Today, we are pleased to introduce the heart and soul of our team.  Emily Ferguson and Jamie Dean have truly brought Kendall's vision to life on the stunning pages of Inspiration Mississippi: 

Hometown: Jackson

About:  Emily is married to a dashing, godly man who stole her heart and continues to do so.  They have a very active and gregarious four-year-old son.  Emily and her boys have a fun Friday night tradition of Mexican food and a movie.

Inspired By: "Mississippi.  I am reminded that everyone has a story to tell and that we are all more alike than we realize.  In Mississippi, there is a common thread within us of hard work and striving to defy the odds - all while giving glory to God.  It is a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of."

All About Mississippi:  "I love the talent Mississippians possess.  Mississippi is a humble state, but we have much to be proud of.  There are so many talented people and our goal in this magazine is to uncover and highlight those hidden jewels."

Jamie Dean, Advertising Director

Hometown:  Madison

About:  Jamie is married to her favorite person in the world.  She and her husband adore their two precious nephews and niece, and are joyfully expecting their own sweet baby boy in March of 2015.  A proud Mississippi State Bulldog, Jamie loves her home state and all things pretty.

Inspired By:  "God and my sweet family.  I love finding the beauty in everyday life.  This year my eyes have been opened to the splendor God has created in Mississippi - through its history, landscapes, and amazing people."

Favorite Part of Working on the Magazine:  "I loved working with all of our incredible vendors.  They each hold a piece of the Inspiration MS puzzle that comes together to tell such a lovely story."

The first print issue of Inspiration Mississippi is officially out!  We are delighted to share our beautiful magazine with all of you, and this week we are excited to introduce the dedicated and talented team behind Inspiration Mississippi.

Five years ago, Kendall Poole Ellis had a dream of launching a magazine, celebrating the best of Mississippi.  The creative, faithful and kind owner of Kendall Poole Event Planning says "With God's timing and the perfect team, it has become a reality.  Inspiration Mississippi is all about Local Love:  love of great fashion, flowers, photography and of course, food.  We want to inspire Mississippians to shop local, buy local and support local businesses!"

2014 has been a remarkable year for Kendall.  She married the love of her life, Will Ellis, in a magical, intimate ceremony in Jackson.  Will and Kendall also welcomed their precious baby girl, Emma.  Kendall says with awe, "I am so thankful for our precious daughter, who continues to bless us in so many ways.  Everything truly does come from HIM and for that, I count my blessings everyday!"

{Name}  Sara Beth Cobb
{Hometown} Originally from New Albany, MS; current home base: Birmingham, AL (for the past 7 yrs)
{Event Site} Laurel Donahoo’s Baby Bee Shower: the home of Rachel Cooley

{Tell us about the occasion for the event?}
We wanted to celebrate our friend, Laurel Donahoo, and help her prepare for the arrival of her baby.

{What inspired your event location and theme?}
Rachel Cooley’s home is open and spacious, so it made a great location for the shower. The theme was inspired by Laurel’s love for bees. We thought it would be perfect for Laurel and a gender-neutral theme.

{What inspired your color scheme/flowers?}
The shower was gender-neutral, so we wanted to keep everything clean and neutral. Gray tones, whites, off-whites, and yellows fit the theme and reflected Laurel’s style. I wanted the flowers to be loose and organic, and I also wanted them to reflect the theme. Simple stems, such as Craspedia (Billy Balls), had a certain playfulness to them that seemed to work well with the bee theme.

{What’s your favorite event detail? Is there a story behind it?}
This party was all about the details. I loved everything from the beehive cupcakes to the “baby bee” banner. My favorite design detail was probably the main floral arrangement. It was elegant and fun at the same time, and the gold stand was so “Laurel”!

{What was your favorite part of the event planning process?}
I loved designing the invitation and establishing the look that we would use for the rest of the party details. It’s always fun to plan for a close friend and incorporate their style into the design! I also incorporated Laurel’s hand-drawn bee from her Lovely Bee logo into the invitation for a special touch.

{What was your favorite moment of the event day?}
My favorite moment of the day was photographing Laurel as she came into the shower. She was beaming with that beautiful pregnancy glow!

{Your favorite picture from the event day?}

Photographer: Sara Beth Cobb
Event Planner: Rachel Cooley
Venue: the home of Rachel Cooley
Florist: Sara Beth Cobb

The most beautiful closet in Mississippi belongs to one of the state’s most impressive physicians.

Dr. Barbara Sullivan serves as the Executive Medical Director for Women’s Services at Baptist Hospital in Jackson.  She has authored numerous publications and has served as a presenter at medical and scientific conferences.   Barbie laughs that she is known as the OB/GYN who performs Cesarean sections in high heels!  Barbie says, “I have always been interested in fashion.  My patients know and they always laugh at me!  If I have to run over and do a case or C-section, the nurses always say, ‘we hear clicking down the hall and we know it is you!’”

This brilliant, fashionable and kind woman also helped form a charity called Fund for the Girls through the Baptist Foundation.  It provides all breast screenings that a woman might need, for those who do not have insurance or are under insured. “This is near and dear to my heart. It has turned into a bigger impact than what I imagined it would be when we started it.  We have helped over 700 women get ultrasounds and biopsies in Jackson.  If a woman comes in and cannot pay for a biopsy – we want to provide the kind of care that will take them wherever they need to go, whether it is breast cancer screening, treatments, etc.,” says Barbie. 

Last year, Barbie downsized and purchased a home in Madison, and decided to treat herself with a spectacular closet.  Barbie has a busy schedule and often attends functions in the evenings after work.  She wanted to splurge on not only a lovely dressing room, but also a functional space.  Barbie says, “I just really and truly wanted to do something for myself, and wanted it to fit into my lifestyle.”

Barbie began working with Phyllis Doby of Closet Designs, to create a refreshing room, coated in light paint, featuring plenty of storage and an impressive wall for those famous heels. 

Phyllis says, “Barbie was a delight to work with on her closet design.  She is a very busy lady with a hectic career and with that in mind, we set out to design a closet where items were easy to see and locate.”

Phyllis adds, “The first step to designing a closet it to determine the needs of a client.  An inventory count is mandatory for a closet design.  For example, if a client has a fetish for shoes or handbags, we need to know.  In addition, we need to know how many garments and their lengths for hanging.  And, we always make sure the design is good for resale value of the home.”

Barbie’s closet includes these incredible features:

Rolling ladder system

Illuminated garment boxes with glass doors for quick viewing

Shoe and boot cubbies

Handbag and luggage storage

Customized jewelry drawer inserts

Chest of drawers

Cubbies for sweaters and folded items

Full-length mirror

Laundry/Dry cleaning drawer

Barbie’s 10’ by 11’ closet has enhanced her busy life.  “The thing I like most is that now I can see everything,” says Barbie.  “I can see all of my shoes and all of my clothes.  I don’t forget that I have something, and I shop a lot less than what I did before because I know what I have when I walk into my closet.  If I have an event after work, I can run in, put my hands on what I need, and be out the door in thirty minutes.”  A well-edited, cheerful space built for an inspirational woman. 

If you are looking for exceptional gifts for someone on your list this year, Barbie suggests a wonderful idea.  Every December she donates a mammogram to someone ($180) in her work partners’ names.  The recipient of the gift receives a beautiful card, stating that a mammogram has been provided for a woman in your name.  Barbie says, “All of us have been touched by someone.  We ALL know someone who has breast cancer, so it is something nice to give back.” 

Thank you, Barbie, for serving the Jackson community with your talents and incredible heart.  We are thrilled to share your beautiful closet!

If you would like to give a gift to Fund for the Girls, please click here!

If you are interested in giving your closet a makeover for the New Year, contact Phyllis Doby of Closet Designs at 601.214.0254.

{Bride} Marla Waldrop
{Groom} Ben Ferguson
{Hometowns} Bride- Starkville, MS   Groom- Union City, TN
{Wedding Site} (First Baptist Church Chapel -106 E Lampkin St Starkville, MS 39759  )
{Reception Site} (Burnt Oak Lodge- 1563 Penn Station Rd. Crawford, MS 39743)
{Bride’s Bouquet} Flowers By the Bunch in Starkville
{Bridesmaid Bouquets} Flowers By the Bunch in Starkville

{How did the two of you meet?} We initially met when we were in college at Mississippi State at a party and became friends. He moved back to Tennessee to finish up school, and while we were still friends, we kind of lost touch until we ran back into each other at a Mississippi State football game in 2012. We’ve been together ever since.

{What is your proposal story?} Ben and I had planned to spend New Year's Eve together in Starkville.  We had planned to go to my family's camphouse (which is just outside of Starkville) because it is one of our favorite places to spend time.. and Ben wanted to see if there were any ducks, of course.  Ben said later that he had planned to propose to me there, but on Ben's way to Starkville from Tennessee, right after he had picked up the ring, he got a flat tire which made him late.  As soon as he got to Starkville, he called my mom, met up with her, got her blessing, showed her the ring, then rushed to meet me, my sister, and some friends for dinner.  He said that the ring was in his pocket all night, and he was just waiting for the right moment, since the initial plan of going to the camphouse was foiled due to the flat tire.  No one wanted to do anything after dinner, so Ben and I decided to just go home to celebrate New Years together.  While we were snuggled up on the couch with a fire going, Ben surprised me by getting down on one knee.  I've never been more surprised or excited!

{What inspired your wedding and reception locations?} We were married in the church I (Marla) grew up in, and I had always wanted to get married in the chapel. Ben is the outdoorsy type and an avid hunter, and we both thought the Burnt Oak Lodge (which is a quail hunting lodge) suited us.

{What inspired your color scheme/theme/flowers?} Purple is my favorite color, and I wanted something summery an light to suit the summer season. My florist was great (Monti King at Flowers by the Bunch), I gave her an idea of what I liked and she ran with it- she made everything so beautiful.

{How did you pick “the dress?”} It was actually really lucky. My mom, sister, and I had plans to travel to a big dress shop out of town one afternoon, but at the last minute, we stopped by a small store in Starkville called Christine’s Couture. We walked in, and she said everything was marked down since her store was closing (she was moving to be near her fiancé). So I tried on a few dresses, and the third dress was the one.

{What’s your favorite unique accessory? Is there a story behind it?} My mom surprised me and added my grandfather’s wedding ring and a locket with my parents’ pictures to my bouquet (my father passed away the previous year), and it was so thoughtful and special- I’ll treasure it forever.

{What was your favorite part of the wedding planning process?} I loved looking through wedding magazines. I had always looked forward to that- when I could go through them and pick out my own.

{Besides the actual wedding, what was your favorite moment of the wedding day?} The “first look” right before our pictures. When I first saw Ben, and he saw me in my dress. It became real, and it was just us- it was perfect. 

{What was your favorite surprise detail/moment about your wedding day?} just seeing all the friends and family that were able to come- a lot of people traveled a long way to be there, and it really meant a lot to have them there.

{Your favorite picture from the big day?} There was a sunflower field in bloom outside the Burnt Oak Lodge where our reception was held, and at the last minute, we went out there to get some pictures before the sun went down- I love all the pictures taken out there in all the sunflowers.

{The picture that represents the two of you best?} Ha, probably when Ben is pretending like he might rub the cake on my face at the reception, and I’m looking at him like- you better not. It’s so funny, and captures the playfulness of our relationship.

{Photographer} Tricia Butts – Betty Donne Photography
{Event Planner} day of planner was Cheryl Andrews
{Dress} Allure Couture
{Bride’s Jewelry} My own
{Hair} Kaycee Coghlan at Hair Express in Starkville, MS
{Make-up} Kaycee Coghlan at Hair Express in Starkville, MS
{Bridesmaid Dresses} Their own
{Tuxes} Joseph A. Bank
{Videographer} John David Smith of Jackson, MS
{Venue} Burnt Oak Lodge in Crawford, MS
{Lighting} Big Show Rentals in West Point, MS
{Rentals} Big Show Rentals in West Point, MS
{Florist} Monti King of Flowers By the Bunch in Starkville, MS
{Catering} Cappe’s from Starkville, MS
{Bar} Cappe’s from Starkville, MS
{Band} Party of Four
{Bride’s Cake} Monti King of Flowers By the Bunch in Starkville, MS
{Groom’s Cake} Monti King of Flowers By the Bunch in Starkville, MS
{Print Material} Minted
{Car Service} Leo’s Luxury Limos