INSPIREMS

Queen's Royal Festival {Event}

1/12/2019

Happy Thursday Y’all!
It’s almost Friday! We hope that y’all’s week has been productive and that your weekend will be restful and spent with your favorite people! Mardi Gras season is now in full swing, and we felt like there was no better time to share this incredible event with y’all. The celebrations surrounding Mardi Gras are rich with tradition. This event gives you a small glimpse into just one of the many traditions that make this season so very special!

Kate McElroy was crowned the Queen to Zeus LXXVIII as a part of the larger Krewe of Zeus Mardi Gras celebration in Hattiesburg. This event, The Queen’s Royal Festival, was held in Kate’s honor at the Jackie Dole Community Center in Hattiesburg. Inspired by the desire to bring a true New Orleans party to Hattiesburg, the space was transformed into a French Quarter courtyard. Through a use of hedges, murals, and stunning structural elements like the Gazebo in the main room, Kate’s guests were transported to the Big Easy for the celebration.

{Vendors}
Venue: Jackie Dole Community Center| Photography: Lee Cave| Event Coordinator & Florals: John David Williams| Catering, Rentals & Decor: Pretty Presentations Catering & Event Rentals| Bar: Jamie Farris|

Grace Ann & Casey | Winter Cover 2019 Reveal {Weddings}

1/12/2019

Happy Tuesday everyone!
As always, we hope y'all had a great weekend full of rest, relaxation, and some good quality time spent with your loved ones! We've been very busy these last few weeks and we are thrilled to be able to say we have some big big news for y’all this morning! We are so excited to announce that Volume 5 of Inspiration Mississippi Magazine is ready for you to enjoy. This issue is filled with incredible inspirational stories and stunning events. We’ve also included even more real weddings in this issue just for y’all!
Make sure to pick up a copy of Inspiration Mississippi! We hope y’all enjoy this volume as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Thank you for another year of supporting us on our mission to share the incredible events and stories that make this great state as amazing as it is! Our Winter cover is one of our favorite shots from Grace Ann and Casey’s dreamy winter wedding. Keep scrolling to see more from this gorgeous event.
Cheers Y’all!

Grace Ann Agostinelli and Casey Mayne were determined to make their Clarksdale wedding a celebration that was as unique as they are. The couple wed in St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, the bride’s childhood place of worship. “So many special moments have taken place in St. Elizabeth’s, I could not imagine having our ceremony anywhere else,” smiles Grace Ann. Whimsical florals inspired by Grace Ann’s love for wildflowers took the event outside the realm of tradition. The couple imparted their own personal style by incorporating a custom monogram into different elements of the celebration. “One of my favorite moments from my wedding day was when Casey and I were walked through the reception before the guests arrived. After nine months of planning it was absolutely wonderful to be able to appreciate it all. Thanks to the vendors we used, everything was so beautiful , unique, and perfect, we could not have been happier,” smiles Grace Ann.

{Inspiring Details}
The couple incorporated a unique family heirloom into their celebration. “The cake topper we used was used by both my parents and my grandparents before them!” says Grace Ann. The bride also wrapped her grandmother’s handkerchief around her bouquet and wore her garter. “My grandparents are so incredibly special to me. It meant the world to have their things be a part of my own wedding day,” smiles Grace Ann.

{Vendors}
Church: St. Elizabeth Catholic Church | Event Venue, Catering & Bar: Clarksdale Country Club | Photography: B. Flint Photography| Event Planner: Kendall Poole Event Planning| Florals: Oxford Floral | Rentals: Details Rentals | Lighting: Davaine Lighting| Cakes: The Turquoise Chandelier| Videographer: The Film Poets| Band: The Compozitionz- Music Garden| Hair: Hannah & Hayley| Makeup: Andrea| Dress: The Bridal Path| Tuxes: Tuxes Too| Bridesmaid Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids Ridgeland| Invitations: Designs by KPEP|

Keep Building Jackson {Life}

1/9/2019

Hi y’all!
We wanted to call your attention to a really cool exhibit happening downtown at the Arts Center of Mississippi, Keep Building Jackson!. Dr. Scott Crawford builds complex replicas of iconic Jackson landmarks out of Lego bricks. We got the chance to talk to Dr. Crawford about the inspiration behind the project! Keep reading for more on this exhibit and make sure to check it out before this year show exhibit ends on this Saturday, January 12th!

{Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the Keep Building Jackson! project?}
The theme of “Keep Building Jackson!” is “Build with what you have.” Building with LEGO bricks is a metaphor for dealing with adversity. One never has all the bricks one wants, and sometimes we lose them. I do as my disease (multiple sclerosis) progresses. We’re left to rebuild with what we have left.
Another metaphor I live by is that none of us have all the “pieces” individually, to build something truly wonderful. However, COLLECTIVELY, each of us has a unique set of “blocks/pieces” that, when we work together, can produce something far greater than the sum of their parts. That’s what community is all about, and I’m hoping to inspire kids of all ages to work hard to make Jackson (or whatever community they live in) a better place. That means picking up trash, getting to know and taking care of our neighbors, taking a stand against crime and injustice, volunteering, and being involved citizens. It means recognizing our fundamental inter-dependency and collective responsibility.

{Why are legos your medium of choice?}
Legos were my favorite toy as a child. I never got bored of them because I would construct my own toys, play with them for a few weeks, then build something entirely new out of the same pieces. As an adult, I needed something non-verbal as a distraction/hobby, so I started building again.

{How long does it take to complete one building?}
For the LARGE and original pieces, roughly between four and 8 months, with six months being typical. Fondren Corner and City Hall took four months each. The Standard Life took six months to design and build. The Lamar Life took five (even though it was harder). Union Station took the longest at eight months because of the diverse elements and designs involved (less repetition). I recall Bailey APAC Middle School taking about 4-5 months or so.

I design them based on photographs I take of the real building. There’s no “auto-cad” involved…just my mind. No glue is used, the buildings hold together on their own. The larger the building, the sturdier it has to be, so I spend a lot of time building infrastructure. The project ends up being “one part art, and one part engineering."

{What do you wish more people knew about Jackson?}
Three things: First, there’s so much to do in Jackson that one needn’t ever be bored. The live entertainment, concerts, plays, art shows…one could be as busy as one wishes to be. Second…Jackson has beautiful architecture and history. I’ve noticed that people tend to appreciate that architecture more when they see it in miniature. The reaction is, “Wow, that really is a great building!” Finally, Jackson gets too much bad press about “crime and safety." People shouldn’t be afraid to come to Jackson. I’m quadriparetic (weak in all four extremities) and use a power wheelchair for mobility, ride JATRAN for transportation, spend a lot of time downtown, and feel perfectly safe.

{How has the exhibit grown since its beginnings?} The first year of the exhibit, 2009, the display only took up six tables. This year 23 tables were needed to accomodate the entire display. That’s a total of 342 square feet. Last year’s additions were two custom creations: the Lamar Life Building and the Webb Space Telescope. This year I added a roller coaster as a part of the State Fair portion of the exhibit, a custom-made rocky bluff and roadway, and a “Downtown Diner.”

For more information on Keep Building Jackson! Please visit the exhibit's Facebook page.

Girl's Night Out featuring Bachelor Jason Tartick {Events}

1/2/2019

Calling all Bachelor and Bachelorette fans!

Our friends at Fresh Cut Catering and Floral are bringing Jason Tartick from Becca’s season of the Bachelorette to Jackson to see y’all for the perfect girl’s night out! Jason will be doing an on stage interview while guests enjoy appetizers and wine. The event is Monday January 14th, at 7:30!

The VIP experience will include early entry at 6:30 pm and a floral workshop from the incredibly talented floral designers at Fresh Cut! They will be demoing three different bouquet styles and one arrangement. During the workshop you will be creating your own arrangement to take home with you. Did we mention Jason will be walking around meeting and greeting VIP guests during the workshop? Giving you the perfect opportunity for an amazing selfie with him!

For general admission doors open at 7:30. You’ll get to enjoy delicious appetizers and sip on wine as Jason gives an onstage interview. We can’t think of a better way to spend a night out with your girlfriends!

For more information on this event please visit the event’s Facebook page.
To purchase your tickets and reserve your spot please visit Eventbrite.
VIP Floral Workshop Tickets are $50 and General Admission tickets are $25.

Happy New Year! {Guest Blog}

12/30/2018

Happy New Year Y'all!

Wow. 2018 was a year full of inspiration. There were many beautiful events, inspirational individuals, and wonderful stories that we had the opportunity to share with you all! We wanted to let you know how honored we all are to have played even a small part in your life this past year!
Today's guest post from Heath Ferguson is sure to set you in the right direction going into 2019. We hope you and your loved ones have a spectacular and safe New Year's Eve celebration!

Cheers y'all!

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

How do we approach 2019? I think it would be safe to say that we are hopeful. Some of us look back on 2018 and hope that we can have another good year just like it. Some of us have had awful years that we really don’t want to repeat. No matter what 2018 has been like for us, we all look toward the coming year with hope.

For us as Christians, we have fixed our hope in and through Christ. Prayerfully, we give over our futures in His love, His grace, and His mercy. This is not easy. In our human frailty, we hesitate and hold back our trust as fear and anxiety force themselves into our consciousness.

The question is, as we begin the New Year, how do we resolve the struggle of our free wills as we search to connect to His divine will? The answer to the question is hope. Hope is the bridge across all of the mysteries concerning our connection to our Creator. We find ourselves in Him as we hope for Him. We believe in His promises when, by hope, we faithfully trust that He loves us. Hope for our future is bound up in our worship of, praise of, and prayer to Him.

May we begin the New Year fixed on God, the Father. May we trust in His love, Christ Jesus. And may we discover that our place with Him is the deliverance our heart cries out for.

2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:2-5

- Heath Ferguson-

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Queen's Royal Festival {Event}

Grace Ann & Casey | Winter Cover 2019 Reveal {Weddings}

Keep Building Jackson {Life}

Girl's Night Out featuring Bachelor Jason Tartick {Events}

Happy New Year! {Guest Blog}

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