Welcome And Guest Intro

0:30

Maya Mahoney, Honey and Lavender Events, and anyone that wants to have an event. Awesome. I can't wait to learn more. So can

How A Hostess Became A Planner

0:40

you take us back through your journey of what inspired you to start Honey and Lavender Events? Sure. Um, this is gonna be completely expedited, but ever since I was a young child, I was the hostess with the mostest. Mm-hmm. I always wanted to have people over, to bring people together, to put on events, help with events, be in events, everything event related. So that really followed me, um, from a very young age through Alimondary school, middle school, high school, college, and then post-college, even though my first job right outside of graduating college was not... Well, actually, you know what? I'm thinking about it. The year I graduated, I moved back to Cairo, Egypt, because I had gone to high school there, and just with family circumstances, um, I needed to go back to be with my family. And so I was able to get a job at the US Embassy, and the first job I had there was at the community liaison office, where we planned events for the US Mission. So I actually planned all of the events for the Americans in Cairo at the time, and they were as small as intimate coffees. They were as big as the July 4th celebration. We did barbecues. We did galas for the different military offices that were there. So, um, I did that, but then after I moved back to the US a year later, even though my e- Maybe handful of jobs didn't necessarily do h- handle events full-time. Either I either s- there were... events were either part of those jobs or I found myself asking for events to be part of those roles. So I did that and then, um, in 2017 when I was at a nonpr- a, a nonprofit that I loved but I, I wanted more. I

Side Hustle To Full-Time Leap

2:40

was asking for more responsibilities, more things to do and at the time I was told just to sit tight, I was doing great, you know, stay where you are. I don't like to have too much time on my hands so I said, "Okay well, if that's not gonna work maybe I'll start a side hustle." And just, you know, not that it affected anything I did in my part, in my full-time role but just again I wanted to do more. So I started Honey Lavender as a side hustle and only took a c- you know, one to two clients a year because again I really very much wanted my full-time position to be the one that took up the most time 'cause that was supposed to be my priority. But quickly just through networking with family and friends I started getting a lot of traction, um, started being asked to lead events, started being asked to, um, lead all different kinds of other events and then fast-forward to COVID, middle of COVID, summer of COVID, June 2020. Like I was at another nonprofit, loved it but circumstances around COVID and just the trajectory of where I was working I was basically told some things that I didn't agree with and I thought would, um, stunt my growth a little bit. So as I put it to my husband who was fully supportive of whatever I did I could either be at a job where I was 75% happy or with, the, the world on its, the world changing and, you know, taking your moment, that type of thing, seize the day. I said, "Or let's just see if I can make something of Honey and Lavender." And here I am now, and clearly I did. I'm very proud of it. So twen- you know, 2020, me, myself, and I, and now it's me, six women that are amazing. They are all fully capable of leading all kinds of events, so they lead the bulk of our events now at Honey and Lavender events. And then we also have a roster of about six to eight event assistants. Yeah, I mean, it's the growth I'm very proud of, and it has, it has grown pretty quickly considering, 'cause I... And I like to tell this tidbit, is at the time when I was telling my closest family and closest friends, "I'm gonna leave my full-time role. I'm gonna take Honey and Lavender full time, see what, what'll happen." At the time they're like, "Yes, Maya, it's gonna be great. You're doing this. Go you." And then it's really funny, like six months, a year, even two years later, they say, "Maya, now that Honey and Lavender is incredibly successful, you've grown so much, we feel comfortable saying this to you. We actually thought you were crazy." "Not that we didn't think you could do it. We thought absolutely whatever Maya does, she will. She will make it happen. She is a hard worker. She's a doer." But just given COVID- they were like, "What? In the middle of a pandemic, you're gonna start a, uh, you're gonna go full time with your event planning business?" Mm. Like, what's wrong with you?" So that's always, it's funny to hear, but I'm also, I also think look where we are." Exactly.

Pivoting Events During COVID

5:35

That's so interesting you started full time during COVID. What was kind of the biggest challenge for you starting out during COVID? I mean, sure, like, obviously, yes we, there was social distancing- and, you know, we couldn't do huge events, but I think one... Well, there are two things that I think were, that were helpful for me. One, unfortunately, COVID, for many businesses, was a time of misfortune, and a lot of companies, particularly in the event space, closed, or they had to pivot, or they just decided, "You know what? It, we, you know, we gotta do something else right now, and maybe we'll come back to it. Maybe we'll, we won't." So I think some of that paved the way for Honey and Lavender. Also, I will just say that, When there are, when there's a significant world event, life event, you need to pivot. You need to be adaptable. And I knew that going in. So one, yes, did I have savings? Did I have a partner where I was fortunately able to depend on? Yes. But I really leaned into virtual events. I leaned into micro events, weddings, smaller events. But I also did some things that were event adjacent, not necessarily event specific, but event adjacent. What I mean by that is for Mother's Day, for example, I used my networking skills, my relationships, and basically I created Mother's Day baskets where I had a massage therapist that I was good friends with. She don- she would donate massages for part of the Mother's Day basket. I had a florist that I had worked with both personally and professionally a lot, and I said, "Would you, um, mind donating or contributing you know, medium-sized bouquets to this gift basket?" And there were other, things that I knew mothers, 'cause I was a mother, would want. But what was good about that was it was all in kind, so I was not paying for these services. But in return, I had a real... I, I was starting to get a really, s- larger social media following. People also know that I'm I'm I take relationships, personal relationships, working relationship, vendor relationships very seriously, and I want to support them, so they, I think they also were thinking in the long run, this will be significant to our business as well. You know, we s- I think at the time, I can't remember, maybe we charged 150 for these, um, Mother's Day baskets, but we sold like over 30. So that's, I just share that as, you know, it takes some adaptability, flexibility, innovation, and just, yeah, knowing that eventually I had to believe that we would get to where we are now with being able to do events again normally. B- but just being able to, yeah, provide some innovative ideas to- you know, get going. I also did a lot of community events. I... Not that I, I didn't do... did I do anything for free? I, I did things for trade. So- Mm again, to get my name out there my business out there. I knocked on doors. I went to local businesses. I just pretty much said, "Look, I'm just saying, this is something that is available to you should you need it. In the event that you wanna work together, that would be great." And then, you know, I just, I did a lot of yeah, just a lot of networking- Mm-hmm and a lot of, um, making introductions and offering my services in return for something else. Mm-hmm. So nothing was ever free, because I truly believe that no entrepreneur creative should feel that they need to ever discount their service, their talents, but there are ways to also make a name for yourself without charging- Yeah you know, what you would, w- what you normally would in times when you can't. Mm-hmm.

Balancing Energy, Motherhood, And Work

9:34

So you value building those long-term connections. How do you kind of balance, you know, building long-term connections without feeling like, you know, you're putting... 'Cause you have to put so much energy out- Mm-hmm in order to, you know, create successful events. Mm-hmm. And you're also a mom. Mm-hmm. So kind of how do you balance all the, the energy or where you put your energy out? I mean, a l- a lot of it people ask that, ask me that every day. I think that's a lot of my personality. I'm the... I am what you would call an extreme extrovert. So I truly get energy from being around people. So I think a lot of it's innate. And if I wasn't doing events, and when I wasn't doing events, I still gave, 200%. So I think a lot of it is personality. I also think, though, I do believe this, because I don't think of my job now as being an owner and doing events for clients as work. I truly don't, because I'm so passionate about event planning. Mm-hmm. I love it. I love the organization. I love the logistics. I even love, you know, the, the last-minute changes. Things coming up, like weather changes- Yeah client, you know, I do love it. Yes, it's stressful, but truly that's when I'm in my Alimond. I'm calm, I can offer solutions. And now with a team, they are similar because obviously when I am thinking about bringing on a new team member, there are things that I look for that I can say, "Yes, they would be, make a good fit to the team. They would be great planners." But it's also just being able to brainstorm and be innovative. So hopefully I answered your question. Yeah, yeah. And so you work

Building A Consistent Team Experience

11:22

with a team of people. How do you keep this, uh, like the con- how do you keep consistency across your events with working with a team? Great question, and that's something that is very important to me and something that we spent a lot of time with training-wise. So truthfully, anyone can plan events. Maybe not well, but anyone can- can, plan an event because yes, there are definitely things that you just tick off that you just know you have to do. Like yes, you have to book vendors. Yes, you have to have some semblance of a timeline. What I know, because I hear this constantly about our team, is n- yes, do we put on seamless events? Do we put on intentional events? Do we put on great productions, whether they're small or big? Yes. But repeatedly, our clients keep telling us, "Not just you, Maya, but you, your team, you're authentic. You really get to know us. You don't want... You don't push your thoughts unless you need to on us." And what I mean by that is we respect the integrity of what the client wants. Now sure, if the client wants all these things and they don't have the budget for it, yes, we will manage those expectations. But, there are some people in the event space that think that because they're the professional, they should control the design process. They should make the big decisions. And while, yes, we guide our clients, we guide knowing what's important to them. And so, that's very important to me. But also people say, "You're a friend. Like yes, we respect you and we know you're the professional, but you think to ask how is my mom doing that, has cancer. You sent flowers to us because our grandmother passed." Like, it's just, they said just the intentionality and- Mm-hmm just the auth- being authentic really stands out. So going back to your question is, when I'm, when we're interviewing people and thinking of being pr- bringing people on the team, I mention that. I say, "You know what? Anyone can be an event planner, truly." What I'm looking for when I'm hiring is I'm looking for someone that has, that can care, that shows consideration, that shows empathy. You can't really teach those. I can teach you how to make an amazing timeline. I can teach you how to do vendor follow-up, but if I don't feel the sincerity in you as a person, chances are I just know you're not gonna be a good fit. Mm. And then once they come on, we, um, have a training and shadow program for the different roles in our company and all of them include shadowing actual events with me, with our other leads repeatedly, so they can also see, yes, we get all of the things done that need to get done. But when a client comes to us with a question or a concern, they can see How we handle it and how we talk to our clients. Mm-hmm. And I think just learning by doing and by seeing their... They say, "Okay, so wow. They really they, even though they could be really busy doing something, they really take the time to listen to a client's concern. If they can't handle it- Mm-hmm they immediately find someone that can handle it." That. So I think that's how we kind of- Yeah de- we demonstrate by doing. Awesome.

Client Onboarding And Communication Style

14:52

And then what might it look like from the time a client reaches out to you to start planning an event- Mm-hmm to that event, happening in full swing? I mean, it depends obviously on the type of event that they booked us for. I think just generally speaking, and this is part of my, my, you know, my sales calls, is I say truly once a contract is signed, a retainer is paid, if it, even if it's me, but if it's not me, the next immediate step is I will send an onboarding email introducing the client to their lead, and they get an overview of the team, and we s- and, next steps. And then after that, then the lead will reach out to schedule a one-on-one. And then after that, it does depend on the package that they've booked with us. But Where I think there is consistency everywhere is we always meet our clients where they're at. Mm-hmm. And we get clients that are very Type A like us, and, know exactly what they wanna do, so we'll do that. We also have clients that have no idea what they wanna do. And so we will guide them. But we are very, um, client-driven in the sense of we say, with- within boundaries, you know, "How would you prefer to communicate? How often do you wanna communicate? How often do you wanna meet?" Now, of course, we do have our own boundaries about, you know, how often that is, but I think the client feels as if they truly are important because- Mm-hmm we are leaning on them and leading by their example. Absolutely. And so every client comes with their own personalities, priorities, and visions. How do you get to know someone well enough to create an event that feels reflective of who they are and what their vision is? Mm-hmm. Part of our process is we ask... Well, first of all, when I-- 'Cause right now I'm the one... the one w- ma- I do the majority of our sales calls. Within the sales calls, um, you know, I take copious notes. We'll do, like, a recap over, you know, Zoom. And so whoever ends up getting that client, I will send those notes and that video recording and all that to them. But then once a planner is assigned a client, we ask th- to fill out several questionnaires, the first one being a client profile. So we ask, yes, we ask name, birth date, but we also go further where we say, "Tell us about your favorite memory. Tell us what you like to do for fun. Tell us..." You know, depending on the event, we ask getting to know you questions basically. Yeah. And, um, it's pretty comprehensive, and we always warn clients of that, and we say, "Look, if you wanna skip any questions, you can, but honestly, this is us getting to know you." Once that client profile is filled out, then the planner will meet with the client, and they'll go through it. But then, all of my planners, while some are not as extroverted as me, and some actually say, identify more as introverted, but then client-facing, they're extroverted, we all value getting to know people. We all value relationships. And so when they're meeting with their new client for the first time, yes, they're looking at the client profile, but they're also very interested to know them and to know about their story, their background. Why is this even- why is this event important to them? And through those conversations, you know, a relationship is being built, a rapport is being built. And, you know, again, like I alluded to earlier I want people to care and be engaged, and so all of my team members are. And so they find something or many things to find connection with their clients. Or if there's really something interesting and, you know, for a different reason, they'll ask about that, and then that connection is made. And then already that, that foundation is there. Yeah. So getting to know them comprehensively. Yes. Awesome.

Making Events Feel Like You

18:53

And then there can be a big difference between creating something that looks beautiful and creating an experience that people truly feel. How do you balance doing both? I think that's a great question, is I think the way to do it is you have to hone in on the reason why someone wants to do the event in the first place. And what I mean by that is, yes, a birthday party. So usually-- And it could be any birthday party, but for this example, I'm gonna use a milestone. First birthday party, sweet 16, 21st birthday party. These are special and unique ways. And so one, understanding why it's important. It's a milestone. But then again, finding out why is it important to that particular client. And then once you find that out, and then you know that, then being able to find and support ways to support that idea, that reason for the event with the décor, with the food, with the ambiance. That's when you're really able to exude why the event is happening. 'Cause I thought a lot about, a lot about this, where especially now, just, you know, given the economy and kind of uncertainty, people say, "Maya, do you think events are superfluous?" And I say, "Well, you know, depends who you ask." Like, yes, do you have to do an event? No. But I think no matter how hard the economy is, people are always going to want to do events, because again, it's about connection. It's about the experience. And I say, "You know what? Sometimes, yes, im- on the outside, doing an event may seem superfluous and exc- and excessive, but at the end of it, it's an experience, and people are doing it because they want to celebrate or remember something, and they wanna do it with loved ones." Mm-hmm. And that's all that really matters. Yeah. And I think it's so important to create memories where we're able to celebrate in times of uncertainty as well. Mm-hmm.

Staying Calm When Things Go Wrong

21:06

With events involving so many moving pieces and expectations at once, how do you create that sense of calm and confident- confidence for your client throughout, um, what can be an overwhelming process? I think for sure it's experience. Um, and so my experience alone, but combined with my six ladies, I mean, if you added it up, we probably have- over 60 years of, like, experience and knowledge, just doing all kinds of events. Knowing the usual spontaneous problems that happen, but also we have life experience that has just taught us to be resourceful, taught us to always think creatively. And I always joke, but am I the only... I was like, no, I have an- another one of my team members is a mom. But also, you know, being a mom, I mean, having kids, you have to think on your feet. You have to be resourceful and figure out how to, like, make a problem go away when it arises. Even if you're not a mom, there are other different, you know, experiences in life that you just, you can apply to that. Um, and again, I mean, I will say this, is yes, in times of uncertainty and when there is a problem, you want your lead to at least appear to be calm. Whether they're not calm on the inside, that's another story, but that's also something that we tell our team members is, "Remember, you are the first line of defense." If something's g- if something is good, you're the first line of defense. If you're- something's bad, you are certainly the first line of defense. And even if you don't know at the time what to do, just putting on a brave face and saying, "I understand what's happening. Let me think. I've got this." And then, retreat and go back and figure it out. Uh, but yes, I mean, for sure. That's, a, a lot of it, we say this, is a lot of why you're hiring a planner is you're hiring a planner for their expertise, but also for them to figure out what to do when something goes wrong. And so how do you deal with, um, unexpected things that come up during events? I mean, it depends on what comes up, you know? Again, it's just, I think, yeah, I mean, it just depends what comes up. You know, I guess weather is an easy one. Mm-hmm. But, you know, a way to prepare for that is to always have a plan B, um, because as much as we like to think that the event that we wanna do outside, it's like, of course, Maya, it's one, it's one day out of the year. Of course we're gonna have beautiful weather. I mean, the weather can- especially here, is so unpredictable. You just need to know. You, and we always say, sometimes even clients say, "No, we don't need a rain plan." We say, "Yes, we do." Or if they don't think they need a, they have a rain plan, we have a rain plan in the back of our head. But I mean, I think you just kinda have to expect the unexpected. Mm-hmm. And that's so cliché, but- It's just, yeah, I just think it's, it's hard to, it's hard to say, but I think it's just already having a sense of being flexible, being adaptable, and just thinking creatively. Yeah, absolutely.

Social Media Inspiration Without The Pressure

24:29

So with social media making it easier to, you know, see so many different things online- Mm-hmm how do you help your clients stay connected to what, what matters most to them rather than feeling pressured to recreate or, yeah, recreate someone else's celebration or event? Yep. I will say we definitely have clients that say, "We saw this on social media. We saw this." And that's great. And but one thing that we always ask, we say, "That's awesome. This looks beautiful. Why do you want to do this?" That's where we start, 'cause if you, if it starts with, "Well, my friend did this, so I have to do this," or, "My mom said this," then we say, "Well, what do you want to do?" We're not saying that we can't do something like this or something just as impactful or gorgeous, but we want to know the why. And then we take it from there, because I always say, look yes, Instagram is beautiful yes, TikTok is beautiful, but sometimes also what you're seeing is not truly what's indicative of how much or how much work it is to put on. 'Cause usually it's, it, usually it's the opposite, right? I can do this for $5,000. No, actually, that's gonna cost 20,000. So being able to let- give them some real numbers, they're like, "Oh, okay. Well, okay, so we don't have to do that, Maya, but can we do something similar?" 'Cause we also say, "Look, you know, yes, we know it's on social media, but we want to do something that you truly love, and it'll still be as beautiful, if not more beautiful, but we don't want you just to have something at your wedding because you saw it on Instagram- Mm-hmm or you want to, you know, one-up one of your friends whose wedding you went to." Right. Awesome. And

Managing Family Dynamics At Big Days

26:20

then bringing together, or planning an event brings together so many different people with different opinions and personalities. What have you learned about navigating those relationships while keeping your client's vision at the center? Well, I think part of our role, whether we love it or not, is therapist and counselor, because like you said, especially for weddings, but also even for celebrations of life and other events, yes, you're right, you're dealing with a lot of personalities. You're dealing with a lot of family dynamics. You're bringing people together that, one, may be just meeting for the first time or have very different beliefs, views, things like that. Um, I'm thinking towards weddings where, you know, one of the things that we always ask couples, no matter the event package that they've booked with us, is tell us are there any family dynamics that we need to know about? 'Cause we wanna know ahead of time, and we wanna be prepared. Now- We are, when I say trained, like we go through scenarios, we ex- we share with team members what we've been through in terms of some family dynamics that might have come up at weddings and how we diffuse it, how we handle it, and, if ev- this ever happens, how we should legally handle it. But, um, you know, I think first and foremost, we tell the couple, "Look, this is your day, so just remember that. Protect your space. We will handle anything that comes up." And the way we do that is then we also say, "Look, yes, as a third party, we can tell people to, go cool off outside, take it around the corner, but we may need help from another family member," because again, we don't know these family members. And sometimes that's actually helpful, and I've found that actually sometimes that is all that it takes. "I'm so sorry. Can you step aside? We, you know, we need to focus on the bride and groom." Sometimes that actually works because again, we're not emotionally involved. Other times, we've had to have another family member come and say, "Thank you so much, Maya. I've got it from here. Let's go." Mm-hmm. But I think- Blanket statement is being prepared for it and not being afraid to ask your couple if there are any dynamics. 'Cause I've heard, I mean, some readily will tell us. Others haven't, unless we've said, "Well, okay, can you tell us some about, something about your family dynamics that we should know about?" And they say, "Well, what do you mean?" I say, "Well, you know, just could anything come up during the wedding? Are there any competing personalities?" Then they're like- "Oh, well, yes. Actually, my mother and, my future mother and I, mother-in-law and I don't get along." Oh, okay, great. So then, you know, a way that we kind of diffuse that is do the bride and the future mother-in-law need to spend the entire morning getting ready together? Probably not. So then for the pictures, and again, to be part of the experience, we may suggest, "Well, how about she comes in for the last 30 minutes?" So, you know, you can get your pictures. She can feel part of the getting-ready crew, but then, you know, there's not a lot of time to kinda get into why you might not ne- necessarily get along. Um, we've also learned to you know, monitor how much drinking is- Mm taking place, 'cause you know, alcohol and drinking can heighten emotions. If I was gonna give abbreviated answer, I'd say be prepared and don't be afraid to ask the hard questions. Mm. Because the more you're prepared, the more you can handle it and be ready for it. Yeah, absolutely.

The Invisible Value Of A Pro

29:58

What is something that people often underestimate about the work that happens behind the scenes to make an event feel effortless? Honestly, what I still see after, man, almost 10 years of having my business is I will meet with prospective clients that want to hire an event planner, that say they understand the value of an event planner, but then when it comes down to actually investing in event planner, they're like, "You know what? No, I don't think I need this," or, "I'm gonna go to s-," I'm, and y- you know, I, uh, w- "We totally respect you. We've loved working with you. We love your company, but it's just not in our budget to, allocate that much for an event planner." Fine. I mean, everyone can make their own decisions. I, the, the number of people that I've actually had come back to me after their event or their wedding, "Maya, I know y-," they were like, "You did your W- Our sales call was perfect. Truly, at the time, there was probably nothing else more you could share. But now, knowing what we know now, we should have hired you." "And honestly, your, the investment we should have made with you would have been well worth it." And so that's- Mm why you're, you're, you're, "Ah," like, "What do I need to say?" And I think it's because as event planners, we don't have a product. It's not something tangible. We offer experience, expertise. We offer guidance. We offer peace of mind. We What we do, you probably don't know we're doing. And I say this especially for weddings and larger scale events. We never tell, unless it's huge, but we never tell our client, our brides and grooms and parents of the bride and groom when something has gone a little array, or even something medium-sized has gone wrong. We fix it. That's just- Mm-hmm our job. Like, we are solutions providers. Like, we want to be, yeah, the solutions. And you will not know, 'cause I mean, nothing goes, nothing ever goes according to plan. Mm-hmm. You have seamless events, but nothing ever goes according to plan. And it's having an experienced event planner know how to pivot, how to make up time somewhere else, and how to not I think what some event planners forget is it's not about you. And what I mean by that is sometimes event planners want to be in the center of attention, and center, want everyone to see what they're doing. That's actually not your job. The quieter you are, and the more that happens that the, the client doesn't see, I think is, I think actually is a test of a ch- of a really good planner- Mm-hmm because they're behind the scenes. Yeah. Yeah. And I think so many people underestimate the value or the importance of having a professional come in and help them out with things because of access to so much information- Yes online. Yes. Yeah. When a client looks back on an event years later, what do you hope they remember the most? The feelings, the connection. And of course, with their family and friends, but, and this is something that I love, I mean, myself, but all of my other planners, they are- they have a handful of clients that they're friends with that not only do they come back to us for future events and recurring events, but they'll go to lunch, they'll go to coffee. I have most of my couples send me pictures of their baby, you know, of their children- Mm-hmm when they have babies, their first birthdays. Um, and that because again, relationships are so core to our values, that I love that because I don't, I, you know, I get it, but I don't want people to think, "You know what? One and done. Yes, we did your wedding. Yes, we did your birthday. That's it." I want them, yeah, to think of us as an extension of their family, of their life, and it's also really cool to be able to have-- We have, uh, several clients where we've done their oldest child's birthday, and then all the milestones, and now we're starting to do it with their second children and the third children. So, I mean, there are many generations- Yeah that we're working with in one family. And so, yeah, I just, I want them to remember the connection. I want them to remember the feeling and just the ambiance. Yeah. That's so amazing, and I think it also goes back to just getting to know them comprehensively before starting the planning. What-

What’s Next And Final Advice

34:35

looking ahead, what kind of experiences or projects are you most excited to create, and how do you see Honey and Lavender Events continuing to evolve? I definitely... let's see. I wanna keep doing amazing events, and what I mean by amazing is yes, challenging to each and every person on my team in their, a unique way that they wanna be challenged. But I just also wanna keep doing impactful beautiful events for clients because again, it's all about the clients. I, when I first started Honey and Lavender, I always knew I didn't wanna do just weddings. I didn't wanna do just birthdays, and that's because I truly love all of ev- all events. So I wanted to be able to do that. I think you know, continuing to do all kinds of events, I think no matter what happens, weddings will definitely be a part of that just because w- 'cause sometimes people say, "You do a we- y- we're doing weddings 'cause they're the moneymaker. We're doing weddings 'cause that's what keeps, you know, the lights on," so to speak. I truly love doing weddings. Yes, there are a lot of hard work. Yes, there's a lot of mo- emotion involved, but there's just something about weddings that's just so special, bringing two people together, their families, hearing their story and how they chose and knew that they were gonna be the ones to spend the rest of their lives together. Like, that is still very special to me, and I think, and I know we'll always do weddings. I would love to do more destination international events just because I grew up internationally for some part of my childhood. I really love different cultures. I love the expat life and just, you know, being able to experience different things. So that's something that I am putting out to the universe now, especially with my connections overseas. Like, that's something I would like to see. I'm very happy with the size of my team because even when I-- Even in 2017, I knew when I was just thinking about what Honey Lavender would look like five years from then, I always knew I wanted a team. So you-- I'm gonna go back. You asked me what was hard or different about going from a regular nine to five to having my own business. Truly, the first thing I thought about was I lo- 'cause I'm such an extrovert and I love working with people, I was like: Wow, I'm no longer gonna, at least for a little while, I'm n- I'm not gonna be with a team, and I'm not gonna be managing people. I'm not gonna be having that constant interaction, collaboration. It's gonna be me. And so I always knew that I wanted to have a team. I don't ne- necessarily think I need to have 100 people on my team, but I think, 15 people working for me, I think that, that is the goal. Full-time would be great and, you know, different, different roles. But yeah, I'd like to continue growing my team. Awesome. And if you could leave someone planning a meaningful celebration with one piece of advice, what would you want them to know or remember about creating a, creating an experience that truly reflects them? Ignore the noise. Whether that's social media, whether that's a family member, whether that's friends, is really think about why you want to do the event. Once you figure that out, and then what do you want that to look like? Or what, what would you-- What's one thing that you know you definitely want at that event, for that event? Then start from there. Awesome. And for anyone looking to plan an event or learn more about Honey and Lavender Events, where can they find and connect with you? Yes. They

Where To Find Honey And Lavender

38:29

can, um, follow us on Instagram @honeyandlavenderevents. They can go to our website, um, www.honeyandlavenderevents.com. We actually just did a really gorgeous, um, rebrand about two months ago, three months ago. We're very proud of. Um, yeah, th- I think those are probably the best two. Awesome. And then as we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to add that we haven't touched on today? So, Yeah, I don't think so. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Maya, for joining me on The Alimond Show and sharing your knowledge and inspiring story with us. Of course. Thank you for having me.