Oh how I count my blessings of meeting today’s vendor! Stephanie came to www.southeasttexasweddings.com ‘s vendor community only a short time ago, and I can not tell you how happy I am she found us! Stephanie has been in the floral business for many years and entered our sweet little “family”  at the perfect time! Stephanie has taught me soo much and I look up to her and what she has accomplished in her years in the industry! Grab that coffee yall and enjoy our interview with Stephanie Do!

Photo Credit: Emily Lockard Photography

Hi Stephanie! Thank you so much for answering our questions! How did you get involved into the wedding industry?
First of all, I would like to thank you, Tamara, for allowing me to participate. While I was in college obtaining a degree in Chemical Engineering, I worked part time as a florist at Carl Johnsen’s Florist in Beaumont, Texas. When I left Johnsen’s to complete my degree, I received requests from families and friends to provide floral & decorating services for their weddings. That marked the beginning of my career as a wedding designer. So I’ve been involved in the wedding industry for almost 13 years now.

Can you give us a little history of La Belle Fleur Wedding Designs and Events?
My business has gone through several names throughout the year. In 2003 I purchased a flower shop in Port Arthur and I named it Stephanie’s Enchanted Florist. When I closed the shop down a few years later and decided focused on weddings & events only, I changed my company’s name to Fairytale Weddings. I had this obsession about fairies, fantasy and anything that was enchanted. Earlier this year, I decided to make another change. I wanted to create a website and a Facebook page for my company. I wanted something more sophisticated and I also wanted to incorporate my love for the French language, my daughter Isabella (A.K.A. Bella) and my love for flowers in my company’s name. Hence, La Belle Fleur came to life, which is translated to The Beautiful Flower.

What started off as a hobby in college has evolved into a business that I’m very passionate about. I started out very small, working out of my parents’ home and I slowly collected inventory for my business. Today, I have a large collection of linens, vases, props, draping, lighting and accessories to accommodate my clients’ needs. Throughout the years, I continue to build my reputation in the industry, improve my designing skills and continue to strive to be the best for my clients. After 13 years in the industry, I’m still inspired everyday and can’t seem to get enough of it.

What is one of your favorite memories of working with a bride?                           I have so many, especially when my brides become my friends and we remain friends years after their wedding is over. One of my fondest memories was a wedding I did for Elizabeth Johnsen (now Ryskoski). I was standing in the receiving line to congratulate her and when I approached her, she held my hands tightly. She thanked me for the services that I had provided and started to cry. At that moment, all the stress and hours upon hours spent in designing, preparing and executing the event didn’t matter to me. I made a bride’s wedding dreams come true and that was priceless to me.

What kind of experience can a bride expect to have coming to you for the first time?                                                                                                                                   When I bride comes to me for a consultation, they will expect total commitment from me. I don’t set a time limit on our consultations and sometimes it goes on for 2-3 hours. Most brides will come to me with their list of what they want, including magazine clippings and digital photos that they have collected. Others will not know where to begin. With either case, I make it a point to listen to her ideas, visions and concerns to ensure that her wedding day is what she had envisioned, even if she didn’t quite know how to convey it to me.

You are one busy woman! Can you tell us how you handle your day to day tasks! Mom, wife, full time job, business owner! How do you do it?                  It’s funny that you ask me that. I wonder sometimes how I handle it also. I do have to admit that I can’t do it alone without my husband Phillip. I’m not one of those wives/mothers that keep the house spotless. Phillip picks up a lot of that slack for me, which gives me time to focus on other things. I literally work two full time jobs, three if you count my kids . I work a full time schedule at ExxonMobil and come home to either prepare or pick up dinner for the family. After dinner and some quality time with the family, the kids are put to sleep and my second job begins. From 8pm until about 1am, I’m working on answering emails, designing and prepping for my next event. Discipline and organization is the key. I won’t admit that I’m perfect in this skills but I work hard to make things manageable. Others looking in may say I’m crazy but I do love what I do. Busy as a bee is the best description for me.

Thank you very much Stephanie for your time with our vendor feature, you are a true inspiration! We are so excited to have you as part of it!

Be sure to check out Stephanie’s facebook and website to see how amazing their work is!