Here we are 608 days post Pandemic shut down. Hawaii stopped in time on March 25, 2020. For professional eventiers, this was the catalyst that either shot them like a cannonball into another direction, or lit a raging fire that refused to die. I felt real, mind numbing, deafening, painful depression, for the first time in my life. Therapy is always a good idea,
but I am a stubborn soul and basically  
R E F U S E D
to give give up. With no choice but to meet our present need (ie. debt), I spent an insane amount of time researching, experimenting and working my a** off to make what we have BETTER, a still small voice kept saying "you already have what you need" TYJ.

WHAT I POSESSED
DETERMINATION
TENACITY
PURPOSE
SKILL
INVENTORY

WHAT I WAS LACKING 
FOCUS
Because I was paying attention to everything but my business 

FUNDS
Yah sure, we took advantage of the PPP, PPP2 and the EIDL. Who are we kidding....

DIRECTION
Where do I start?

Taking a step back to honestly audit my business was the first step. John and I spent many late nights talking about what we "wished" our business would look like if we could
"live our best life"

We wanted to be AUTHENTIC 
Not to be moved to act/change because its what others needed/wanted. Being authentic means you don't have to compromise your worth, your vision or desire for your business
to stay in business
Solution: Do it our way, in a good way. It might not be what everyone wants, but it WILL be right for the right client

We wanted to offer something DIFFERENT
Unfortunately different is short lived and anything successful will be repeated.
We chose the be the success, that others followed
Solution: Don't look backwards, because we're not there

We wanted to HAVE REACH
Not just to be reached by the public, but to reach our ideal client
But advertising is expensive.
Solution: Up our promotion game and really put ourselves out there with honest information

We wanted to be VALUED
We were the first to do that and now it's being marketed as someone else's design. 
Well Sh**!
Solution: Don't compromise our integrity to "get the business. Clients will see us"  
​
We wanted to be HAPPY
Such a simple concept, yet so ridiculously difficult to achieve in this business
Solution: If we are not representing our true self in our business, we will be chasing the proverbial carrot for the rest of our lives. Time to do what we love, not just act like we love what they want. 

Maybe you're not quite there. Business is very personal, it's not just a way to make money. Preventing business burn out is simply doing what you love, not pretending to love what you do. Re-invent yourself and your business regularly. Attract the right people and happiness will follow.

I'm happy today
And I love my clients

What is ECO CONSCIOUS?
When we think of the term Eco conscious, we think little to no harm to the environment. With over 95% of our inventory falling into the "re-use" category we already minimize the impact on island wedding waste in general.
Wedding waste is a phenomenon that has plagued the industry for decades. It's really tough to get around, because of all the last minute "fixes" and "things" you need but will ultimately, never use again so it makes it's way into the landfill, eventually.

How can YOU change that or at least minimize your contribution to the waste?

LIMIT USELESS FAVORS

• YES, I said it. No one can use a teaspoon of coffee, so give BIG or don't give at all. 100% Kona is best.
• Magnets are for soccer moms and ME!!!!! Most of your guests will toss them or "forget" them in the hotel room for the housekeeper, who's a soccer mom.
• Succulents SUCK. . . No they don't . . . but really, who's going to replant them and care for them or schlep them all the way home and reuse the pot it came in. N O  O N E, unless they're ME. I'm an avid succulent collector/fan. 
• Key chains are personal. I know, I personally, would never use a fake key as a key chain

LIGHITNG

• Our mood creating Up Lights and Fairy Lights are all available in an LED option, which inherently consume much less than it's conventional counterpart.
• Be sure you work with experts that can guide you through the color correction and soft lighting options that are available in this arena. 

FLOWERS

• Beautiful blooms are seldom reused and I'll tell you why. The couple, their bridal party and all their helpers are hella tired and possibly hung over the next day. Everything that can be trashed...will be. I honestly can't blame them. This was the night they've all waited for, for so long. 
• How can we change that? Contact other wedding or event planners, churches, restaurants, heck...anyone who you think could benefit from coming to your venue to pick up the used (but still gorgeous) flowers and make those arrangements ahead of time. Get a point of contact name and number and arrange for a back up because you never know what the business is dealing with on the day of pick up and picking up freebies is a LOW priority. 
• Also ask the venue if the next event coming in might want to re-purpose them. It happened just once in my 24 year career, but let me tell you how lush the following event was with all the extra stuff. I mean wow and they accomplished it for FREE!

PROPS

• Let's talk about an experience early in our career. A set designer had built an elaborate $30K stage set and had planned to THROW IT IN THE DUMPSTER, when someone suggested they call us. We picked it up at 2:00 A M and it sits on our farm as a re-purposed chicken barn. That was the mother load of free wood y'all and free is my favorite price to pay.
• Farmers, craftsmen/women, other designers, kids...there's lots of folks out there waiting for opportunities like this, give em a call 

TABLEWARE

• Renting is typically the same price as "nice" compostables. There are key dos and don'ts when going this route so be fore to use a good planner to advise you. Call us man . . . WE can do that as well as supply an amazing tablescape. 

LINENS

• We offer some beautiful linenless furniture options, including dining tables, cocktail tables, cake tables and more.

TRANSPORTATION

• Ride shares baby! A.k.a. carpooling. We this this is a great way to get to and from an event, but we STRONGLY recommend shuttle services so no one drives under the influence. 

PHOTO AND VIDEO

• These vendors are eco warriors, because for years now have been mostly digital

We can help reduce your wedding footprint in many more ways. Give us a call today!