2013 Highlights

It has been way too long since my last blog post. But we have had a ton of exciting stuff keeping us busy here. I would love to get into more detail about things here soon, but for now, I wanted to at least share a brief list of some of the highlights of our 2013.

First and foremost, our son and second child, Micah Paul Kim, was born on October 22, 2013. He is now a little over 100 days old and we still can't believe how perfectly he completes our family. He is such a happy baby - always cooing and giggling - and our Ellebelle is head over heels in love with him. She is such a pro big sister and about 100x a day you can hear her saying, "Can I cuddle him?" "Look! Baby Micah eyes are open!" or "Baby Micah loves me!! He's sooooo cute!"

A real dream come true - we were asked and invited to be A Little Black Book Member for Style Me Pretty, which has been a very big deal for us here. I have been a HUGE fan of SMP ever since I was engaged for my own wedding and remember when their Little Black Book had only 3 planners listed for all of Southern California. Look how much it has already grown! The industry has definitely changed since then, but I think The Little Black Book still offers the most carefully curated and reputable vendors around. I am sincerely honored and thrilled to be among them!

In addition to being asked to be a part of The Little Black Book, we were also invited to be among the elite circle of Tastemakers by Be Inspired PR. What an honor! Leila and her girls seriously have their hands on what is trending right now but also what is most beautifully classic and long lasting about this industry. They have impeccable taste and I am completely floored by the company I keep with this circle. it keeps me motivated to continue to be and do my best, and then some. :)

As a tastemaker, Evite contacted us and three other event designers to be a part of a design challenge and compete for the title of Evite's Top Party Planner Pro of the year - and we won! I will DEFINITELY be posting more details about this very soon! :)

photos by Jana Williams Photography

In addition to the 18 weddings and events that we helped plan in 2013, we actually planned and designed our first destination wedding in Maui, Hawaii. It was so fun scoping out possible wedding venues for our couple and I was thrilled when they decided on one of the top 10 wedding destinations in the world, The Haiku Mill. The wedding was beautifully captured by our talented, fave friend, Jana Williams, and amazingly featured on Style Me Pretty! Please check out the whole feature - Haiku Mill is a place of dreams and the owner, Sylvia, is just a doll!

images by Jana Williams Photography

If you follow us on instagram (handle: sohappitogether) you receive snippets of our most up to date happenings and also get a glimpse into my personal life with the kiddos. We reached over 1000 followers, which is a humble number, considering all the people who have several thousand to several million followers, but for us, it was a fun thing to celebrate! I did have to remind my 11-year old niece that my instagram is mainly a social media outlet for my business, which is why I was excited about our number of followers. In real life, I encourage her that it doesn't matter how many followers you have. You really just need a core group of good friends to help keep you grounded and to provide you with real support and love when needed.

And that is another very significant part of 2013. In addition to my amazing husband, children, parents, sisters, cousins and lifelong girlfriends - I have been blessed with amazing relationships with other planners, floral designers, stationers, photographers and bakers in the industry and am beyond grateful for their friendship. I realize that I am super privileged to work among people I actually care about and respect and truly enjoy being around. :) I also get to work with clients who become my friends and we get to share our dreams and happiest (and sometimes, most stressful) moments together. In the end, I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

Below is a quick instapic from a holiday party at the beautiful Jesi Haack's home with some of my fave friends from the industry! I truly cherish our group emails, play dates and texts. These ladies, and some others not pictured here, are some of the most talented, real and kind people you will ever meet. I am lucky to call them friends.

With that, the So Happi Together team itself has grown in strength and size. A special shout out to my team members: Kitty, Bonny, Fane, Rita, Robin and Jennifer. You make it all possible and are the most dedicated, supportive and talented group of family and friends that a girl can wish for. We need a better group picture that has ALL of us (our post spa-day one is missing Jenn and most of us have no makeup on. eeps!) but you know I have so much love for each of you, even if your faces are not pictured here. :)

missing Jenn and Fane, but the lovely addition of Jane from Olive Hue Paper Goods!
pardon my postpartum bloat - this was 6 weeks after Micah was born!

And a special shout out to Fane! Many of my couples and vendors are familiar with her and her name because she is officially our part-time Coordination Assistant here at So Happi Together! So, she is not only an asset on the wedding day, but is my right hand gal during the week, and she has been a serious God-send! I am excited to have her take on a larger role in 2014 and you should be too! She is pretty amazing. :)

image stolen from Fane's instagram

Whew! So, that was a lengthy post, if there ever was one! Thank you for those who read it to the end! I promise to keep in touch through the blog more often, and hope you will return to share in our adventures! Here is to an amazing 2014 filled with memorable moments that keep us grounded, healthy and happy. All my love, nancy. xoxo!!