Hey there!
I’m Deanne, the owner and lead planner at Elegance and Ivory! Wedding planning is my passion, second only to ice cream of course, and the most precious thing in my life is my family. I am a lover of books, dogs and adventures, which for me usually involve something outdoors-y or travel related. In my free time, you can catch me on a hike with my husband Pete and our dog Maverick, or volunteering with my favorite organizations to build strong women and resiliency in girls. I’m so excited to have you here and to guide you seamlessly through your wedding planning adventure! Read on for a little bit about how I entered into this beautiful world of wedding planning. Here’s my story.
It all started in 2013 when my soulmate and best friend asked me to marry him on a chilly November day at the end of Navy Pier in Chicago (where we had our first date). His proposal was perfect. I said “omg are you serious?! YES I will marry you!” and, of course, I cried through the whole thing :)
We had a blast during our engagement photo shoot!
After getting engaged we decided that we would plan every detail of our wedding on our own because we were on a budget and it was important to us that we stuck to it. Pete was a spreadsheet loving engineer and I had planned social events for my sorority in college, and was always the girl helping friends make preparations for their events. We were pretty confident we could do it. Throughout the planning process we had a lot of successes and a few hiccups, but what I realized along the way was three fold. First, planning a wedding takes a lot of time and effort, which can be stressful when it isn’t the only thing you have going on. Second, it is always a good idea to get input from someone outside yourselves, because tunnel vision and Pinterest black holes are real, ya’ll! And last but most importantly, I loved every minute of it!
As a fun way to add a personal touch, we chose to incorporate Pete’s love of motorcycles into our save the date cards.
Pete and I got married outside on a gorgeous day in May in 2015 and the day went off without a hitch. Except the one, which was the whole reason we were there ;) We were surrounded by friends and family who traveled from around the country to celebrate with us, and we danced our booties off with a full dance floor of guests until the DJ played our third and final “last song”. If I could relive that day over and over again forever, I absolutely would! From that point on, I knew wedding and event planning was in my heart and soul.
Happiest moment of my life.
I started getting involved with my friends and family, helping plan their wedding days by sending them the planning materials I created when Pete and I got married and talking to them about how we managed our budget. Before I knew it, I was making their wedding day itineraries, setting up for receptions, and even doing the mother of the grooms’ makeup! It was only a matter of time until Elegance and Ivory was born.
Aaaaaaaand CELEBRATE!
So I took the leap, and here we are! It is my sincerest wish for you to have the wedding day of your dreams that you’ll talk about excitedly with friends and family for years to come. Happy Planning!
With Love,
Deanne