A life without love is like a year without summer….

As summer heats up and so does our office load we thought we would offer a little summer special to cool things down! For the next week we are offering $200 off any package booked!

Contact us today and let’s start planning the first day of your happily ever after.

[email protected]
757.374.1513

XO
Brandi + Jess

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Happy Friday y’all! I am so excited to *formally* introduce this sweet beauty above. Many of you already know Jess, she is no stranger to the As You Wish team. In fact, this is Jess’ third season with us, but it is her first season as our Lead Coordinator. She has grown and blossomed and transitioned so organically into this role, and I am so very thankful for her amazing skills and all that she brings to the table.  She is organized and driven and creative and persistent, and quite honestly reminds me a whole lot of myself (which I am positive Julie finds quite funny now that I am standing in her shoes). If you have seen her in action then you already know what I’m speaking about, and if you haven’t had the pleasure yet then get excited because she is seriously fabulous.

I asked Jess a few questions that I thought might give you a little background and insight on her…

What made you want to get started in the wedding world? Or was it just events that initially drew you in?
Events drew me in at first. I worked in a promotions department at a radio station and the thrill of putting together an event made me realize that was my calling. Then I started working with AYW and knew the wedding industry was perfect for me.

What’s your favorite part of being a wedding planner?
I love the rush I get pulling a wedding together. Each client is different so it challenges me to push my creativity to its limits so I can make every vision come to life.

If you weren’t a wedding planner what other industry related job would you want? (You can only pick one)
I would want to run my own wedding venue on the beach. I would have my own catering staff and salon on site so couples can have the complete package

What are you most looking forward to this wedding season?
This is my first season as a lead coordinator so I’m excited to apply what I have learned from Brandi & Julie over the years to my clients this season

Don’t you just love her already? She’s going to do big things y’all and I’m so thankful to watch her grow.

XO
B

The post World… Meet Jess appeared first on As You Wish.

*a special thank you to the amazing Katie Nesbitt Photography + Blush Tones + Flawless on Site + Aloft + Jollity & Co*

Be sure to come back tomorrow so we can properly introduce our fantastic lead coordinator, Jess!

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Planning a wedding was stressful for me.  I had a lot going on aside from the wedding; like school, my internship, work, etc.  I had little time and resources available to me so I did the best I could.  It wasn’t until after the wedding that I realized how important having e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g listed in the contract actually was and how I couldn’t count on some of my vendors to really do the things they had promised.  The lightbulb came on that planning would have been so much more enjoyable if I had someone to guide me through the process.  So there I was, the summer after I graduated, got married, moved to Virginia, and I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to focus on in grad school.  What-the-bleep-am-I-going-to-do…I decided I needed a way to channel my energy while I tried to figure everything else out on the backend.  I made a mental checklist of all the things I loved:
-Working like a maniac
-Being busy
-Being creative
-Helping people

And there it was. That very same lightbulb right in front of my face like the best damn idea I’d ever had.  I’d just listed the job description for an event planner and my recent experience of planning my own wedding justified the importance of this position.  So, that was that.  I decided I would find an event planner to work under while I studied for the GRE’s and I didn’t care who they already had working for them – I was going to become the best assistant on their team.  No doubt about it.  Now I just needed to find said event planner.

Her name was Adrianne and she changed my life.  After working only 2 events with her she insisted I get my business license and take over As You Wish.  Clearly I thought she had lost her mind as I had only planned to become her best assistant, and not a business owner.  She insisted that if I didn’t take the opportunity she was giving me no one else would offer me the same opportunity, and it would be very hard to do it on my own from scratch.  I knew she was right.  I still fought her on it though.  I was only 24 and had zero interest in owning a business…  It wasn’t in my plan.  She was persistent though, like one of those at home business people that stop you at Target to try and sell you on joining their pyramid scheme team.  Except Adrianne wasn’t just convincing-she was absolutely right.  This was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. So I shut my mouth and listened to everything she told me to do.  She booked my first client for me that same year and literally pushed me out of the nest so quickly I had no choice but to figure it all out or fall flat on my face.  My big girl pants were now on and there was no holding me back.  I did 5 weddings my first year, took notes and regrouped after each one on what I learned and could have done better and made goals for the future.   I went to seminars, took courses, and joined associations.  Five weddings a year turned into 10 and 10 to 15 and before I knew it I was doing 31 weddings in one year.  What a whirlwind that was.  Let me tell you.  I didn’t know what was going on outside of my wedding world.

And that’s when Brandi came into my life.  She contacted me just like all of the other hopefuls, and I was literally so busy trying to keep up with my client load that I couldn’t find the time to even schedule a call with Brandi to find out what she was all about.  But she was persistent and continued to follow up with me, so I eventually found that time to meet with her, and boy was I glad I did. We hit it off right away and it was evident Brandi was passionate about joining our industry so I was excited to bring her on board. Brandi worked her first wedding like a pro.  She was good.  A little too good.  I remember stepping back and wondering to myself if she had been secretly stalking me at weddings because she was taking the lead on so many things (and doing them well), before I had even asked her to.  I must say, I was a little scared because I felt like I had finally met my match and I couldn’t quite comprehend how this all was happening so perfectly.

I soon began giving Brandi more and more responsibilities and eventually clients of her own.  I taught her everything I knew and watched her continue to grow As You Wish well beyond what I had done.  I was so proud of her and us and by golly we were a match made in heaven! I was so proud of what I know considered our As You Wish.

I have been a part of so many beautiful wedding days and worked with some amazing clients, but I’ll be honest there have been times throughout my career where I wondered what else I may want to do.  Since I never ended up going to grad school it was always a thought in the back of my mind that maybe I still would.  Or did I maybe want to start a second business?  I can’t help but view life as one big adventure and I’d been yearning to experience more.  So, last summer after taking one of my clients to her dress fitting I decided I wanted to work in a bridal store as well and add that into the mix.  And so I did.  I truly loved it.  Every second of it.  Now that Brandi was basically running As You Wish I was able to focus on solely my design and full service clients in addition to being a bridal stylist at Pure English.  I’m not trying to brag, but I was absolutely living the life and loving it.  What an amazing feeling it was to have worked so incredibly hard to build As You Wish into everything I had imagined it to be, only to turn most of it over to Brandi while I focused my attention on a select number of clients.

So here I was, at the point in my career that I had always wanted to be and yet I couldn’t just be still.  I wanted more.  I didn’t know what, but I wanted more.  So I put some feelers out there into the corporate world. I wanted to see what I could become involved in with the experience I had from the past 9 years I had spent in the event industry.  And guess what?  I learned that there were a lot of options out there!  I ended up being offered a position at a very successful company that welcomed me with open arms and I couldn’t be more thrilled to say that I am so excited for this next chapter of my life.  I am so incredibly proud of all of my accomplishments with As You Wish and couldn’t be more confident in passing the torch on to Brandi. She is and has been a beautiful, hard working, and incredible talent that has propelled As You Wish for the past five years. It could not be a more fluid transition. Truly she has been the driving force behind us for a while now, and I appreciate her hard work, determination, and just plain amazingness more than I can put into words. She is going to continue to do big and beautiful things with As You Wish.

We of course still have Jess and the rest of our wonderful team to assist with executing our events, which I will still be a part of from time to time, so don’t worry-I’m not gone forever!  I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to join our industry in the way that I did, and for all of you amazing colleagues that I grew to know as friends.  Keep doing amazing things!

And so you see…. It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later.

XO
Julie

The post It’s Not Goodbye…. appeared first on As You Wish.

While I can’t share too much from the big day… yet. I will leave you with a few images, and I know that the amazing attendees will be be sharing their own images soon so be on the lookout for those!

A VERY special thank you to all of the amazing vendors that contributed their time and talents to make this day so positively perfect! You truly blew me away with work!
Vendor List:
Photography – Macon Photography
Design & Coordination – As You Wish Weddings & Events
Flowers – Roost Flowers
Cake – Patti Cakes
Dress – Studio I Do
Paper – Paper Dolls Design Inc.
Venue – New Earth Farm
Beauty – Dhalia Edwards
Hair – Hair by Stephanie B
Rentals – Chic Unique Vintage Rentals
Calligraphy – Salty Sweetie Designs
Behind the Scenes Photography – Cynthia Tenney Photography
Ribbon –  Adorn Company

Attendees:
Kristen Cranham Photography
Ashley Smith
Sandra Leigh Photography
Love, Life & Luck Photography
Bethanne Arthur Photography
Dee Marie Photography
Raygan Michelle Photography

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Vendors:
Coordination: As You Wish Weddings and Events
Photography: Will King Photography
Ceremony: St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church
Reception: Sheraton Ocean Front Virginia Beach
Steel Drummer: Ricky Micou
Band: Bachelor Boys Band
Florist: Flowers at Hilltop
Cake: Incredible Edibles
Beauty: Hair Kristen Young – Makeup Faces by Rebecca Wood

The post Virginia Beach, Sheraton Ocean Front Hotel Wedding – Brianne & Mark appeared first on As You Wish.

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Hooray Hooray!
If you missed out on our first Calligraphy and Cocktails then we have some very happy news for you!
We are so very excited to announce that we will be hosting round 2 of Calligraphy and Cocktails taught by the incredibly talented Sincerely Amy Designs!

Here are some details of the day:
This is another BEGINNERS calligraphy course, so you do not have to have attended the first one we hosted back in May!

Calligraphy & Cocktails
August 30th
12 – 3pm
Taught by Sincerely Amy Designs

The workshop will include:
Three Hours of Hands on Instruction
All Materials
Q & A with Amy
Cocktails & Light Snacks
Fun Afternoon Out!

Register Here

Spaces are limited so don’t delay in securing your seat!

E-mail [email protected] with any questions!

And check out some pictures here of how fun it was to attend Calligraphy and Cocktails Round 1!

The post Hampton Roads Calligraphy Workshop – Calligraphy & Cocktails Round 2 appeared first on As You Wish.

Vendors:
Coordination – As You Wish Weddings and Events
Venue – Hermitage Museum and Gardens
Photography – Grant and Deb
Videography – Patriot Productions
Flowers – Norfolk Wholesale
Caterer – East Beach Catering
Cake – Cake Delights
DJ – Atlantic Digital Entertainment
Officiant – Susan Turner
Beauty – Rebecca Wood
Hair – Jess Barbini
Rentals – Distinctive Event Rentals
Transportation – Venture Tours & Sandshark Limos

The post Hermitage Museum and Gardens Wedding – Norfolk, VA – Gwynn and Daniel appeared first on As You Wish.

Vendor Credit:
Styling/Coordination – As You Wish Weddings and Events
Photography – Macon Photography
Videography – Lovell Productions
Venue – The Oyster Farm at Kings Creek Marina
DJ – Danny @ Astro Entertainment
Flowers – Roost Flowers
Linens – Waterford Event Rentals
Paper Goods – Paper Doll Designs, Inc.
Beauty – Behind the Veil Studio
Cake – Patti Cakes

And now, the good part… The gorgeous pictures!

And the amazing video by Lovell Productions:

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