Ultimate wedding & party destination since 2009

Studio tour: Alison Events

September 11, 2015
Alison Events studio tour

This tour of Alison Events’ studio is exactly what we needed to walk into the weekend with. Their space is sprinkled with bright blooms and pops of color—let’s just say you’ll probably want to redecorate after perusing the pics. Luckily Shannen Natasha of The Wedding Artists Collective shared enough photos to paint one inspiring picture…

Alison Events studio tour Alison Events studio tour

Creative Director Alison shared more about their planning + design business with us below:

Alison Events studio tour

What keeps you inspired in your business?

What we love about doing weddings is we get to work with couples on the most special day of their life. We have the opportunity to get intimate with not only the couples but the parents and siblings and learn all about them. We also enjoy working with corporate and social clients to make their visions come to life.

Alison Events studio tour

What has been a turning point in your business and how do you define success?

Being able to be somewhat selective with the jobs that we take is the true definition of success to us. We’ve all been in the industry for 15+ years and hard work and creativity has allowed us to select clients based on personality, vision and budget. We are now able to work with clients we truly love, and want to get to know, and we get to work with clients whose vision and creative ideas are in line with our aesthetics and creative direction as a company which is always such a huge plus.

Alison Events studio tour

What is or has been your favorite wedding moment?

We did a wedding in New Buffalo Michigan a couple years ago. The ceremony took place in the client’s back yard at their summer house. The towering trees had the perfect amount of shade and light, the white sand beach in the back ground was a perfect hang out spot for sunset photos, the guests were then shuttled via golf carts to the 5th hole of a golf course, and they dined under a beautiful sail cloth tent next to the lake.

Alison Events studio tour

What advice would you give to someone starting in event planning and design?

Understand the business, work for vendors in all other categories so you really know what goes into an event. Being able to whip up a boutonniere last minute, properly pour wine, understand the inventory of your rental companies, and understand the correct etiquette for invitations makes you a well-rounded planner and ultimately more valuable and respected individual in this business. Know your weaknesses and your strengths. Get to know your event partners and build teams of people you want to spend time with and get to know. This makes the planning and production of events that much more fun and seamless, as you are not only working with people you know, but event professionals you know you can trust.

Alison Events studio tour

(Love this inspiration board!)

Favorite wedding trend at the moment?

We are big fans of formality. We love seeing men in tuxes and ladies dressed up. A wedding is not a casual affair, so it should be a time to get excited about dressing up.

Trend you’d love to see disappear forever? 

Mirrors on dining tables—the idea behind them in the 90’s was that they allow an additional glow to the table when candles are placed but it’s an old look. You should not need a mirror to get sparkle, you just need more candles or to add dimmers to your overhead lights!

Alison Events studio tour

Who are you inspired by?

We pull our inspiration from our travels not necessarily a specific person. Textiles we see, pottery, restaurant design, and hotels. We are also inspired by fashion, the great outdoors, and our clients! We love to collaborate and prefer to whenever possible. Two heads are always better than one, so we like to get design input from our team of vendors so the look is seamless, but not matchy-matchy.

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  • Alison Events studio tour
  • Alison Events studio tour
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What’s on the horizon for Alison Events?

We are working on our other business Event Space Consulting, a company we started to help new and existing venues, hotels, and private estates build collateral, infrastructure, and a reputation for being the best. We’re currently working on two projects, one in New York and one in Green Valley, California.

If you weren’t an event designer, what would you be?

I would be a landscape architect and Jesse would be a food writer. 

Thanks for chatting with us Alison!

Photographer: Shannen Natasha of The Wedding Artists Collective / Studio: Alison Events / Florals: Loop Flowers & Event Arts