MY YEAR END TOP 10 THINGS TO REMEMBER - 2020

The last year has been such a gift and I am grateful that I have been in healthy position in all senses of the word. I know that all the people reading this cannot say the same, especially those in the event industry. Oh there were blows, believe me, but perspective was sustained and silver linings appreciated. Without discrediting the hardships that others have endured in 2020, I do know whatever happens to you happens for you. This is my saying of sayings 24/7 and has been for years. You have to turn your circumstances on their head, facing you, like a box of paints standing still, waiting for you to either be reactive or create. You may have to feel a ton of shit but hard feelings don’t hurt you, they only make you stronger - it’s not feeling them, holding them, hiding that will.

Some years I post my top ten things to remember and sometimes I keep them to myself. Going all in for 2020-2021. I am in love with life and all it has to offer and all I have to offer it in return. Maybe the snow is making me glow this week - I am SO pumped.

Check back before the thirty-first, as this blog is one of two installments for New Year’s End. In the next I will tweak this life hack list and deliver you some of my subjective wedding hack lessons.

1. Whatever happens to you, happens for you.

2. Where your attention goes, energy flows, and that energy compounds and so becomes your life. Another nice way of saying, ‘the entirety of your experience will be determined by the quality of your mind’. (I meditate daily. I don’t know how I ever managed without!)

3. It’s wise to drop all stories so that you can first see things as they are. First you have to realize where you are holding stories, bringing them into rooms with yourself and other people. How are you perhaps enabling another person’s story because it serves your own story? Then when you drop them all, you realize just how much ‘okay’, ‘validation’ and ‘enough’ there truly is for everyone. 

4. There are no problems as long as there are solutions. The only problem is that you have yet to find your way to courage. 

5. Boundaries isn’t a bad word and they serves the other people as well. 

6. Long term goals are more generous than short term goals. One day it will be okay if you piss people off in the short term because you are going to create, achieve or do something that will benefit them more tomorrow. 

7. Being interested is a lot more loving, trustworthy, genuine and productive than trying to be interesting. 

8. Time and health are all we have. That is a sobering, scary and strengthening one to digest fully and reread daily on a sticky note posted to your front door…not that you should be going anywhere in 2020 except for a good long walk but you know what I mean. 

9. Show up to connect, rather than control or coerces to power.  How can you know what you are going to offer next when you have not digested what the other person has sent your way? Living generously and well is just like the craft of acting, living right in the moment. Acting powerful or being defensive is not going to protect you from anything but move you farther from you goal. The only protection from anything you will ever have is your ability to face things head on, without defense, soft. 

10. Resistance is the only pain…Another common way of saying the same thing as above. So true. And there is no BUT, only AND. 

As always, ignore my dyslexic grammar. I think pace and personality are more important anyway.

I love and forgive you 2020 just don’t come back here again.

XO

Ashley D.

Ashley was interviewed by Greenwich Tent Co.

Greenwich Tent Co. interviewed Ashley recently. Catch it live on their blog HERE or read it below!

It’s an honor to be trusted planning an event that client’s imbue with so much passion and importance. Weddings have only the extent of meaning that the client’s give them and a client that hires an event planner such as ourselves, has high expectations. We love a creative project and a good challenge. Also, there is a lot we take for granted, skills that come easy to us that are intimating or foreign to a client. Details that we discern that clients would not have. Details that alter the planning experience or guest experience or both, that may or may not be visual. There is so much that does not meet the eye because the planning just works out in the end, seamlessly. Lastly, we also know our involvement helps alleviate conflict both between family members and couples. That alone makes our roles rewarding and valuable. Gratitude. 

Their interview:

Event Planners, or as I like to call them the fairy Godmothers of all things wedding and special events related, are really the glue to every single aspect of your wedding day/event. They help piece together your dream vision while giving you ideas and feedback through each decision from the catering, floral designs and guest experience! 

Ashley Douglass Events is the total package with the motto of "seamless planning for luxury events". We have worked with her and her team for the past few years and the work that they have done is stunning and we though you should see it for yourself!! 

Her experience in this industry:

Her previous history is in the professional theatre both in NYC and regionally. She grew up in a professional theatre family and was a serious ballet student all throughout childhood so “production time” was just part of her life. While still in the theater as she got older she worked as a staff trainer for a larger NYC restaurant group. For her it was ideal because when she needed a job, be it for a month or four, she always had a restaurant to be placed into and sometimes was helping to open a new restaurant too. She moved to LA in her late 20s and did the same work on the side and eventually her name started circulated as a subcontracted wedding or event coordinator. That was when she first got the wedding bug. Ashley shadowed some designers as well, laying the groundwork for a future job all the while still performing. She then went back to school to become a therapist and in tandem started to book her own weddings. Without planning it a new career emerged and picked up speed prior to completing her training hours as a therapist so she went for it. That was about 9 years ago.

How she got started and what made her choose this career:

Ashley always wanted to work for herself. That was a must. She says she is for sure right brained but also love detail and a hard challenge. The harder the job the better she will do. With weddings and events, you see the final outcome which is the ideal reward. Ashley also has a few other business ideas up her sleeve but we will get back to her on that!

What geographic areas she services:

She works in NYC, Hamptons, Hudson Valley to the Berkshires, Vermont and Fairfield County CT. She also work where ever her clients take her. They have also planned in CA, CO, FL, TX and Mexico.

For 2020 + 2021 we are also planning for the Caribbean and Madrid is pending. Catch us on Instagram soon. 

Her favorite part about being an event planner:

Happy clients make a happy planner. Ashley feels good to be in a job that you are good at, as silly as that may sound. She is good with people I believe, detail and design.

What Ashley likes about working with a tent for a wedding reception versus an indoor space:

She finds that its important to have a tented event even if you are in a location that does not get much rain, having a main structure calls for guests to focus and you are able to do what you want aesthetically. You can be outside in the woods and have a formal event. She loves lighting and a barren tent gives you options! 

How she discovered Greenwich Tent and why she enjoys working with us:

She began working with us back when we were first only Sperry Tents Greenwich. You're a growing company that still feels and operates like a small family company. Clients value that! 

Some of her favorite events she has done with us!

A New Canaan wedding the night after the Supreme Court ruled same sex marriage as legal. Click Here to see the full story!

A wedding at Glenmere Mansion where the bride actually let her mother do a majority of the planning since she was busy with her career and wanted her mom to have some fun with it! 

And a wedding at The Country Club of Fairfield where her parents got married sixty two years before. Click Here to see the full story!

If you are equally as happy seeing their gorgeous events then pop over to their Instagram!

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Thanks so much to our friends at Greenwich Tent for interviewing us especially during a busy time, Fall!

Ashley D. and team

Categories

GIVING BACK

PLANNING LOVE

VENUES

REAL WEDDINGS + EVENTS

STAFF + INTERNS

Gather Greene | Catskill Mountains

Thank you for your patience as we refocus our attention on blogging! It is not as high on our list as doing the actual work of planning a fabulous event is! One thing we do LOVE is to share new venues. Discovering a new venue is such an exciting thing for a planner. Working at a venue we have never worked at before is like being given a blank canvas and a brand new palette of paint.

There are so many wonderful venues in New York City, old and new, that the list would be too long and the blog endless, so we have decided to focus more on those great venues outside of the city. We are going to share a few new venues over the coming weeks in New York State, at least two in Connecticut and perhaps a few more in Newport or Vermont, as well as a new destination location. It can be hard for couples to find the time to visit every venue, so it is great that we as planners can give an overview so that you do not have to take time off from work to travel around here and there only to potentially strike out! There are many details about a venue that effect both your wedding experience as well as your budget. It can be hard for a client to discern all these details if you have not been doing this for forever and a day.

For now, we set our thoughts and starry eyes on Gather Greene, a stunning venue located at the start of the Catskill Mountains. The passionate and smart friends Amna and Jackie began rounding out their vision of an organic resort where nature was the primary decor starting a good four years ago, maybe more. Before officially owning the land, they reached out to ADE about wedding and event planning in general and particularly in the New York State area. Questions were addressed like ‘what features do couples and planners look for most’ and ‘what are the drawbacks that prevent someone from booking a venue they love.’

Many clients are looking for that weekend away experience where everyone can spend quality time together away from their everyday grind. A weekend wedding is not just more intimate but it is also more memorable, with guests departing feeling more connected than when they arrived. There is something magical about a special event being hosted away from it all. Similar to the theater, when people arrive to a location that they have never been before their attention immediately peeks. This really does set the tone for a weekend of little to no distraction.

Amna and Jackie’s venue site is modern and organic in design. The accommodations are dressed with the conveniences of every day life. The outside comes inside, with floor to ceiling window views of the mountains, and sunsets, for each guest to enjoy while getting cozy in bed with a book.

Another problem they have solved is that this beautiful venue has upwards of 17 cabins. It is not often that a weekend long wedding site can house both the immediate family and the bridal party. Additionally, with the town of Hudson New York so close by, there are many extra options for accommodations. From the standard chain hotels, to The Wick and The Rivertown Lodge in the heart of Hudson, and more. Not to mention the plethora of Air B & Bs in the Hudson and Columbia County area.

The Pavilion is where you will most likely host your main event or multiple events at Gather Greene. Again, the outside is brought inside, while maintaining sophistication. The structure is beautiful all on its own without too much adornment yet built with the potential to become more creative. The cement wall at one end of the pavilion is perfect to dress with floral, anything hanging or even a pattern to be projected. The beams above, modern and smart in feel, can also be used to hang decor. Weatherizing options for the sides of the pavilion are in development and the venue is fully prepared to accommodate any off-site caterer in their kitchen. No cook tent needed at Gather Greene, nor restroom trailers.

We have been so excited about this venue from day one and cannot be more excited for these two ladies and the opportunity to work at this one of a kind spot.

The first photo below was taken by a staff cell phone and the succeeding photos were taken by Kelsey Ann Rose.

Categories

GIVING BACK

PLANNING LOVE

VENUES

REAL WEDDINGS + EVENTS

STAFF + INTERNS

Photo by kelsey ann rose

PHOTO BY KELSEY ANN ROSE

Photo by kelsey ann rose