2024… What a Year!
A lot can happen in 366 days (thank you leap year!) A presidential election, a winning Denver Broncos season, the famous “I’m Just Ken” performance at the Oscars, and… starting a business!
On February 5th (of course I remember the day!) it was decided that I should start a brand new entity of the non-profit One Good Turn, and that it should be a wedding planning business. I was excited and eager to get started and had absolutely no idea how to start a non-profit entity. However, like every good former/current nerd, I went straight to my local public library and checked out as many books as I could handle and began taking notes. The wedding planning part would be easy, I’d planned weddings before and had worked in the industry for almost five years. Building a business from scratch and making it successful was going to take a lot of hard work and focus, thankfully, I was ready!
JayBird Events booked it’s first official wedding just 121 days later. I was fortunate enough to have some amazing friends who were in need of some planning assistance in exchange for a good review and their photos for marketing materials, which really set everything up for success! Throw in 30 meetings with some of my best vendor friends, and viola! We were off and running!
During JayBird’s time with One Good Turn, we graduated two classes of event and wedding planning interns. Our first intern, Bryson, started at the end of May and was instrumental in helping plan and execute our first styled shoot at the Grant Humphrey’s Mansion in downtown Denver. Unfortunately Bryson had to head off to college before our first wedding, but he is the first to like any Instagram post or story I post!
We finished out the summer coordinating Quincey (they, them) and Brady’s (he, him) elopement in Mt. Falcon park in Morrison, Colorado. They technically signed their marriage license on Leap Day this year but wanted a larger celebration with a professional photographer to capture the beauty of their marriage. We were lucky enough to be joined by Quincey’s childhood dog, Yogi, who is nearly 14 years old. He wore his pride bandana proudly to support his parents union.
September was when things REALLY kicked off. Our second round of interns, Chelsea and Emma started on September 11th and our first official wedding was September 14th! Alison and Drew got married at the Poudre Canyon Resort, renting it out for the weekend and filling it with their closest and rowdiest friends and family. They were white water rafters, which allowed us to connect immediately since I grew up white water rafting! Their unconventional ceremony was right on the Poudre River and included bridesmaids and groomsmen shotgunning beers as they walked down the aisle and Andrew shouting out “It has pockets??” when Alison pulled her vows out of the pocket of her wedding dress. It was a true celebration of love all around. Not only did Alison and Drew showcase their love for each other in every way possible, but Drew made sure to take time to toast all of his groomsmen, listing the ways they made him a better man. I’ve never seen that at a wedding before and I will remember it for the rest of my career.
Just two weeks later it was time for Aniko and Hayden to tie the knot! Chelsea, Emma, and I headed up to the beautiful Camp St. Malo and the picturesque Taharaa Mountain Lodge right as the leaves were beginning to change. It was wonderful to see Aniko’s Hungarian and Hayden’s southern families come together and celebrate their new but deep love. They made it official less than a year after meeting but it was more than apparent that they were meant to be together. Their dance floor was never empty and Hayden’s groomsmen all had their ties tied around their foreheads before the night was over.
Two weeks after that (isn’t it so nice when it’s symmetrical like that?) we made the much shorter drive to Boulder to make sure Julia and Steve’s wedding went off without a hitch. Their relationship was the exact opposite of Aniko and Hayden’s, they had been dating for 10 years so it was more than time for them to say “I Do.” Due to their extensive courtship they had a large community of friends who were there to support both of them. Everything was personal, Julia arranged all of their flowers, Steve’s mom made them a custom art piece out of rocks and shells she had collected on a recent vacation, and they even had their cats present as toppers for their cake! Their dance floor was also always full, at some points dancing so much the floor at Rembrandt Yard began to shake!
November did not start the way many of us would have wanted. I worry about our country and the rights of so many people I love, but I can promise that JayBird Events will always be a safe place for all couples to express their love no matter their identity or orientation. Thankfully, just two days after the election, we were able to direct our attention to our last styled shoot of the year at Dry Clean Only. Everything was Singing in the Rain themed, one of my favorite movies of all time! It was such a delight to bring all our plans to life and to see some joy in such a scary time.
I cannot express enough how appreciative and humbled I am at how successful our first year in business was. Not every business owner can say they had their dreams come true in their first year open. As we enter into 2025, JayBird Events has TEN weddings already booked, with more sure to come! Thank you to everyone who supported us and believed in us. I cannot wait to show you all the amazing things that are sure to come!
~Moriah
