January 28, 2025 • 22 mins
Unlock the secrets to unforgettable wedding and event design with Nicolette from Chic Concepts as our guest on the Tipsy Guest Podcast. Gain expert insights into transforming your wedding into a true reflection of your personal style and story. Nicolette shares her innovative approach to incorporating personalized elements, from hobbies and passions to timeless design fundamentals like color, composition, and texture. You'll learn how to move past fleeting trends to create settings that are as unique and memorable as the couples they celebrate.
Explore the transformative impact of lighting and decor on ambiance, with practical advice on leveraging candles, track lighting, and mood boards to align your vision with reality. Discover the charm of unique venues like the McNay and how thoughtful design can seamlessly blend with existing architectural features. We dive into budgeting tips to help you prioritize design elements within your financial plan, emphasizing the importance of statement pieces that capture the essence of your celebration. Whether you're planning your big day or an unforgettable event, this episode is packed with practical tips and inspiration, all while encouraging you to share your favorite vendors for future features. Join us to turn your event dreams into reality!
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Want us to chat with your favorite vendor? We’d love to! Shoot us an email at marco@tipsyguest.com and let us know who you want to hear from! Your top picks could be the stars of our next episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Tipsy Guest Podcast.
I am your host, marcoBuenrostro, and every week I'm
here with the top industryexperts, amazing clients and all
my vendor BFFs to bring you thebest tips, advice and juicy
behind-the-scenes stories tomake wedding and event planning
a breeze.
So grab your favorite drink andlet's get this party started.
(00:26):
Hey guys, welcome back to thetipsy guest, marco, your host,
and today we're going to betalking about event design and
decor, and for that I have anexpert here nicolette, with chic
concepts, is with me today.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Hi, nicolette, hi how are y'all, hi everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I great.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Thank you for coming in today.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Thanks for having me.
I've been wanting to get you inhere for the longest time, but
of course we had busy season andyes everybody was going crazy.
I know I'm so glad we're hereFinally, for some reason, and
the time of recording of this isa January 2025.
So we just went through theholiday season of 2024.
And, oh my gosh, it was crazyit was Like Christmas came.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I was like, oh, it's Christmas, and then it just went
yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Then it went yes, yes , yes, but okay.
So event design and decor, Imean the things that you create
are incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And for those of you who are listeners that are not
familiar with nicolette's work,make sure you follow her on
social media.
What is your instagram?
Uh sheet concepts, uh tx okay,and they can find you, I'm
assuming, on your website, onfacebook.
Yeah, yes, all right, perfect.
Yes, I mean, I've had thepleasure to work with you so
many times yeah throughout theyears I mean eight now
Absolutely that we've doneevents together and every time
(01:46):
that I work with you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I mean everything is stunning, thank you, and you
work with Gina too, because shedid your house.
Yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So Gina, just fun story here.
Gina is Nicolette's mom and sheis an interior designer and oh
my God, her work is incredible.
I used to live at an apartmentdowntown right by the riverwalk
and gina, she took care of mydecor and, oh my god, every time
I walked into that apartment Ifelt like I was at a furniture
(02:16):
store it was rad.
It was like a showroom, it wasthat art pieces and, yeah, it
was cool, incredible, and Imoved from that apartment but of
course, I brought everythingwith me and now in my new house.
I incorporated.
I saw it.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
When I walked in I was like, oh, there's a little
chest piece nice.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah, so thank you, gina.
Shout out, I still love that,but anyways.
So let's dive right in intoevent design and decor.
I mean, tell us howunderstanding why it matters and
how each couple can pullpersonality into their wedding
space.
Yeah, how is the entire process?
From the moment that a couplereaches out to you, how do you
(02:54):
bring everything to?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
life?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So the first thing I always askis you know how important is
designing according to you?
You know, on a scale of one toten, and I tell them if it's the
first thing that's important,let me know if it's really not
that important, because I needto know.
You know we don't want to goall lavish with them.
If it's like not not importantto them, they're just like I
have to do it because I have todo it.
(03:16):
But then we get the clientsthat it's very important to them
, and those clients, you know,we ask okay, what do you like to
do for fun?
Tell me a little bit about yourhobbies.
And I think one mistake that alot of times couples make is I
love trends, I love what's youknow happening and what's cool,
because style is important.
But design, good design, thethings that matter are color,
composition, scale, texture, youknow all of those things and
(03:39):
that will go through the end oftime.
That doesn't change, becausethat's art and that's like you
know this the principles of art,right?
One mistake I think thatclients make is they see
everything on Pinterest and it'slike oh, this is cool, I'm
going to do this, I got to dothis and they think they have to
do what everybody else is doingand I'm like, no, what do you
(03:59):
like?
What big deal to you, and it'show your life is.
Let's, we could do some, likeyou know, really funky, cool,
like antlers, and we can putthem into floral pieces and
arches.
We can make it modern.
Doesn't have to be old school,obviously.
Um, if you're into reading, I'mjust saying, and you're a
librarian, let's pull in.
(04:20):
You know, I've done like wepulled in books and then we have
wrapped them in different um,like they kind of were.
Like we pulled in books andthen we have wrapped them in
different um, like they kind ofwere.
Like the colors were pink andthey wanted floral and we
wrapped all the books in thislike floral paper and we
incorporated into thecenterpieces.
Things like that, I think, are,you know, a lot of times
overlooked, because we kind ofsee it as flowers, linen,
(04:42):
lighting, and it's like one, two, three, but there are so many
other like intricacies that youcan bring in that reflect who
you are and kind of like thatinner child.
I always like to think aboutthat like what is it when you
were dreamed of when you werelittle, that you really liked,
you know, was it being aprincess?
Well, let's you know we'regoing to do a forest.
Let's make it happen.
Let's bring in the butterflies,let's bring in the fruit
elements, let's bring in themoss, let's bring in the hanging
amaranthus, and they think thatthat's what makes you know,
(05:05):
bringing in that personality,you know different, into the
design and making it really cooland for them it's reflective of
who they are I love that.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I love that because sometimes they they think that
it might be silly and, you know,because they don't have the
design mentality yeah, and I'vehad clients that they were like
we want sexy and cool and theywere, they were.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
They were this two couple.
They were, um, they were those,they were sexy and they were
cool, they were, they were both.
They're really smart and theywere just, they were fun and
they were like but we're not.
We want flowers.
We're not really big flowerpeople but we want some and all
we did mostly we did some floral, but we did candles and we did
like I did these big, you know,brentmore stands and all we did
was candle.
And when I say that thing wassexy and cool for just having it
(05:45):
was black and white and justcandlescapes.
It was sexy, it was cool, itwas minimal, which is what they
wanted, but it made an impactand I think that's what you have
to think about when you aretalking with your designer.
What is it about you that makesyou y'all and let's reflect
y'all.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
It's not about you know what's in it's about.
This is y'all's wedding, what'simportant to you?
I love that.
I love that you know, because,yeah, a lot of the time people,
a lot of the time couples, theywant to do like they want to
have the most amazing wedding,but they want to do it because
they want to impress otherpeople.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, but I feel like no, like you should impress
yourself, like this is your bigday exactly and and guests will
appreciate, because they'll seethat and they'll see the love
that's in it, and then they doappreciate it exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I like, like, except, like, for example, earlier when
you mentioned about the antlerswith the florals and things
like that, you know, the momentguests walk into the, into the
wedding, into the space, they'reautomatically going to relate
that to the, to bride or thegroom, whoever's into that.
They're going to be like oh myGod, that is so cute, it's so
relatable, it's so him, it's soher.
I really like that and I thinkmodern couples are that's
(06:56):
exactly what they're doing.
I feel like all the traditionalstuff it's still there, but I
feel like now it's likeeverything has to be modern,
everything has to be like, verychic, everything has to like.
I mean, everybody wants to showoff on social media and and I
just feel like the decor is avery important piece when it
(07:18):
comes to, you know, your big day, right, it can either make it
or break it.
I mean everything is important.
Of course.
You know the dj, you have tohave good music.
Yes, the food I meaneverybody's gonna remember the
food.
The, I mean the photographer.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Those are things that you're gonna cherish forever.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
The decor sets the ambience exactly I love that and
right now that you mentionedthe candles, I think that is one
of my favorite decor pieceslike oh yeah, I'm all about
lighting.
Yes, and I think candles canjust transform any space into
something incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
And one thing that you know, my gina taught me.
You know.
She always says you know, whenyou go to a furniture store, why
is it that the furniture alwayslooks better in the furniture
store?
Sometimes, when it goes to yourhouse, what is it that's
different?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
she's like it's the track.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Lighting, yeah, and lighting's a seventh layer
design probably makes sense, youknow, and I also married a man
who was in life, so you knowit's kind of funny how that that
goes.
But yeah, the pin spots, thecandle light, all of that
reflects the art, and when thelights go off you can't see it,
and so you know you want to makesure that you.
That's why I also love workingat the matinee too, because you
(08:22):
really get to it's all dark andthen you bring in that light.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Every time I work at the matinee, I mean it is so
different.
I feel like every time I work awedding there, I'm walking into
a complete different space.
Yes, I, I work a wedding there.
I'm walking into a completedifferent space.
Yes, I don't think there's beenlike two weddings that look
like the same to me.
No, and I've worked there somany times with different
designers, with differentplanners.
Yes, and I just feel like everyvibe it's so good at what he
(08:47):
did.
God bless him, you know we misshim, but yes, what?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
he did.
He was such an artist in thatway and and yeah, lighting is so
important and it's such anintegral part of the overall
decor.
It's not just that's the thingI also think about really makes
good design.
It's never just the one element, it's not just the floral, it's
not just the linen, it's notjust it's all of it,
encompassing together to makethat art piece the texture, the
(09:12):
glassware.
That's what makes it like oh,my gosh.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
I mean when you work.
I mean because you've worked atso many different venues
throughout the years.
I mean there's, you know,there's like hotel venues,
there's like just standalonevenues.
There's museums, there's, youknow, the botanical gardens.
What is your favorite type ofspace to decorate for a wedding?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Well, that's a good question.
I think my favorite type ofspace is one I don't want to say
that it's a blank space,because I do like blank spaces,
because you can pretty much doanything but I think ones that
have architectural pieces thatcan be shown within the space.
Like you mentioned, botanicalgarden.
You have all that beautifulwindow.
You have all that beautifullight.
You know you can work with that.
(10:01):
We talked about the McNay.
It's such a blank canvas, youknow you work at chandelier.
You've got that beautifulchandelier, you've got those
hanging boxes that you canreally make fun.
So I think that whatever spaceis in, it's using the principles
that are already there and thearchitecture that's there, and
everyone, every piece is unique,and I was.
Another question was, asclients, why did you choose this
venue?
Yeah, what is it about thisvenue that you like?
(10:22):
And then they tell me I'm like,okay, okay, let's play that up,
let's play that up, let's,let's work with that.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah has there ever been a time where the couple
comes to you with a, you know,with a mood board or or an idea,
and then the final, the finaldecor turns out to be completely
different from when you started?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
yeah, I think that happened.
It happened a couple times,like during the pandemic,
because we had to do like um,you know, a lot of clients re
rescheduled, right, and so therewere time lapses and so they
change.
Or sometimes a client will cometo me and I'll ask a question
or they'll show me pictures.
I'm like okay, why are youshowing me this picture?
You know what is it about.
That was that's anotherquestion.
I was asked what is it aboutthis picture that you like?
(11:02):
Because sometimes they'll belike it's just the color.
I'm like, well, hell, forget it, I don't know, that's
completely different what I'mlooking at.
Yeah, so sometimes that hashappened, and I think it's
because they don't even know yetwhat they're looking at,
because it's going back to theoriginal question of we see
things and we think, oh, this ispretty.
But when you really starttaking things out and asking
questions like why this and whatabout this, and they're like
(11:24):
well, really, it's this.
I'm like OK, that's not reallyyour style, this is actually
kind of what.
And they're like oh, yeah, thatis what I like.
And it turns into andtransforms into something
different all right, all right.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
And when it comes to budget, do you?
I mean every, every couple youknow they show you like the most
amazing, like kardashianwedding style, like, you know,
mood boards, but then, of course, everything comes down to
budget.
What percentage, would you say,of a couple's budget goes into
decor and design?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
that's a good question.
I would say you need to,depending on what, how important
it is to you.
I would say easily anywherebetween 30 to 50, 30 to probably
45 percent, you know.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Okay, pretty fair and then, um, I guess, when you're
designing something, are you, um, you know, we talked about, you
know, the flowers we talkedabout, uh, lining, candles and
things like that?
What about, like you know, likelounge areas, furniture, uh,
you know what other componentsdo you?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
oh, you know take place into, into design yeah,
love, love, love.
Creating vignettes with, withlounge furniture you know we
forget about, like the cocktailarea.
We want to do a photo when youhave your photo booth.
You want to make something, youknow, really sleek and give a
nice um seating section, um, Ithink, also pieces that are
really people starting to leaninto, and we really talked about
that when we first starteddoing design, when we would do,
(12:42):
like, hanging floral pieces is,you know, statement pieces.
If you not everybody has that30% to put in, it doesn't mean
your wedding shouldn't bebeautiful.
Some people can only put, youknow, they have tight budgets,
so where are we going to put themoney?
Well, let's put it into astatement piece.
That maybe will really knockeverything out.
Um, and I think that'simportant too.
Yeah, I love and helpful rightnow that you mentioned.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
You know the photo booth right now, so something
that's going to be reallypopular in 2025.
Uh, it's still part of thephoto booth family, but portrait
stations are becoming sopopular, so it's still the same,
the same type of fun as a photobooth, but instead of having a
standalone machine, what we haveis an actual photographer
(13:23):
taking pictures with a beautifulset.
We've done a few events likethat and, oh my God, it is so
much fun.
I love that.
We incorporate floors, weincorporate furniture, we
incorporate chandeliers, thingslike that that you can't really
capture with a photo boothbecause of, you know, like it
has to be within a certain frame.
Yes, having a photographerwould not.
(13:44):
With our portrait stations, youknow, we bring the lighting, we
bring the photographer, webring, you know, like, all the
everything that is part of aphoto booth, but with a, yeah,
we did that we did we've donethat for corporate gigs, like
for christmas events, and reallydo it up.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I remember one event we did with um curtis cronk.
This was a 25th weddinganniversary.
It was 1920 theme and I don'tknow the year was a while ago.
But we did like it was, we didvery much.
It was all 20s and we broughtin carpets and chess and gold
sequin and and we, he, weactually he actually rented
these um from austin were likelights and they actually worked.
(14:17):
They took up a lot of power butthey were the old school
Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So we really created that piece, that ambiance.
So when people felt they reallyfelt like they were in the
1920s, it took them and we had ared carpet and it took them to
that place.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I love theme events yes, especially the Roaring
Twenties of the most popular uhthemes out there.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
But you can do it with anything you know.
We can make it modern.
It doesn't have to be thematic,but yes, it's so much fun.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I love that.
I absolutely love it.
And, as a planner, what are thebiggest decor related
challenges that you facethroughout the years as as a
designer?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
um, decor related.
That's a good question.
I think logistics is a is a notnecessarily a challenge, but
it's.
It is a challenge in that whenyou're thinking about, when
you're having to work witheverything it's not just what
makes it pretty you have to alsothink about logistics, because
if you're in a hotel, forinstance, you know love my
hotels, but the reality is isthat they have a sales to meet
(15:11):
right and so sometimes they cansell the hotel in the day.
I've done that where I've hadcorporate gigs or I've had
weddings where they sold it inthe morning and we had a
300-person event and we only hadlike an hour to two hours to
flip.
And so you have to like thinkabout okay, how many manpower am
I going to need?
How many people Because you gotto go up the elevator, you got
to go down the hall, you got togo.
What are the elements that weneed to make this logistically
(15:40):
work in the time frame that wehave?
And so that is.
I think logistics is a hugething to think about because it
can really affect your budgetand the manpower that's needed.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
And I think that is a great point because and not
that you know, not that couplesneed to pick their venue based
on how easy it is to get in andout of the venue for vendors.
But I mean, we do have to gothrough so much to get,
sometimes to to an event space,especially downtown, because
sometimes those loading docksare so tight.
(16:13):
Yeah, sometimes there's noelevators, like it is crazy.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And then even even places that aren't downtown,
that have really strict contractguidelines, that are like oh,
you have the venue for this long, we only have it for two hours.
Okay, we can do that, but it'sgoing to go up on your labor
because I need more people,exactly, or we're going to have
to go with a simple design ifyou don't want to pay for the
labor, because we can't.
I need people and time to dothese big pieces, and that's
with anybody, anywhere, anywhere, any company.
(16:37):
So those are things I think youknow.
If you don't have a plannerwith you the whole time holding
your hand, you're not going tothink about, you know, as a
guest or as a excuse me as abride or groom.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
I like that.
You know that sometimes youknow the couples that are hiring
the vendors.
They take that intoconsideration.
And again, I guess this is atipsy tip of the day you know,
as a couple, always check withyour, you know with the, with
the venue, and be like, hey, howeasy is it for my vendors to
get in and out, what is thetimeline gonna look like?
(17:08):
Because that is something thatyou know.
You have to plan with yourvendors way in advance, because
sometimes you have to scheduledifferent time frames of the day
for the vendors to arrive andand be able to go in.
Because if everybody shows upat the same time and there's
only one elevator, or oneloading dock.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Oh yeah, Forget it.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
It is craziness.
So, yes, I guess always checkin with the venue, that way your
vendors know exactly what toexpect, you know when you know
the day comes.
And then they have to figureout how to get in there and a
lot of the venues don't allow,like, if it's a hotel, you know,
they don't allow you to gothrough the main entrance.
You have to go through theloading dock and it doesn't
matter if it's a lot of stuffthat you're bringing or if it's
(17:47):
just a few bags.
You have to go through theloading dock.
So yeah, it's always good toknow you know what you're
getting yourself into.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Absolutely yeah, you know what you yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Again, you don't know what you don't know.
So, um, that's why it'simportant to hear, listen to
things like this, to learn alittle bit, yeah, or hire a
really good planner that, too,knows what they're doing.
What they're doing.
That's really the key.
Yeah, because it's reallyimportant.
I mean, I, I've been in thebusiness, you know, for 10 years
now.
How long have you been in thebusiness?
2011?
Was that 14 years?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
oh, my goodness yeah, so you know I've been around
the block or two.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah, no experience you know, because a lot of
people, there's a lot of vendorsout there, there's a lot of new
vendors out there, and this is,of course, nothing against new
vendors.
We all start somewhere, exactly.
But experience, you know, comesto place in a situation like
this, because us that are, youknow, veterans in the business.
We've worked at probably everyvenue in town, so we know how
(18:38):
the loading situation is.
We, we know the time frames,like, for example, with me at
the Magne.
I already know what time I needto arrive because I know that
the spot where the photo boothnormally goes is open to the
public because it's a museum.
So I have to wait until themuseum closes for me to be able
to access that space.
Right, you know, with Hotel Emma, it doesn't matter, I can go
(18:59):
set up as early as, like youknow, like 10 am.
Right, with Hotel Emma, itdoesn't matter, I can go set up
as early as 10 am.
Chandelier, I can go at 10 am.
The Preserve I can go at noon.
But every vendor, every venue,I should say, is different with
the access for different vendors.
Not everybody has access at thesame time.
So, yeah, this is when a goodplanner that has been in the
business for a long time andthat knows every venue in town.
(19:22):
This is where you guys comeinto place exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
You know what you're doing, you know your people and
they know you know.
They know everybody, and so ithelps yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
So there's another, another tip hire an experienced
planner.
And of course, here are thetips.
I guess we support also the newplanners, but but again, you
know, it's always good to, Iguess, depending on your venue,
depending on your budget, right,you know, but, um, but yes, all
right.
So what advice would you, uh,would you give our couples on
how to prioritize designelements while staying within
(19:53):
their budget, like you don'twant to like go over the top.
If you know your budget, ofcourse you know it's like not
the best, like how can you, howcan they prioritize?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I think, like, if you have a really really tight
budget, really focus on color.
You know, if you're not afraidof color which I never have been
, you know really think aboutwhat linens you can use to make
it pop, to make a statement, tomake the room feel warm.
If you're going to go with allbeiges and you're, um, you don't
have a big budget to really dobig floor things might kind of
blend in.
(20:21):
Do you know what I'm saying?
So I think that's importantcolor.
Secondly, prioritize what'simportant to you.
You know, when you're planningsomething is the ceremony most
important thing to you andthat's where you want to put
your money, is it?
You want to put a big statementpiece?
Is it?
Are we going to do, you know,maybe four, six big arrangements
and everything else is simpleand that's okay.
(20:42):
Think about the flow of theroom and where your eye is going
to go.
If, if we do all tall, it's notgoing to work because your eyes
flat.
But if you kind of create, thisis a statement piece.
This statement piece, thisstatement piece, it gives a
place for their eyes to go thethe guest um, which elevates the
guest experience and it makesus, it makes a statement
throughout the room there youhave it.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Oh, oh, my gosh.
All right, nicolette.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Well, it is time this went by quick it did and it was
nice Good conversation, thankyou for having us so quick.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
We learned a lot for our listeners out there.
Make sure that you come backnext week.
We, as usual, have a differentvendor every week and, nicolette
, this is your open invitation.
I would love to have you againI mean, there's so much to learn
from you.
oh, thanks, thank you.
Thank you so much and make sureto our listeners that you tell
your engaged bffs about thepodcast again.
(21:30):
Every week we have differentvendors and if you have a
favorite vendor that hasn't beenin the podcast, make sure that
you send us a dm, send us yourrecommendations, and we will
reach out to them and hopefullywe'll have them here next.
Thank you, girl, thanks, cheerseveryone.
Thanks for listening to thetipsy guest podcast
recommendations and we willreach out to them and hopefully
we'll have them here next.
Thank you, girl, thanks, cheerseveryone.
Thanks for listening to theTipsy Guest Podcast.
If you know someone who couldbenefit from these tips, spread
the love and share it with them.
(21:51):
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
Next round's on us, same time,same place.
Cheers, same place Cheers.
Welcome to the Tipsy Guest Podcast.
I am your host, marcoBuenrostro, and every week I'm
here with the top industryexperts, amazing clients and all
my vendor BFFs to bring you thebest tips, advice and juicy
behind-the-scenes stories tomake wedding and event planning
a breeze.
So grab your favorite drink andlet's get this party started.
(00:26):
Hey guys, welcome back to thetipsy guest, marco, your host,
and today we're going to betalking about event design and
decor, and for that I have anexpert here nicolette, with chic
concepts, is with me today.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Hi, nicolette, hi how are y'all, hi everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I great.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Thank you for coming in today.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Thanks for having me.
I've been wanting to get you inhere for the longest time, but
of course we had busy season andyes everybody was going crazy.
I know I'm so glad we're hereFinally, for some reason, and
the time of recording of this isa January 2025.
So we just went through theholiday season of 2024.
And, oh my gosh, it was crazyit was Like Christmas came.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I was like, oh, it's Christmas, and then it just went
yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Then it went yes, yes , yes, but okay.
So event design and decor, Imean the things that you create
are incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And for those of you who are listeners that are not
familiar with nicolette's work,make sure you follow her on
social media.
What is your instagram?
Uh sheet concepts, uh tx okay,and they can find you, I'm
assuming, on your website, onfacebook.
Yeah, yes, all right, perfect.
Yes, I mean, I've had thepleasure to work with you so
many times yeah throughout theyears I mean eight now
Absolutely that we've doneevents together and every time
(01:46):
that I work with you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I mean everything is stunning, thank you, and you
work with Gina too, because shedid your house.
Yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
So Gina, just fun story here.
Gina is Nicolette's mom and sheis an interior designer and oh
my God, her work is incredible.
I used to live at an apartmentdowntown right by the riverwalk
and gina, she took care of mydecor and, oh my god, every time
I walked into that apartment Ifelt like I was at a furniture
(02:16):
store it was rad.
It was like a showroom, it wasthat art pieces and, yeah, it
was cool, incredible, and Imoved from that apartment but of
course, I brought everythingwith me and now in my new house.
I incorporated.
I saw it.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
When I walked in I was like, oh, there's a little
chest piece nice.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah, so thank you, gina.
Shout out, I still love that,but anyways.
So let's dive right in intoevent design and decor.
I mean, tell us howunderstanding why it matters and
how each couple can pullpersonality into their wedding
space.
Yeah, how is the entire process?
From the moment that a couplereaches out to you, how do you
(02:54):
bring everything to?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
life?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So the first thing I always askis you know how important is
designing according to you?
You know, on a scale of one toten, and I tell them if it's the
first thing that's important,let me know if it's really not
that important, because I needto know.
You know we don't want to goall lavish with them.
If it's like not not importantto them, they're just like I
have to do it because I have todo it.
(03:16):
But then we get the clientsthat it's very important to them
, and those clients, you know,we ask okay, what do you like to
do for fun?
Tell me a little bit about yourhobbies.
And I think one mistake that alot of times couples make is I
love trends, I love what's youknow happening and what's cool,
because style is important.
But design, good design, thethings that matter are color,
composition, scale, texture, youknow all of those things and
(03:39):
that will go through the end oftime.
That doesn't change, becausethat's art and that's like you
know this the principles of art,right?
One mistake I think thatclients make is they see
everything on Pinterest and it'slike oh, this is cool, I'm
going to do this, I got to dothis and they think they have to
do what everybody else is doingand I'm like, no, what do you
(03:59):
like?
What big deal to you, and it'show your life is.
Let's, we could do some, likeyou know, really funky, cool,
like antlers, and we can putthem into floral pieces and
arches.
We can make it modern.
Doesn't have to be old school,obviously.
Um, if you're into reading, I'mjust saying, and you're a
librarian, let's pull in.
(04:20):
You know, I've done like wepulled in books and then we have
wrapped them in different um,like they kind of were.
Like we pulled in books andthen we have wrapped them in
different um, like they kind ofwere.
Like the colors were pink andthey wanted floral and we
wrapped all the books in thislike floral paper and we
incorporated into thecenterpieces.
Things like that, I think, are,you know, a lot of times
overlooked, because we kind ofsee it as flowers, linen,
(04:42):
lighting, and it's like one, two, three, but there are so many
other like intricacies that youcan bring in that reflect who
you are and kind of like thatinner child.
I always like to think aboutthat like what is it when you
were dreamed of when you werelittle, that you really liked,
you know, was it being aprincess?
Well, let's you know we'regoing to do a forest.
Let's make it happen.
Let's bring in the butterflies,let's bring in the fruit
elements, let's bring in themoss, let's bring in the hanging
amaranthus, and they think thatthat's what makes you know,
(05:05):
bringing in that personality,you know different, into the
design and making it really cooland for them it's reflective of
who they are I love that.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I love that because sometimes they they think that
it might be silly and, you know,because they don't have the
design mentality yeah, and I'vehad clients that they were like
we want sexy and cool and theywere, they were.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
They were this two couple.
They were, um, they were those,they were sexy and they were
cool, they were, they were both.
They're really smart and theywere just, they were fun and
they were like but we're not.
We want flowers.
We're not really big flowerpeople but we want some and all
we did mostly we did some floral, but we did candles and we did
like I did these big, you know,brentmore stands and all we did
was candle.
And when I say that thing wassexy and cool for just having it
(05:45):
was black and white and justcandlescapes.
It was sexy, it was cool, itwas minimal, which is what they
wanted, but it made an impactand I think that's what you have
to think about when you aretalking with your designer.
What is it about you that makesyou y'all and let's reflect
y'all.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
It's not about you know what's in it's about.
This is y'all's wedding, what'simportant to you?
I love that.
I love that you know, because,yeah, a lot of the time people,
a lot of the time couples, theywant to do like they want to
have the most amazing wedding,but they want to do it because
they want to impress otherpeople.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, but I feel like no, like you should impress
yourself, like this is your bigday exactly and and guests will
appreciate, because they'll seethat and they'll see the love
that's in it, and then they doappreciate it exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I like, like, except, like, for example, earlier when
you mentioned about the antlerswith the florals and things
like that, you know, the momentguests walk into the, into the
wedding, into the space, they'reautomatically going to relate
that to the, to bride or thegroom, whoever's into that.
They're going to be like oh myGod, that is so cute, it's so
relatable, it's so him, it's soher.
I really like that and I thinkmodern couples are that's
(06:56):
exactly what they're doing.
I feel like all the traditionalstuff it's still there, but I
feel like now it's likeeverything has to be modern,
everything has to be like, verychic, everything has to like.
I mean, everybody wants to showoff on social media and and I
just feel like the decor is avery important piece when it
(07:18):
comes to, you know, your big day, right, it can either make it
or break it.
I mean everything is important.
Of course.
You know the dj, you have tohave good music.
Yes, the food I meaneverybody's gonna remember the
food.
The, I mean the photographer.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Those are things that you're gonna cherish forever.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
The decor sets the ambience exactly I love that and
right now that you mentionedthe candles, I think that is one
of my favorite decor pieceslike oh yeah, I'm all about
lighting.
Yes, and I think candles canjust transform any space into
something incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
And one thing that you know, my gina taught me.
You know.
She always says you know, whenyou go to a furniture store, why
is it that the furniture alwayslooks better in the furniture
store?
Sometimes, when it goes to yourhouse, what is it that's
different?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
she's like it's the track.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Lighting, yeah, and lighting's a seventh layer
design probably makes sense, youknow, and I also married a man
who was in life, so you knowit's kind of funny how that that
goes.
But yeah, the pin spots, thecandle light, all of that
reflects the art, and when thelights go off you can't see it,
and so you know you want to makesure that you.
That's why I also love workingat the matinee too, because you
(08:22):
really get to it's all dark andthen you bring in that light.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Every time I work at the matinee, I mean it is so
different.
I feel like every time I work awedding there, I'm walking into
a complete different space.
Yes, I, I work a wedding there.
I'm walking into a completedifferent space.
Yes, I don't think there's beenlike two weddings that look
like the same to me.
No, and I've worked there somany times with different
designers, with differentplanners.
Yes, and I just feel like everyvibe it's so good at what he
(08:47):
did.
God bless him, you know we misshim, but yes, what?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
he did.
He was such an artist in thatway and and yeah, lighting is so
important and it's such anintegral part of the overall
decor.
It's not just that's the thingI also think about really makes
good design.
It's never just the one element, it's not just the floral, it's
not just the linen, it's notjust it's all of it,
encompassing together to makethat art piece the texture, the
(09:12):
glassware.
That's what makes it like oh,my gosh.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
I mean when you work.
I mean because you've worked atso many different venues
throughout the years.
I mean there's, you know,there's like hotel venues,
there's like just standalonevenues.
There's museums, there's, youknow, the botanical gardens.
What is your favorite type ofspace to decorate for a wedding?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Well, that's a good question.
I think my favorite type ofspace is one I don't want to say
that it's a blank space,because I do like blank spaces,
because you can pretty much doanything but I think ones that
have architectural pieces thatcan be shown within the space.
Like you mentioned, botanicalgarden.
You have all that beautifulwindow.
You have all that beautifullight.
You know you can work with that.
(10:01):
We talked about the McNay.
It's such a blank canvas, youknow you work at chandelier.
You've got that beautifulchandelier, you've got those
hanging boxes that you canreally make fun.
So I think that whatever spaceis in, it's using the principles
that are already there and thearchitecture that's there, and
everyone, every piece is unique,and I was.
Another question was, asclients, why did you choose this
venue?
Yeah, what is it about thisvenue that you like?
(10:22):
And then they tell me I'm like,okay, okay, let's play that up,
let's play that up, let's,let's work with that.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah has there ever been a time where the couple
comes to you with a, you know,with a mood board or or an idea,
and then the final, the finaldecor turns out to be completely
different from when you started?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
yeah, I think that happened.
It happened a couple times,like during the pandemic,
because we had to do like um,you know, a lot of clients re
rescheduled, right, and so therewere time lapses and so they
change.
Or sometimes a client will cometo me and I'll ask a question
or they'll show me pictures.
I'm like okay, why are youshowing me this picture?
You know what is it about.
That was that's anotherquestion.
I was asked what is it aboutthis picture that you like?
(11:02):
Because sometimes they'll belike it's just the color.
I'm like, well, hell, forget it, I don't know, that's
completely different what I'mlooking at.
Yeah, so sometimes that hashappened, and I think it's
because they don't even know yetwhat they're looking at,
because it's going back to theoriginal question of we see
things and we think, oh, this ispretty.
But when you really starttaking things out and asking
questions like why this and whatabout this, and they're like
(11:24):
well, really, it's this.
I'm like OK, that's not reallyyour style, this is actually
kind of what.
And they're like oh, yeah, thatis what I like.
And it turns into andtransforms into something
different all right, all right.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
And when it comes to budget, do you?
I mean every, every couple youknow they show you like the most
amazing, like kardashianwedding style, like, you know,
mood boards, but then, of course, everything comes down to
budget.
What percentage, would you say,of a couple's budget goes into
decor and design?
Speaker 2 (11:52):
that's a good question.
I would say you need to,depending on what, how important
it is to you.
I would say easily anywherebetween 30 to 50, 30 to probably
45 percent, you know.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Okay, pretty fair and then, um, I guess, when you're
designing something, are you, um, you know, we talked about, you
know, the flowers we talkedabout, uh, lining, candles and
things like that?
What about, like you know, likelounge areas, furniture, uh,
you know what other componentsdo you?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
oh, you know take place into, into design yeah,
love, love, love.
Creating vignettes with, withlounge furniture you know we
forget about, like the cocktailarea.
We want to do a photo when youhave your photo booth.
You want to make something, youknow, really sleek and give a
nice um seating section, um, Ithink, also pieces that are
really people starting to leaninto, and we really talked about
that when we first starteddoing design, when we would do,
(12:42):
like, hanging floral pieces is,you know, statement pieces.
If you not everybody has that30% to put in, it doesn't mean
your wedding shouldn't bebeautiful.
Some people can only put, youknow, they have tight budgets,
so where are we going to put themoney?
Well, let's put it into astatement piece.
That maybe will really knockeverything out.
Um, and I think that'simportant too.
Yeah, I love and helpful rightnow that you mentioned.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
You know the photo booth right now, so something
that's going to be reallypopular in 2025.
Uh, it's still part of thephoto booth family, but portrait
stations are becoming sopopular, so it's still the same,
the same type of fun as a photobooth, but instead of having a
standalone machine, what we haveis an actual photographer
(13:23):
taking pictures with a beautifulset.
We've done a few events likethat and, oh my God, it is so
much fun.
I love that.
We incorporate floors, weincorporate furniture, we
incorporate chandeliers, thingslike that that you can't really
capture with a photo boothbecause of, you know, like it
has to be within a certain frame.
Yes, having a photographerwould not.
(13:44):
With our portrait stations, youknow, we bring the lighting, we
bring the photographer, webring, you know, like, all the
everything that is part of aphoto booth, but with a, yeah,
we did that we did we've donethat for corporate gigs, like
for christmas events, and reallydo it up.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I remember one event we did with um curtis cronk.
This was a 25th weddinganniversary.
It was 1920 theme and I don'tknow the year was a while ago.
But we did like it was, we didvery much.
It was all 20s and we broughtin carpets and chess and gold
sequin and and we, he, weactually he actually rented
these um from austin were likelights and they actually worked.
(14:17):
They took up a lot of power butthey were the old school
Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So we really created that piece, that ambiance.
So when people felt they reallyfelt like they were in the
1920s, it took them and we had ared carpet and it took them to
that place.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I love theme events yes, especially the Roaring
Twenties of the most popular uhthemes out there.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
But you can do it with anything you know.
We can make it modern.
It doesn't have to be thematic,but yes, it's so much fun.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I love that.
I absolutely love it.
And, as a planner, what are thebiggest decor related
challenges that you facethroughout the years as as a
designer?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
um, decor related.
That's a good question.
I think logistics is a is a notnecessarily a challenge, but
it's.
It is a challenge in that whenyou're thinking about, when
you're having to work witheverything it's not just what
makes it pretty you have to alsothink about logistics, because
if you're in a hotel, forinstance, you know love my
hotels, but the reality is isthat they have a sales to meet
(15:11):
right and so sometimes they cansell the hotel in the day.
I've done that where I've hadcorporate gigs or I've had
weddings where they sold it inthe morning and we had a
300-person event and we only hadlike an hour to two hours to
flip.
And so you have to like thinkabout okay, how many manpower am
I going to need?
How many people Because you gotto go up the elevator, you got
to go down the hall, you got togo.
What are the elements that weneed to make this logistically
(15:40):
work in the time frame that wehave?
And so that is.
I think logistics is a hugething to think about because it
can really affect your budgetand the manpower that's needed.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
And I think that is a great point because and not
that you know, not that couplesneed to pick their venue based
on how easy it is to get in andout of the venue for vendors.
But I mean, we do have to gothrough so much to get,
sometimes to to an event space,especially downtown, because
sometimes those loading docksare so tight.
(16:13):
Yeah, sometimes there's noelevators, like it is crazy.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And then even even places that aren't downtown,
that have really strict contractguidelines, that are like oh,
you have the venue for this long, we only have it for two hours.
Okay, we can do that, but it'sgoing to go up on your labor
because I need more people,exactly, or we're going to have
to go with a simple design ifyou don't want to pay for the
labor, because we can't.
I need people and time to dothese big pieces, and that's
with anybody, anywhere, anywhere, any company.
(16:37):
So those are things I think youknow.
If you don't have a plannerwith you the whole time holding
your hand, you're not going tothink about, you know, as a
guest or as a excuse me as abride or groom.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
I like that.
You know that sometimes youknow the couples that are hiring
the vendors.
They take that intoconsideration.
And again, I guess this is atipsy tip of the day you know,
as a couple, always check withyour, you know with the, with
the venue, and be like, hey, howeasy is it for my vendors to
get in and out, what is thetimeline gonna look like?
(17:08):
Because that is something thatyou know.
You have to plan with yourvendors way in advance, because
sometimes you have to scheduledifferent time frames of the day
for the vendors to arrive andand be able to go in.
Because if everybody shows upat the same time and there's
only one elevator, or oneloading dock.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Oh yeah, Forget it.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
It is craziness.
So, yes, I guess always checkin with the venue, that way your
vendors know exactly what toexpect, you know when you know
the day comes.
And then they have to figureout how to get in there and a
lot of the venues don't allow,like, if it's a hotel, you know,
they don't allow you to gothrough the main entrance.
You have to go through theloading dock and it doesn't
matter if it's a lot of stuffthat you're bringing or if it's
(17:47):
just a few bags.
You have to go through theloading dock.
So yeah, it's always good toknow you know what you're
getting yourself into.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Absolutely yeah, you know what you yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Again, you don't know what you don't know.
So, um, that's why it'simportant to hear, listen to
things like this, to learn alittle bit, yeah, or hire a
really good planner that, too,knows what they're doing.
What they're doing.
That's really the key.
Yeah, because it's reallyimportant.
I mean, I, I've been in thebusiness, you know, for 10 years
now.
How long have you been in thebusiness?
2011?
Was that 14 years?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
oh, my goodness yeah, so you know I've been around
the block or two.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah, no experience you know, because a lot of
people, there's a lot of vendorsout there, there's a lot of new
vendors out there, and this is,of course, nothing against new
vendors.
We all start somewhere, exactly.
But experience, you know, comesto place in a situation like
this, because us that are, youknow, veterans in the business.
We've worked at probably everyvenue in town, so we know how
(18:38):
the loading situation is.
We, we know the time frames,like, for example, with me at
the Magne.
I already know what time I needto arrive because I know that
the spot where the photo boothnormally goes is open to the
public because it's a museum.
So I have to wait until themuseum closes for me to be able
to access that space.
Right, you know, with Hotel Emma, it doesn't matter, I can go
(18:59):
set up as early as, like youknow, like 10 am.
Right, with Hotel Emma, itdoesn't matter, I can go set up
as early as 10 am.
Chandelier, I can go at 10 am.
The Preserve I can go at noon.
But every vendor, every venue,I should say, is different with
the access for different vendors.
Not everybody has access at thesame time.
So, yeah, this is when a goodplanner that has been in the
business for a long time andthat knows every venue in town.
(19:22):
This is where you guys comeinto place exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
You know what you're doing, you know your people and
they know you know.
They know everybody, and so ithelps yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
So there's another, another tip hire an experienced
planner.
And of course, here are thetips.
I guess we support also the newplanners, but but again, you
know, it's always good to, Iguess, depending on your venue,
depending on your budget, right,you know, but, um, but yes, all
right.
So what advice would you, uh,would you give our couples on
how to prioritize designelements while staying within
(19:53):
their budget, like you don'twant to like go over the top.
If you know your budget, ofcourse you know it's like not
the best, like how can you, howcan they prioritize?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I think, like, if you have a really really tight
budget, really focus on color.
You know, if you're not afraidof color which I never have been
, you know really think aboutwhat linens you can use to make
it pop, to make a statement, tomake the room feel warm.
If you're going to go with allbeiges and you're, um, you don't
have a big budget to really dobig floor things might kind of
blend in.
(20:21):
Do you know what I'm saying?
So I think that's importantcolor.
Secondly, prioritize what'simportant to you.
You know, when you're planningsomething is the ceremony most
important thing to you andthat's where you want to put
your money, is it?
You want to put a big statementpiece?
Is it?
Are we going to do, you know,maybe four, six big arrangements
and everything else is simpleand that's okay.
(20:42):
Think about the flow of theroom and where your eye is going
to go.
If, if we do all tall, it's notgoing to work because your eyes
flat.
But if you kind of create, thisis a statement piece.
This statement piece, thisstatement piece, it gives a
place for their eyes to go thethe guest um, which elevates the
guest experience and it makesus, it makes a statement
throughout the room there youhave it.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Oh, oh, my gosh.
All right, nicolette.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Well, it is time this went by quick it did and it was
nice Good conversation, thankyou for having us so quick.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
We learned a lot for our listeners out there.
Make sure that you come backnext week.
We, as usual, have a differentvendor every week and, nicolette
, this is your open invitation.
I would love to have you againI mean, there's so much to learn
from you.
oh, thanks, thank you.
Thank you so much and make sureto our listeners that you tell
your engaged bffs about thepodcast again.
(21:30):
Every week we have differentvendors and if you have a
favorite vendor that hasn't beenin the podcast, make sure that
you send us a dm, send us yourrecommendations, and we will
reach out to them and hopefullywe'll have them here next.
Thank you, girl, thanks, cheerseveryone.
Thanks for listening to thetipsy guest podcast
recommendations and we willreach out to them and hopefully
we'll have them here next.
Thank you, girl, thanks, cheerseveryone.
Thanks for listening to theTipsy Guest Podcast.
If you know someone who couldbenefit from these tips, spread
the love and share it with them.
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Next round's on us, same time,same place.
Cheers, same place Cheers.
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