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honeycomb

gracious words are a

proverbs 16:24

Beautiful timing

Being an entrepreneur means you’re incredibly passionate about your work – you have to be in order to endure all of the twists and turns the road less traveled has to offer. Combine passion with my Type A personality and I’ve got myself one amazingly beautiful journey. Let me back up a bit…

I’ve always known God gave me a “servant’s heart”. Whether it was nurturing sick animals or being self sacrificing in a team sport, everyone’s needs came before my own and I liked it that way. So when my friends and family needed help planning the biggest day of their life I volunteered and jumped to the front of the line.

I quickly learned that I loved being the ring leader behind the scenes; giving advice and being the person brides (and mamas) leaned on. So at the urging of my husband, Lean On Me was born.

Beautiful timing Groom and Bride

Over the years we have grown and changed, taking on many different forms behind the scenes. All the while our outside appearance stayed the same. It has taken six years for God to mold this little business of mine into something that I’m genuinely proud of and thanks to some amazing friends our new brand finally looks the way our heart feels.

About a year ago I knew LOM was finally at a place where we needed to transform our appearance in order for it to appeal more to the brides that we were attracting. I had a few brides, who after meeting us would casually mention, “Judging from your website you aren’t at all what I was expecting – it’s a nice surprise.” Talk about an eye opening moment! It was clear that we needed a brand that would reflect our love of serving others and the beautiful people we walked beside for a year of their life.

I searched high and low for a designer that could accomplish that. Honestly, I dove into this rebrand journey just wanting a pretty new logo and clean website – boy was I in for a surprise! I started the process with two different designers neither of which were able to fully capture the vision. They each worked their tail off and produced beautiful work …but it wasn’t fully Lean On Me and it wasn’t 100% our bride. Being the perfectionist I am I couldn’t settle – our brides deserved the best version of us.

So I prayed and made calls, and prayed and sent emails, and prayed and googled.

Finally towards the end of last year I was working on a project for a client with A Fine Flourish. Jenny, the owner, is an insanely talented calligrapher. She had created beautiful work for several of our brides before but I never knew that she “dabbled” in brand design. Dabbled is absolutely the wrong word because sister is not only a remarkable designer but she has the unique ability to bring the heart of a project to light. Her remarkable insight is what I was attracted to. The previous designers were producing gorgeous work but, bless their hearts, I was not giving them much to go off of. All I kept saying was “I want brides to feel warm and welcome. I want them to know that they’re more than just another paycheck and that their marriage matters.”  See what I mean? I literally could not be more vague. Bless.

Jenny and I had a brainstorming session and I sent her some boards and brands that I loved. She asked me heart-defining questions. Most importantly she was able to pull out of me what I could not intelligently articulate, all the while remaining patient and encouraging.

Because of what Jenny awakened in me that pretty logo and clean website I was wanting turned into so much more. It lit a fire to completely restructure the company. I did away with our old packages and created completely new ones that are customized to serve our brides, not generic clients that everyone in the industry serves. With this new brand our clients are better served and loved deeper.

I could not love our new brand more. It finally feels like home. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Jenny.

In a way I feel like the new brand has given us permission, or maybe a renewed enthusiasm for serving our clients, well, better. We have always served our brides well but through rebranding I did a lot of soul searching. A.L.O.T. and here’s what I rediscovered…

  • I’m a mama bear through and through – I lay awake at night praying for our couples and dreaming up ways to create celebrations that are specific to their love story.
  • Marriage MATTERS. One in two marriages don’t survive – this statistic is heart wrenching to me and with the new and improved LOM we are genuinely invested in your upcoming marriage. We have structured our services to reflect that investment and help it thrive.
  • Our planners have a passion for helping create more than just a fabulous party, we have a desire to curate weddings that leave a legacy.
  • It’s no secret that we love Jesus but I’ve learned that I’m excited to celebrate that more and I want to encourage our couples to do the same should they want to, afterall, we love because He first loved us.

When I was a bride I carried a specific scripture with me, Philippians 1:9-11, it became the prayer I prayed over us. To this day it is the prayer that covers our family and home. Physically, it’s everywhere – on my phone case, calligraphed on a canvas in our home, it was written on our bathroom mirror for a long time and it’s on way too many post-it notes for me to count. It’s the prayer that I pray over every single couple that walks through our doors.

This scripture is not only what I’ve built our life on but it’s what I’ve spent the last six years building my business on. So what better mission statement for Lean On Me than the words of God?

 

Beautiful timing Groom and Bride facing each other holding hands.

I love the Lord more than cake for breakfast but, if I’m being honest, I need scripture to be broken down in laymen’s terms. So here is what Philippians 1:9 means to us and how it applies to our #LOMbrides…

FOR THIS IS MY PRAYER; THAT YOUR LOVE WILL FLOURISH – it is our privilege to walk beside you on this journey and take the stress of planning a wedding off your shoulders so that you can focus on building a strong foundation for your marriage.

AND THAT YOU WILL NOT ONLY LOVE MUCH BUT WELL – throughout the planning process our brides receive gentle reminders and encouragement on how to build a strong foundation and love your spouse well. With our support we help you get a jump start on planting strong roots.

LIVE A LOVER’S LIFE; CIRCUMSPECT AND EXEMPLARY – Your wedding day should be nothing short of exemplary and it is our job to curate an experience that celebrates the life the two of you have created together. It is our hope that when others view your marriage they too are encouraged to live a lover’s life keeping Christ at the center.

A LIFE JESUS WILL BE PROUD OF – now that’s the ultimate goal, to live a life Jesus will be proud of. Can I get an Amen?!

For our current brides, I hope you feel cherished and genuinely excited for all of the joy that’s ahead of you. And for our future brides I hope you feel welcomed and at home here.

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