2019 - Reflection

When we look back on 2019, it was the biggest year, by far, in A Beautiful Occasion’s life.

We took part in over 30 corporate or special events, with everything from baby showers, to proposals, engagement parties, 30th and 40th birthday celebrations, golf days, new home launches, corporate dinners, Mothers Day lunches, gala dinners, awards nights and even a surf event! Some of the companies that engaged us are worldwide organisations, so imagine how we feel when we get an email from a Personal Assistant to the CEO wanting to organise a dinner and they’re based in USA! Astounded that our little business is the company they chose just makes us so incredibly proud!

Our weddings were by far the biggest achievement; we were the company of choice for over 100 couples who chose to say I Do in Port Stephens. Not only is this a massive achievement for our business, but we have managed to do these weddings and events with the same high level of standard that you have come to know from us. Of course there were times when we were laughing hysterically at the HUGE weekend of weddings that we had in front of us (*cough - one weekend February with 6 weddings and a Bridal Shower; One in May with 4 weddings and 3 Corporate events and one in October with 5 weddings and a corporate event) but we got there, with our sanity in tact … some what; the champagne generally helped! The weddings this year have been nothing short of beautiful. There was never one that was exactly the same as the other, each having their own look and vibe, and we love this! We have been able to play a part in peoples lives that they will remember forever, and again, we couldn’t be prouder that A Beautiful Occasion was able to do this.

But we have loved 2019 because it was the year that our little dream of having a HUGE work space came to fruition. We purchased A Beautiful Occasion HQ in George Road, Salamander Bay, and started utilising the space in September. Looking back, the move was monumental. We probably didn’t realise just how much “stuff” we had until we started moving it. With our husbands on hand to fit out the shed, and with the help of some AMAZING local trades, our space is everything we could’ve imagined all those years ago. We feel at home here; we feel the spark to be even more creative, and we love that so many people have supported and encouraged us to make our dream a reality along the way. The well wishes, the pop ins and the congratulations when we’re in Coles or Woolworth’s getting dinner have not gone unnoticed. We love that you have all been so loving and supportive of our growth.

Also born in September was our other little baby; A Beautiful Bunch. We began selling our bunches to the public online on Tuesday 17th September 2019 and this was a day filled with all the nerves that you would expect; Were we making the right decision? Was there room in the market for us? Do we really love flowers that much? The answer to all of these was YES! We have had nothing but support from everyone. We have sent bunches to over 80 local residences to say everything from Happy Birthday, to congratulations, to thank you, to commiserations or even for nothing at all and we couldn’t be prouder that our little baby is such an amazing sector of our business now.

We opened up our doors at the end of November to do our very first workshop in our new space. The Christmas Table Styling and Wreath Workshop was without doubt, one of the most fun afternoons we’ve had! The people that attended, the energy in the room and of course the LOL’s were amazing. We loved every part of it and can’t wait to bring you all more workshops in the future so we can share our tips and tricks with you.

Of course, all of this would not have been possible without the amazing team behind us. Hannah, Alex, Rach and Michelle are the reasons we push ourselves so hard. We don’t look at them as just employees; but friends too. We love that each of these guys bring something different to the business, and we would be lost without all of them (maybe not Michelle when she’s not letting us spend money!).

So 2019 was amazing! 2020 you’ve got so much to live up to, but we know that with over 40 weddings and events locked in so far and the enquires coming in, we will have an amazing year. Stay tuned to our pages to see what’s coming up, and the latest news with A Beautiful Occasion.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us this year; to our families, our staff, our friends, our couples (past and present) and of course, thanks to each other for staying on this crazy journey and still coming out each day loving our business and our job and being friends first!

So to sum up our year in 3 words:

Amy: Growth; Lessons; Laughter (closely followed by Coffee; Cake; Champagne)

Sara: Challenging; Exciting; Rewarding

See you on the flip side,

Amy + Sara