Wedding DIY Heaven: The story of how I decided to become a business owner

"Let the great experiment begin!"

Tobias Funke

Last summer marked the beginning of a new phase in my life: I was getting married to the most wonderful man ever, Jacob, plus we were buying a house in OKC and I got laid off from my office job all with in 2 weeks of each other. It was quite an exciting time; I love change! I had also been having a blast obsessing over wedding decor for the past 9 months and totally loved doing my DIY wedding. Everything but my wedding dress and the guys suits were handmade! Here are some of my fav DIY pic from ourwedding:

Shout out to Abigail Smith, our amazing photographer!

We had a few different punches, so we thought drink stirrers would be the perfect way to tell everyone's drinks apart!
We had hung this "J" for Jacob and put moss behind it to match our blue and gold bird themed wedding.
Instead of a slideshow, we hung pictures on the fence that lined our venue. The pictures chronicled our lives before we met each other, symbolic of our lives starting separately, but ending as one.
This is the first banner I made, and one of the staples of my business. We took our family pictures in front of it and they turned out great! Also, Jacob actually helped make this so I have to give hip props too! I can't forget, my amazing Day-Of Coordinator, Delia, who helped me through so much!

Anyways, With all the compliments Jacob and I got from friends and family, realized I had a penchant for designing and pulling together a wedding. This is what I was born for! (okay, a bit dramatic, but I'm good at it)

Even though making parties personal and beautiful was my calling, I still didn't have any notion that I should strike out on my own. All last year, I had been keeping up with the craft blogs, learned how to sew a great purse in a few short hours and had helped with a couple friends weddings. It wasn't until May that my sister asked if we could have a party at my house that I got the idea.

Katie's birthday is May 22nd and that whole week before I was so excited to help with her party! I decided which dishes we should use for food, what exactly to make and also a few decorations. I decided to make a "Happy Birthday" banner for her to hang outside and as I was making it, I kept thinking "this is so freakin cute!" I decided by Saturday (her birthday) that I was going to start a business on Etsy. And THAT was how Just Loverly was born!

Of course it has taken me a while to find my creative voice, figure out the best way to personalize party decor and design my brand, but I am slowly getting there.

I draw lots of inspiration from my own wedding, what worked and what didn't, but I also am trying new things like party invitations, cake stands, plates and napkins (pics by Anna Lee Media)

So now, while still teaching at Victory Dance in Oklahoma City, I am trying this whole new way of life and I LOVE IT! I just hope I can make this a viable business that will last for a long time!