It’s January! For wedding professionals, not only is this a time of planning and preparing for the amazing things to come in the upcoming year, it is also a time where we can finally take a moment to catch up from the previous seasons of wedding madness! I thought it would be fun to take a moment to reflect on some of the amazing things that happened at StudioWed Asheville in 2016.
I asked the lovely Nicole if she could think of a few top StudioWed Asheville moments from 2016, and I am super excited to share her Top 5 of 2016 with you! StudioWed Asheville is more than a group of people who work together; StudioWed Asheville is a family, and I think the biggest reason why we have such a wonderful family dynamic is because we work so hard at staying true to our culture.
The best part about the moments that Nicole chose to reflect on for 2016, is that each one of them represents our culture in a real and tangible way. It’s so inspiring to see the culture code in action. 2016 highlights cover a wide spectrum of activities. There were awesome parties, days dedicated to giving back to the community, and so many educational opportunities. It was a good year!
So without further ado, here are Nicole’s Top 5 of 2016!
#1
It’s no big secret that we love a good party. Every year, we partner with Weddings Unveiled Magazine to host a party for our Asheville wedding friends. This year the theme was Masquerade Ball, and with a theme like that, The Grand Bohemian Hotel was the perfect venue choice. The party came together perfectly, and it was so nice to let loose and dance the night away!
{image by Mozingo Photography, Asheville Wedding Photographer}
#2
As Asheville wedding vendors, we see each other often on wedding days. It’s wonderful to have a work environment filled with people that you love, but when most of your interactions are quick life updates while sharing a vendor meal or a 3 minute chat while walking in from your car, it leaves you wanting a little more. Our solution to this is Friendsgiving. We make time to sit down and have a lovely (non vendor) meal together. Finally, we can talk to our hearts’ content without worrying if we’re needed elsewhere! We had a blast this year at Off the Wagon Dueling Piano Bar. It was the perfect way to reconnect!
#3
I love the way that the StudioWed Asheville family always makes giving back to our community a priority. Work (and life!) will never cease to be demanding, but it’s more than worth is to take a break from the grind, and focus on bettering someone else life for a bit. The resulting warm and fuzzies will motivate you for weeks! We spent a day preparing and serving food to men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. It was wonderful to spend some time with our veterans and to try, in some small way, to thank them for their service.
#4
Not sure if you heard…but there were crazy wildfires in the Asheville area this past fall. The gorgeous landscapes that we take for granted on a daily basis were burning away, and firefighters had to be flown in from all over the country to help stop them.We asked…and the community delivered! From fellow wedding industry professionals, to past clients…even complete strangers! You brought hundreds of bottles of water, thousands of wet wipes, and a plethora of other much needed items.
I love how Nicole encapsulated it:
“Heart = Full.”
#5
This year, Nicole and Ian were asked to speak at Reverie Retreats in Arizona. Nicole summed it up by saying, ” Nothing warms our heart more than to see our StudioWed Culture at work, here in Asheville and in our other locations. So when Ian and I were asked to speak about culture, we knew this is something that we wanted to help other small business owners with!”
I think it’s amazing that Nicole and Ian had the opportunity to share this topic that is so dear to their hearts and so integral to the success of their businesses. Plus, I heard that there were mimosas!! The StudioWed Asheville family is very proud!
{image by Cameron Kelly}
2016 was pretty amazing, but I have a feeling that 2017 might be even better! Can’t wait to see where this year takes us!