des moines, iowa and beyond

workflow & systems strategist

2016 Year in Review

Lifestyle

2016. What a year. It has been such a rollercoaster for our family and HHE. As with every year since starting on this wild adventure of entrepreneurship, I am excited to take a look back on the last 12 months!

The year started out quickly, as they always seem to do. I received a call from the sweet Leah Golter to work on my first project in Dallas. It took place at Summerfield at Tate Farms and was inspired by travels and the simple beauty of life. It was such a wonderful experience and I met so many wonderful local vendors in the process! The shoot was so romantic and the first time I have gotten to have my sister work on HHE projects with me. To top it all off, the shoot was featured on Wedding Chicks blog in May!

March was spent meeting so many sweet, talented new friends in the area and learning our way around. Dallas is a big, wonderful place and it was so fun to explore.

In April, it was back to it for another beautiful editorial, this time with Claire Casner. We were inspired by the textures, flavors and colors of the Malta coast and were delighted to find a private property with such beautiful views that transported us! This story was featured on The Every Last Detail in November.

May saw a lot of behind the scenes work as weddings were coming together, our website was getting a facelift and even more meetings with wonderful new friends!

In June, things began to pick up in the HHE office. It was time to organize our first big giveaway, finalize the website and get ready to travel to Iowa the next month, and bring to life a project with my dear, sweet friends Ellen and Alyssa for Alyssa’s new planner templates! This one was at BRIK in Fort Worth and gathered another all star roster of artists. It really was such an absolute joy to dream up and I can’t wait to share more when it is featured on Artfully Wed in March 2017. I promise, it is worth the wait.

July was just as exciting of a month as June! I was able to attend the Sage Wedding Pros Simple Plan workshop. it was eye-opening and I learned so much about running a creative business from a numbers standpoint. If you are in a place where you want to take the financial planning side of your business more seriously, along with other important aspects, I highly recommend attending a workshop with Michelle. She broke it down to a place where even I, no-numbers Jenn, could make sense of it!

We also relaunched the website, which had been in the works most of the year. After working with Creme Brands late last year, I realized that our online home needed a few additional pieces to share my heart for this work and welcome all of you into our family from the outset. These updates make for, what I feel is a more intimate conversation.

The same week as our new site launch, I was overjoyed to head back to Iowa for Caitlin and Brad’s wedding at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and the Celebration Farm. After working with her on my first ever editorial for HHE three years prior, I was also ecstatic to work a wedding with my friend Emily Crall. Caitlin and Brad also gathered a wonderful group of our other vendor friends to bring their summer wedding to life.

August was much quieter this year than last. While shifting gears to prepare for the Fall season and my sister-in-law’s wedding, Ellen took some new head shots for me, including my sweet sister!

As September rolled around, we were so excited to host friends from the UK for Labor day weekend and show them some of our favorite areas of town. Then, the end of the month brought our trip home to Iowa for Laura and Kyle’s wedding, as well as our fourth anniversary.

In that same trip, October brought so much excitement as we welcomed Kyle into our family officially and spent a wonderful few days with family and friends.

Upon our return home, it was right back into things as we prepared for Allana and Niraj’s wedding at The Best Day Ever Ranch in early November. Working with all of the absolutely amazing vendors and finally meeting Angie was so wonderful. I absolutely adore this couple and cannot wait to share more with you soon!

That same week, I was honored to participate in Bethany Erin Photography’s Turn of the Century editorial for her beautiful new brand. I can only share sneak peeks for now, but friends, you are in for a real treat when we can share everything with you. Bethany is a truly amazing talent.

Since then, we have been running forward at full speed with the holidays, family time and getting ready for the new year. We also hosted our first friendsgiving and had anniversary photos taken for the first time in almost three years. It was such a fun day. Even AJP didn’t mind being in front of the camera for a few hours.

This month, we took an anniversary trip to Charlottesville and have been busy celebrating family birthdays, getting ready for the holidays and a wonderful wedding in a few weeks at La Cima Club for Lane and Mo!

While HHE is closed until January 3, I assure you I am excitedly busy behind the scenes dreaming up what 2017 will bring. I promise, there are some incredibly meaningful and fun things in store for you, sweet readers. Happy holidays to all of you and congratulations to any of you newly engaged lovelies!

xoxo, Jenn

Previous annual review posts | 2014 | 2015

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