For the life of me, I can’t understand where 2011 went but am I happy to welcome 2012 or what?!
No matter what happened in 2011, I can testify to you 2011 was a great year because regardless of the disappointments I faced, I had a few) the doors that closed, (too many to mention) heartaches, tears shed, I was still favored as I have life, health and my loved ones are well.

In 2011 as a company we traveled less but traveled to some amazing destinations. Destinations we never thought we would ever plan a wedding. We met people that left such impressions and just made us think about how we do business and the need to give back on a regular basis.

In 2011, we assisted 21 brides and grooms with their wedding. We had a few amazing dinner parties, and a few fun birthday parties. Out of those 21 brides and grooms, we received invitations to 6 baby showers and have already visited 2 babies!! I know, it makes me smile thinking about it.

On the personal front, my son celebrated his 8th birthday and his second year with no emergency room visits!! He also attended sleep over camp for the first time! My daughter Nastajea faced her last year in middle school and I think I did okay handling what happens to the life of a thirteen year old.

Like many of you, I’ve been making my plans and pledges for 2012 and this year, they’re very simple. On the professional front, I always resolve to get closer to my clients. Be the best planner/designer I can and know how to be. I resolve to take advantage of learning more about the cultures of the destinations I’m so privilege to travel to.

I truly believe with all my heart and know God is preparing to come back soon and I want to be ready for him. I do go to church and ready my bible but I still slack off especially when I travel. You see, I am nothing without Jehovah and his holy spirit. I am just a person and I know I cannot conquer anything without his guidance and strength and for that, I want to take care of myself, my body, my health and hopefully my mind will always be clear and ready to hear him speak and provide guidance. For that, in 2012, I resolve to pledge myself again to him.

On the blogging side, we strive to continue our pattern of posts. We’re looking forward to writing about the issues that matters to our clientele. We’ll attend wedding expos both locally and nationally to bring you the latest trends and still remind you how to create your own trends. We will research venues, both nationally and internationally to show you all the amazing beauties our earth has to offer. We will continue to bring you the lasts fashions and certainly we will continue to challenge you to think outside the box when it comes to planning your event.

In closing, please know and trust that I am grateful that you’ve chosen to read our blog. If you’re a client reading this post, we’re so thankful and grateful to you for choosing our company to plan your event. We’re mindful of all the other blogs out there and all the other event planning companies to choose from.

Off course you know we welcome all your suggestions, comments and feedbacks. If there’s any particular subject you would like us to cover please send us a note. Did we miss something that’s important to you? What should we write more or less about? What are your plans in 2012? What are you resolving to do more or less of?

I hope your 2012 is filled with love, patience, endurance, guidance from your almighty, faith, and so many blessings. Extending my finest flutes to you and toasting to a very happy New Year! Until next year.

Cheers,

Violaine

Flexsitez - Wedding and event planning based in Atlanta Georgia

With every new potential client I come in contact with, I always ask “What are your wedding priorities?” I can tell you about 90% of my brides are usually stunned by this question and it usually gets them thinking. The reason for asking such a question is to understand a few things and the answers usually lets me know where I should take the planning and design of the wedding that truly reflects the couple, and not just resemble what a “traditional wedding” should look like or cost.

Prioritizing your needs is also important as it helps you determine where, what and how to allocate your budget. Regardless if your budget is $15,000 or $200,000 this is still a very personal question and only the two of you can answer. Instead of following the typical or basic wedding budget calculators you find online, I like to have my clients spend some time in coming up with their own calculating formats put your money where it matters the most… to what makes it YOUR wedding.

Often after some discussion between the couple, below are three very different samples of how some of my clients prioritize their weddings…

• A great venue. Some will want one that could accommodate both ceremony and reception
• Flowers and setting a nice ambiance
• Best photographer in our budget
• A nice four hour hosted bar
• The best deejay or band
• Great food

Sample two
• Flowers, flowers and more flowers
• Great food
• Top shelf liquor
• Band or deejay
• Photographer
• Location

Sample three
• Customizing everything
• Photographer
• Venue
• Wedding cake
• Ambiance
• Food

Sometimes my brides will turn the question on me and ask me “What do you think my wedding priorities should be?” this is the one question I can never really answer 100% (until we really get to know each other) but I can tell you when I’m planning my own personal events my priorities are usually the following.

• The best photographer I can afford (You all know I believe in a GREAT photographer!)
• The best deejay or band I can afford (If all else fails, the guests will be entertained!)
• Champagne flowing all night long (Champagne sings sweet melodies to my soul!!!!)
• Décor must provide a WOW factor (Yes, I LOVE décor & want it to look like my style)
• Great food (I’m a foodie 1000%)

Well after all the reading “What are your wedding priorities?”

Happy prioritizing,

Violaine Diogene

Flexsitez - Wedding and event planning based in Atlanta Georgia

Well, hello 2011!!! Wow, is it me or did 2010 fly by like it was in a hurry? Every New Years Eve I like to grab a seat in my favorite chair and reflect on all that’s happened in the past year and what I can do better in the coming year. I can tell you 2010 was a great year because I have life, health, the lord is on my side and my loved ones are well.

2010 was a hard year because my homeland of Haiti was and is still in peril when an earthquake devastated the tiny country. After days and what seemed like weeks of searching for our loved ones, we were able to locate most of our family. We lost some people but our circumstances were much better than some others. It still amazes me when I see and hear from my people. Their courage and strength in the lord still blows my mind.

While I lost a lot in 2010, I also gained a lot. 2010 was the best year for my son who suffers from really bad asthma and in 2010, he only had three attacks. This is from the child who spent two weeks in ICU in October of 2009 and so three attacks and no emergency hospital visit is amazing!

On a business level, 2010 couldn’t have been better. We travelled to so many wonderful places and got a chance to make a difference in so many lives. Crossed paths with so many different cultures and made amazing new friends. We’ve had the chance to plan a few wonderful weddings, designed an amazing mitzvahs or two, we even planned a couple darling birthday parties. And off course with weddings and young couples starting their lives together, three of our couples from 2009 sent us pictures of their newborns. I’m telling you, our job could never get any sweeter.

In 2011, as an individual I resolve to get closer to my clients, give more of myself to those around me, be the best planner/designer I can and know how to be. With all that’s happening in the world, I truly believe with all my heart and know God is preparing to come back soon and I want to be ready for him. Even though I think I give him my all, I also know it’s not always 100% true. In 2011, I resolve to pledge myself again to him for all his right and strength. You see, I am nothing without that man and his holy spirit. I cannot conquer anything without his guidance and strength and for that, I want to take care of myself, my body, my health and hopefully my mind will always be clear and ready to hear him speak and provide guidance.

As a company, we resolve give the best to our clients and provide more personalized services to make their event planning even easier. We resolve to make changes in the way we communicate to our community and really make a greater impact in our community. On the blogging side, we strive to continue our pattern of posts. We’re looking forward to writing about the issues that matters to our clientele. We’ll attend wedding expos both locally and nationally to bring you the latest trends and still remind you how to create your own trends. We will research venues, both nationally and internationally to show you all the amazing beauties our earth has to offer. We will continue to bring you the lasts fashions and certainly we will continue to challenge you to think outside the box when it comes to planning your event.

In closing, please know and trust that I am grateful that you’ve chosen to read our blog. We’re grateful and thankful that you’ve chosen our company to plan your event. We’re mindful of all the other blogs out there and all the other event planning companies to choose from. With that said, is there any particular subject you would like us to cover? Did we miss something that’s important to you? What should we write more or less about? What are your plans in 2011? What are you resolving to do more or less of? If you read our blog on a regular basis, you must know just how much we value your opinions.

We would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year, a very resourceful 2011 and may the good Lord all mighty shine his light on you, give you patience to endure the bumps you’ll encounter and not matter what, remember to praise his name and trust in his love for you.

Happy New Year,

Violaine Diogene

And

André Winfrye

Flexsitez - Wedding and event planning based in Atlanta Georgia