{Name}  Lindsay Martin-Nez / Daughter: Kylie Martin-Nez
{Event Site} St. Paul Catholic Church – Flowood, MS
Reception following at our house

{Tell us about the occasion for the event?} We were especially excited to celebrate Kylie’s baptism because we knew it was an occasion that would bring our entire family together.   I grew up in Buffalo, NY and my family is spread out all over the country.  Jason, my husband, grew up in Vicksburg, MS so his family is mostly in Mississippi and Louisiana.  It’s a rare occasion that we get all of his family and all of mine together in the same place at the same time so we wanted to make it an extra special day.

{What’s your favorite event detail? Is there a story behind it?}
My favorite detail of the entire event is Kylie’s dress.  I wanted to create a special dress that had been previously worn by me (or one of our family members) and I knew my wedding dress would be perfect!  I reached out to Fashion Post in Jackson and worked with them to come up with a design that would be age appropriate but still pay homage to the look and feel of my original dress. 

I loved that she had a miniature version of my wedding dress on her special day!  I also loved that we were able to incorporate other details of my wedding look in her outfit.  For example, we affixed my hairpiece to the waistline of her dress for a little extra flair.  And she wore my garter as a headband. It really turned out perfectly and she looked absolutely precious!

{What was your favorite moment of the event day?}
My favorite part of the event was having everyone together to celebrate Kylie.  She is an incredible blessing to us and having our entire family, and God, together to share our love for her was truly amazing.

{Your favorite picture from the event day?}
My favorite picture is the one of me helping her put her dress on.  There’s a very similar picture from my wedding day where my mother was helping me into my wedding dress and I think it was so special to get to share that moment with Kylie.  (Of course I think I was a lot more patient putting my dress on than Kylie was for me!)

Vendors:
Baptism photos by friend Dana Wilson
Wedding photos :  Chao Photography (March 2013)
Florist and Catering: Fresh Cut Catering and Floral
Cookies: Cuppycakes and Cookies by Josie
Custom Gown: Fashion Post
Church: St. Paul Catholic Church

Are you dreaming of building a custom home?  Imagine working with a warm, intelligent and humble builder, who will guide you through the entire process.  Nick Bradshaw, the impressive owner of Iron Point Construction, designs innovative, functional and exceptionally beautiful homes.  

"Building a home CAN be a daunting task for sure, especially with no direction," admits Nick.  "Iron Point can make it easy and enjoyable by providing information to the client from the beginning to end and 'hand-holding' them along the way.  One of the most important things Iron Point does is ideally to meet early on with the client to provide clarity on the various things that need to happen to begin their dream home.  Some of these discussion points would be initial design wants, bank funding process, and budgets."


Taking the first step toward building your family's perfect home might seem intimidating.  We asked Nick to share his expert advice on how to get started building your dream home.  We are thrilled to share his tips today:

~ Start earlier than whatever you are thinking if you want to build a custom home!

~ One of the first things that needs to happen is a meeting with the bank to discuss loan options and financing approvals.

~ We all like a good price, but remember the old saying, you get what you pay for.

~ When looking at or drawing up house plans, always start smaller - it is MUCH easier to add on than to take away.

~ When selecting an architect and builder, you should feel at ease with them as you will more than likely have a lot of interaction with them and need to feel comfortable.

~ If you feel very anxious about making design decisions within your home, it may be beneficial to look at hiring an interior designer to help in this realm. The amount of stress relief may be well worth the money.

~ Use a media source like Houzz or Pinterest to stockpile pictures of "looks" or designs you would like to implement in your house.

~ Talk to multiple builders, architects, designers to get a feel for who you gel with.

Thank you, Nick, for your wonderful advice!  To learn more about Iron Point Construction, please visit their website here.  Photos courtesy of Iron Point Construction.

It's time to drape your little ones in princess gowns, glitter and tiaras!  Imagine a whimsical afternoon, filled with tea, live princesses and ballet dancers.  The annual Once Upon A Fairytale:  A Mother Daughter Princess Tea will take place on Sunday, October 9 at The South Warehouse in downtown Jackson.  

Presented by Ergon, Exmark and Regional Enterprises, this precious tea party is sure to delight any little girl!  More importantly, it will help raise money for Eagle’s Nest Children’s Home in Guatemala, giving its residents the extraordinary opportunity to attend school.

Jenny Blount, founder of Once Upon A Fairytale, says, “I have always had a special place in my heart for adoption.  God used adoption to build our family and it has been one of the biggest blessings in my life.”  After adopting her precious child, Blount realized the great need to care for children in countries where adoptions are not possible.  “International adoptions are closed in Guatemala, so in most cases, the children at Eagle’s Next will live there until they turn eighteen.  A solid education is incredibly valuable in preparing them for adulthood.”  She smiles, “The goal of our event is to raise enough money to send every child at Eagle’s Nest to school for an entire year!”

At this year’s magical event, tiny guests will have the opportunity to mingle with ten live fairytale princesses, sip tea and lemonade and enjoy a three course afternoon tea menu provided by Fresh Cut Catering.  Ballet Magnificat! will dazzle the crowd with beautiful choreography, and the Followell FOTOBOOTH will be on hand snapping “mommy and me” photos! 

What a perfectly magical afternoon for you and your favorite little princess! Tickets are $25 per person, and seatings will be at 1:00p and 4:00pm.  For more information on this sweet event, please visit www.fairytaleprincesstea.com 

{Name}  Catherine Ann Davis
{Hometown}  New Albany, MS
{Event Site} Home of Tounia and Jay Herrington in New Albany, MS (parents of the sisters)

{Tell us about the occasion for the event?}
Joint Gender Reveal Party for sisters, Catherine Ann Davis and Elizabeth Harrison.   

{What inspired your event location and theme?}
Elizabeth and I wanted to include our family in our big reveals.  Our parents’ home in New Albany was the perfect setting.  It is not often that sisters are pregnant at the same time and their due dates are a week apart.  We had a big reason to celebrate!     

{What inspired your color scheme/flowers?}
Elizabeth and I wanted our gender reveal party to be classic and Southern.  We incorporated jade McCarty and Annieglass serving pieces, blue hydrangeas, bright pink roses, and double satin ribbons in pink and blue. 

{What’s your favorite event detail? Is there a story behind it?}
Elizabeth and I love champagne!  Since we could not pop a bottle of our own, we thought that mini champagne bottles would be fun party favors.  Each guest left the party with their own bottle tied with a tag that I designed.  Cheers to the sweet babies!

{What was your favorite part of the event planning process?}
My favorite part of planning the reveal party was sharing our excitement and joy with our family.

{What was your favorite moment of the event day?}
My favorite moment from the day was popping the confetti cannons.  We knew what the cannons would reveal, but our parents and grandparents did not.  I don’t think our family was expecting to see that much BLUE!   

{Your favorite picture from the event day?}
I LOVE every single photo from the day.  Blake did an amazing job!  My favorite photo is of me and my sister, Elizabeth, comparing baby bumps.  I think it is pretty special to go through this time in my life alongside my best friend and sister.

* Please include the names of all vendors used at your event so that we can credit their work.  Please provide a link to a website/facebook if you have it. 

Photographer:  Blake Belcher Photography - Also check out Blake Belcher Photography on Instagram here! 
Event Planner:  Hi Yall! Made In The South
Venue:  Home of Tounia and Jay Herrington, New Albany, MS
Florist:  In Bloom, New Albany, MS
Cake:  Hellen Polk’s famous coconut cake (Cat’s mother-in-law)
Champagne Party Favors:  Hi Yall! Made In The South
Heirloom diaper shirts:  The Comish Collection, Nancy Comish
Monogramming:  Kimber Williams
Food:  Tallahatchie Gourmet

Happy Labor Day from the Inspiration Mississippi team!  Today honors you, your hard work and dedication, which have greatly strengthened the beautiful country we call home!  

Labor Day welcomes one of Mississippi’s most beautiful seasons.  Fall is truly a magical time, and an especially wonderful time to host weddings, parties and events!  If you are looking for a fabulous caterer, look no further.  Imagine delicious food created by the teams at Amerigo, CHAR, Sombra, Anjou and Saltine!  These beloved Mississippi restaurants have formed a magnificent catering company, 4Top Catering.

Anne Marie Smith, Senior Sales Manager, says their guests inspired 4Top Catering.  “Each of our restaurants has been offering daily catering services to local doctor offices and businesses for years now, and we’ve seen a need for more robust options. To accommodate the needs and requests from our loyal guests, we now offer catering for events on a wider spectrum; from weddings and rehearsal dinners to corporate and social events, we’ll do it all! To make it easier for guests, we combined our five restaurant concepts into one brand for a more user-friendly approach to selling our menu options.”

The name, 4Top Catering, was inspired by the four owners and their family of restaurants: David Conn, Ben Brock, Doug Hogrefe and Paul Schramkowski. Together, they make up 4Top Hospitality, so it was only natural to name their catering sector 4Top Catering.  We spoke with Anne Marie about 4Top Catering, and are thrilled to share more delicious details with you today!

Who does that actual catering?  Does the food come from all six restaurants?
“Yes, the food comes out of all six restaurants! The same culinary team that provides excellent food in the restaurants also prepares food for our catered events.”

What can 4Top offer clients that other caterers cannot? 
“We’ve built our reputation around providing excellent customer service with an endless variety of options. There are never two events that are exactly alike; we tailor to each individual’s needs for budget, setup and food preferences. Our restaurants’ quality is already well known in the Jackson area, and we are simply bringing the best of each ‘world’ to our guests at their event.”

Describe how 4 Top Catering puts a menu together for a client's wedding or event!  What are the steps to finding that perfect menu?
“Menu development is completely based on the guest and their specific event. We find out what they like, dislike, and what vision they have for the style of event. The ‘formula’ is always the same; you need an incredible protein, some accompaniments (like roasted veggies and a mash-tini bar), a couple of hors d’oeuvres, and, being Southern, a dip! For a backyard wedding, the bride may want a swanky taco bar or BBQ station, while a corporate client may prefer a beef tenderloin carving station. We take their preferences, recommend some options, and expand from there.”

How does living in Mississippi influence your menu? 
“Mississippi influences our menu in so many ways!  The menus feature many Amerigo and CHAR menu staples that are deep rooted in the community, like our cheese fritters, no-filler crab cakes, artichoke dip and sin city BBQ shrimp & grits. We also take other southern favorites and put a fun spin on them – mashed potato martinis, shrimp shooters, mini po’boys and black-eyed pea & crawfish relish, just to name a few! Having access to fresh Gulf seafood is important too; our oyster bars, crab & shrimp martinis and other seafood items are always popular items for every type of event.”

Is there anything else you want to add or talk about specifically?
“We can also handle all of our guest’s bartending needs for events! From drink packages to staffing needs, our Sales Manager will work with each guest to determine the best solution for the event. We aim to be a one-stop shop for all event needs!”

Thank you, Anne Marie, for telling us more about 4Top Catering!  Visit their Facebook page to learn more about their delectable fare!

All photographs courtesy of 4Top Catering.