Celebrating Dejanae Events Sweet Sixteen Birthday!

Each passing year amazes me as I celebrate another milestone in Dejanae Events.  I'm so grateful, no thankful, to say that I have sustained in the wedding and event planning industry for 16 years!!!  Yes, God is GOOD!

As I reflect on the year that has past, I'm honestly most grateful for bring able to endure the 2015 wedding season.  The year started out so great with dozens of client's wedding and events on the calendar.  But in May, I found out what had been troubling my body for over 2 years and I was in need of surgery.  I was told that I needed to have the surgery almost immediately, but in my mind...there was no way that is happening.  I'm thinking, "There are still almost 30 weddings and events on the calendar to plan and direct!"  And although I had a medical clause in my contract, I did not want to stop working.  Sitting still is not even in my bones or vocabulary. 

So I took a very strong, body altering medication during the summer.  And although it made me sick and pained my body, the DE Team held me down through all of our events and even the teaching of my wedding and event planning class at Triton College.  I cannot thank these ladies enough!  They hugged me, wiped the sweat from my forehead, allowed me to cry on their shoulders, fed me and smiled with me all the way through the 2015 wedding season and through the surgery I eventually had in November.  From the bottom of my heart...thank you Priscilla, Nikki, Didi, Vanessa, Kelly, Peggy, Holly, Angie and Angie!!!  The love and respect I have for you ladies can never be expressed in words!!!  It is because of you we hold The Best of Weddings by The Knot for 7 years and are apart of The Knot's Hall of Fame of Vendors.  It is because of you that we helped over 200 less fortunate men and women over the holidays and it's because of you that we moved into our first official office location in early 2016!!!

Yes, I said it early on that God is good!!!  My body is healed and my team...the DE team is a blessing!!!  I toast to these 16 years of business with each of the ladies and I'm excited about sharing year 17 with the DE Team and the clients who love us.

HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN TO DEJANAE EVENTS!!!

The entire DE Team could not be present for this shoot. Didi, Kelly and Nikki are pictured.

Until next time...WEDologize!

Photo credit - www.BM-Photography.com

Dejanae Events + Instagram = 1000 Followers

Happy #WeddingWednesday!  I'm so excited to share with you that we have reached 1000 followers on Instagram!!!  If you want to learn more about the DE Team, our travels, our wedding and event celebrations...with a little splash of my personal life thrown in, then please follow us at www.Instagram.com/DejanaeEvents.

And if you want to make sure you are in tune with all of our social media outlets, follow us at the links below:
www.facebook.com/DejanaeEvents
www.twitter.com/DejanaeEvents
www.pinterest.com/DejanaeEvents
www.linkedin.com/DejanaeEvents

Until next time...WEDologize!!!

Thanksgiving-Eve Toast

As we approach another Thanksgiving, I'm always excited and delighted because it is simply my most favorite holiday!  I'm soooooo thankful for my supportive family, especially my daughter who just celebrated her 12th birthday.  I'm thankful for my girlfriends who are like sisters-from-another-mother to this only child.  I'm thankful for a successful and thriving wedding & event planning business.  I'm thankful for my health and strength, plus those good days that keep me smiling and those bad days that keep me learning.  And I'm so very thankful for all my social media friends who follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and who read this blog.  I toast to you and your families via the recipe below:

Ingredients

3 cups canned unsweetened pear nectar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup dry Diablo Creek Sauvignon Blanc
Lemon slices (optional)
***serves 5

Instructions

Prep Time: 3 Minutes
Cook Time: 7 Minutes
Ready In: 10 Minutes

1. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart pan over medium-high heat, mix pear nectar, sugar, ginger, lemon juice, and wine. Cook, uncovered, until hot, about 7 minutes. (Or heat in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart microwave-safe container in a microwave oven at full (100%) power until hot, about 7 minutes.)
2. Pour cider into mugs or heat-proof glasses, and garnish each with a lemon slice. 

 

Until next time...Happy Thanksgiving and WEDologize!

(Photo credits and recipe via Dominicks)