Today we’d like to introduce you to Aiyesha Minott.
Aiyesha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hello There! I am a native Houstonian who absolutely loves my city. Why exactly am I passionate about weddings? Well, I’m glad you asked!! I have always been intrigued with taking a design and bringing it to life, and then, well, when you add in the whole ‘love’ aspect… I’m all in!! I love, love and design. There is something almost whimsical about being able to fuse the two together and watch it all happen from behind the scenes. I guess you can say I would consider myself to be the fairy god-mother to my brides (It’s the Disney movie lover in me).
I grew up as a little girl watching my parents grow their floral company and I admired seeing the passion in their eyes bringing joy to others by adding their creations to their client’s wedding days. I always wanted to be able to have that same passion, and I have been able to provide that to my couples. I began planning and made the decision to start my own planning business right before I became engaged in 2015, therefore I had already booked a wedding prior to the start of my own wedding.
Therefore, while most people knew that I was a bride, they had no clue that I was simultaneously planning other weddings. This is what makes my company so unique. I was bred to encompass such a flair for all things creative and I take my passion very seriously. If I had to name my style, I’d call it, ‘Chic Glamour’… just picture crystal chandeliers mixed with pearls and a splash gardenias, and there you have it!
I am a wife, mom, lover of design, who wants nothing more than to bring serenity to all who seek to share their love by having a wedding. BTW, now that you have seen my bio picture if you see me in your local Starbucks…. say hi!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road to where my business now has definitely not been the smoothest, to say the least. As I approach my 2 year anniversary this month, I can easily reflect back on some of the struggles that I faced. When I made the decision to begin my event planning business, I knew exactly how I wanted to present my brand to the world. I wanted to be that planner that was known for events that exuded ‘glamour’ and ‘opulence’.
I soon found out that it would be a while before I would even begin to attract the clientele that would have these type of events. Because of this, I did not start out having the type of event decor pictures that I had dreamed of, and in my mind, without that image, how would I attract more clients? I quickly had to regroup and adopt new strategies in order to build not only a social media fan-base but expanding my clientele. I realized that if I showed who I was as the planner behind the company name, I would be able to resonate with others and hence, gain followers/fan-base.
Another struggle I faced was what to do during long time periods between events…. What would I post on social media? I was quick to figure out that I could showcase my design skills by setting up styled photo-shoots. Yes, this route required my own purchasing of everything, but I would be doing an injustice to my brand to not invest in myself and my dream. Lastly, one of the things that made the road not as smooth was when I realized that in this industry, sadly enough, a lot of top event planners or planners that are established were not receptive or forthcoming with information regarding giving advice to newer event planners.
I am a very independent person and I naturally don’t ask for things, so once I began my business, it was over a year before I decided to reach out to a few event planners that I admired. My question was very minimal in that I asked if they could offer any advice for a newer planner entering the wedding industry and I received no responses. I found this to be disheartening, because although I wasn’t anywhere near where I wanted to be. I would have newer planners reach out to me and no matter what I had going on, I would make the time to respond to them, even if it was just to say ‘I’m not sure but I can get you to someone who may know”.
So because of this, I hope to be one of the ones who can break the cycle of not uplifting the newer planners in the industry, I know that there are some planners out there that are willing to help and I pray that they continue to, however, I would love to see everyone helping everyone.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Polished Occasions by Aiyesha story. Tell us more about the business.
Polished Occasions by Aiyesha is an event planning firm that specializes in creating elegant events for a multitude of occasions. I, Aiyesha, am the owner and lead design consultant for all events and weddings. We specialize in opulent weddings and events, our goal is to ensure that our clients receive superb customer service and that we bring their visions to life, with our added refined touch.
We are known for our regal flair that we add to our weddings and events. What I am most proud of as a company is that we have won the WeddingWire Couple’s Choice Award for 2017 and most recently won the Knot Best of Weddings for 2018, which is an award representing the highest-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot, the leading online wedding brand, an app.
In 2018, only 3% of the approximately 300,000 local wedding professionals listed on TheKnot.com have received this distinguished accolade. What sets my company apart from the others, honestly, is the genuine care that we have for our clients and that we take customer satisfaction very seriously. We love what we do and we love to make planning the most memorable moments in our client’s lives a smooth process for them.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck hasn’t played a huge role in my life or business simply because of my philosophy, which is that I do everything as if I am doing it for God. Because of this, every goal that I create, a client that I book, business move that I make, are all based on the discernment that I receive from God. I move when he tells me to and because of this, I feel that every victory that I’ve ever achieved was due to him and every door that was closed was an opportunity he didn’t mean for me to embark upon.
Pricing:
- Polished Occasion- Full Wedding Planning (Starting from $2,500)
- Opulent Occasion- Partial Wedding Planning (Starting from $900)
- Regal Occasion- Day of Wedding Coordination (Starting from $500)
- Majestic Occasion- Design Only (Starting from $350)
- Grand Occasion- ‘Regal’ and ‘Majestic’ Combined (Starting from $650)
Contact Info:
- Address: 3418 Hwy 6 S Ste B-258 Houston, TX 77082
- Website: www.polishedoccasions.com
- Phone: 8325282079
- Email: polishedoccasionevents@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polishedoccasions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polishedoccasionsbyaiyesha/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/polishedoccasio/
Image Credit:
RaeKade Photography, Opunshut Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
