what are you going to do?” (referring to Lisa)

“Oh Lisa is going to decorate it.”

Seems pretty shallow and materialistic, right? Baby is going into the Peace Corps, and Lisa will decorate. Sometimes I feel like Lisa. I sit around all day looking at pretty inspiration, flowers, dresses and linen samples. I dream up cake ideas and research invitations options. Am I simply feeding an attitude of discontentment and always wanting more? Am I contributing to this sour mindset that seems to drive the wedding industry causing people to spend insane amounts of money on ONE day? And does what I’m doing actually matter?

It’s the motivation behind what I do that actually matters. So yes, what I’m doing matters. But the key is not to lose focus on what makes you get out of bed each day, makes you talk to another bride and then add some gorgeous blooms to a vase. I am certainly not trying to get rich and I want people to be a peace with their spending decisions.

Meet Gretta. She’s the reason I need to pay the bills, work from home and find balance between wedding work and life.

Photo by Ashley Slater Photography

But even before she came into existence, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the wedding industry. So what’s so special about the wedding industry, you ask? Everything – it’s magic. As a little girl I dreamt up endless wedding scenarios for myself, purple flowers, sheer tents, little white chapels and dresses with puffy sleeves (hey, I’m a product of the 80’s!). My mother and aunts kept me surrounded by paint swatches, fabric samples and all things interior design. So naturally, creative energies surrounded me, they bring me home. There’s nothing wrong with adding beauty to your surroundings.

However, as I’ve grown, it’s also this concept of “home” that drives me. My family is amazing, crazy, but amazing. Not everyone gets to be a part of something like my family and I feel sad for them. If you’ve ever watched While You Were Sleeping, that crazy, overly involved, obnoxiously loud but always has each other’s back type family is the closest I can come to describing mine. This mashed up conversation totally hits home. So in the same way, I want to help create the start of family. I love being a part of the wedding celebration because it’s the beginning of something new, a new family, a new journey and it should be a happy (somewhat stress free) one. Being a part of that is awesome!

And after my own wedding, I knew the importance of my job even more. I was one stressed out, frazzled bride who was barely able to enjoy her wedding day. I simple cannot handle the thought of you making the same mistake. The beauty in the wedding day is the vows, love and commitment shared with family and friends.

It’s easy to become obsessed with the publicity, competition, Facebook fans and making each event better than the one before. But sometimes we need to step back, stop the comparison, and focus on what matters most. This is the heart of my business.

Happy December

0 · Dec 2, 2013 ·

Happy December!! It’s here the month I wait all year for. It’s time for the magic and warmth that the holidays bring and the feeling of thankfulness that carries over from November. I have so much to be thankful for, despite me not having jumped on the 30 days of thankful bandwagon, that doesn’t mean that I do feel it or recognize what God has blessed me with.

I feel like December is the month for wrapping up the old and starting fresh with the new. Not that there was anything wrong with 2013, but I’m excited for a fresh start and new hopes and promises that 2014 bring. Is there anything you’d like to see more of from The Day’s Design in 2014???

I’m compiling a list of things that I would like to update and some things that will likely remain to the same in 2014. I’m working with consistency, updating the website a tad and a couple fun new ideas that are scheduled to happen even before we ring in 2014. So my goals for December? Live life to the fullest, keep on trucking and enjoy the holidays… even if there is lots of work in the mix!!

Photo by Hetler Photography, xoxo

One Year Ago

0 · Aug 26, 2013 ·

It was about this time last year that The Day’s Design became an “official” business (paperwork filed, DBA, tax IDs and all that un-fun stuff put in order). I was almost seven months pregnant and waiting to be called back into work after a short and temporary summer lay-off. Around this time I had high hopes and dreams about what this summer would bring, bustling around with numerous brides, designing away and getting ready to wrap up wedding season, all with my perfect little baby girl by my side.

Yup, life was to be just about perfect. My basement studio space would be shabby chic fabulousness and provide lots of space and organization. I would have the best of both worlds being able to work from home and not have to send Gretta to day care – not missing a single moment of her life. We could spend time playing together in the mornings and I’d stay busy crafting and creating while she peaceful slept each naptime.

Now we’ll fast forward to today. That studio space doesn’t even exist. Instead my basement looks like a moving truck full of décor exploded, with vases, tulle and supplies scattered in every direction, creating an obstacle course for me to maneuver through each time I need a new supply. My office has been relocated to the living room for convenience purposes and is haphazardly organized and accessorized by a baby gate. Miss Gretta is crawling nonstop, hardly allowing me to sit down and scribble down an idea or blog post, much less all the other pieces of owning a business I need to work on. Despite it all, this summer has been amazing and I wouldn’t change a thing.

But it does leave me wondering, why didn’t anyone point out to me how crazy I was starting a business now??? Shouldn’t my mother have told me I was getting in over my head? (Moms are supposed to warn you about stuff, right?) It probably wouldn’t have mattered much anyway, I was and still am super determined to make this work. It does work, just not in the same way that I had envisioned. But on that note, I have every intention to take the rest of this week off, savoring what little sliver of summer we have left organizing life before the onset of fall, and even sneaking up north for a couple days too!

So loves, have a great week and a happy Labor Day! I’ll talk to you next week!!

And also last year around this time I was busy designing my first photo shoot with Unikke Photography, as I prepared to launch my website. This is just one of the images we created together 🙂

The Day’s Business: Rest & Relaxation

0 · Apr 22, 2013 ·

A little rest and relaxation is good for the soul. This past weekend I did just that, I took a little step away from my Grand Rapids world and headed Up North.

I had planned on using this time to get some work done that I’ve been putting off. I thought I could spend some quiet time in front of my computer (yuck) but away from my phone/email (yay!), because phone service is lacking and my internet rarely loads. I aimed to slip away from social media and reconnect with my own ideas.

However, life keeps moving forward and in the name of progress, my internet actually worked on this visit! And it wasn’t even snail speed, loading times were actually semi decent. Bummer!

While this may benefit the residents of the area, it meant I had to be more disciplined about my relaxation methods. I actually like taking an old fashioned approach to getting things done. While technology has its place, I really prefer doing some things in a less technological way. I visited with family, had real live face-to-face conversations, channeling back on the texting. I read a home décor magazine, not a blog. Then I wrote some ideas down on paper, in my own handwriting on a notebook that I shared with my niece – complete with scribbles of red crayon.

I did not make anything pretty this weekend. I did not craft or create. I did not type anything, worrying about fancy fonts and lovely pictures. I did not even make sure that my hand writing looked nice… I just scrawled my ideas down in semi illegible penmanship!

Well this is all great… but what does it have to do with The Day’s Design, or wedding planning or love and why are you writing about this on your business blog??? (It’s okay, I know that’s what you’re thinking!) Here’s how it relates:

To Business:

I’m back to business. I was able to clear my head and stop thinking about what everyone else is doing via Facebook, Twitter and wedding blogs, and truly just focus on my own business model and what I want to achieve. I focused on what makes me special. Stop comparing yourself to others and do your own thing. Forget the “industry standards” and just go for it!

To Brides (and her hansom Groom):

Feeling a little overwhelmed in the planning process? We’ve all been there. I’ve said this before, but here it goes again – step back for a bit. Regroup. Remember why you’re planning a wedding day. Stop looking at the Pinterest boards and focusing on wedding trends and what your friends say and doing. Put the wedding day back into perspective and focus on your love for one another. Instead of looking for uber creative ideas on place card displays, focus on details that really make you happy. What truly represents you as a couple? Remember that your love is what make the wedding day unique. There will always be other brides using the same ideas as you, dreaming up the same details (you just were not aware of it before all of this technology and the lovely World Wide Web). Your bond as husband and wife is truly the most unique part of the wedding day.

To All Others:

Because not everyone reading this is getting married. Maybe you are already married. Reconnect with your husband. Have dinner together. Dedicate one night a week to be phone/internet free and just enjoy each other’s company. Spend some quiet time accessing your life goals and creating your own vision. It is amazing where your own imagination can take you. Read a good book. Listen to the birds chirp. Sit outside and close your eyes for a moment. Just. Pause.

I think there’s a reason we like incorporated vintage items into our décor so much. And it’s not just high style. But it reminds us of a much simpler time. I look at an old piece of furniture and think of the stories it could tell. When we share memories and look at sentimental photos of smiling faces, usually they’re full of simple pleasures. Simple moments when we stepped back and let go.

PS – I stumbled across this aqua typewriter at an estate sale and just had to have it! It’s it super cute?! The case is even printed with daisies on it… sigh…

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