Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Patrick.
With an impeccable eye for detail with an extensive background in Marketing and Event Production, as well as a passion for music, great food, and entertaining, Sabrina began creating events with lasting memories in 2002 for family and friends. While working in her career as a Marketing Director for the Real Estate industry, she witnessed her love for event planning take flight. While working a full-time job, in 2007, with a sincere love for helping clients, “Celebrate life… in a fabulous way,” She took a leap of faith and established Chic Soirée Events.
After leaving the Marketing and Real Estate industries, she dove into my role as the Wedding Director and Events Planner for Joel Osteen Ministries’ Lakewood Church. While working at the former basketball stadium, Sabrina simultaneously planned everything from luncheons to Nation-wide conferences, concerts, and weddings. Several years later, Sabrina was chosen as one of the only two event designers for Houston’s former event production company, Darryl & Co.
In 2008, Sabrina was honored to be selected as the only planner to assist 32 brides who were all getting married at Minute Maid Ball Park for The Rachael Ray Show during the Brides of Harris County show. She later appeared as a regular correspondent for ABC network’s national “Live Well” Network show called “DEALS” where she shared inexpensive options for decorating and entertaining at home!
A few years later, Sabrina saw a scholarship announced offering training in high-end luxury events. She applied and was personally selected by the instructor. For Sabrina, this experience was an absolute honor because she was personally trained by Kathy Romero, former CEO and Head Planner for Preston Bailey Designs in New York. She found herself soaking in every detail of the information that Kathy shared to enhance her knowledge of event production and management.
She states, “It has been an honor to expand my brand and service clients in Houston and Dallas, as well as destinations all over the globe.” Since 2007 she and her team have designed and executed weddings and events for various NFL players, BRAVO TV, Houston’s Power Party for Super Bowl LI, with over 400 events and counting for Chic Soiree’s busy, hard-working clients!
Sabrina is a proud alumnus of Sam Houston State University, where she majored in Advertising with a minor in Spanish.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If anyone who tells you that being an entrepreneur AND working in the events industry is a smooth ride, they’re inexperienced, lying, or both! My suggestion is that you sprint in the “opposite direction” of this person. Operating an events based business (in any area) is number 6 on CNBC’s 2019 List of Most Stressful Jobs just after number 5, a News Broadcaster and number 4 – a police officer and the number 1 spot goes to active military personnel. Now, in no way is our list of regular daily responsibilities going to place us in danger as an essential worker or active military person’s occupation would but our lives have different types of stressors.
Event professionals are constantly dealing with frequent, hard deadlines, along with the pressure of making sure your work supersedes your client’s expectations. I consider myself to be more like a fairy godmother (without the magic wand). I make people’s event dreams come to life. The most rewarding part is seeing your client’s joy after seeing your design of their vision come to life! The challenging part is the long hours that go into the behind the scenes production work, lengthy load-in schedules, and managing every single detail along with the pressure of having so many moving parts going simultaneously. In the end, it’s all worth it to see each piece in perfectly put in place to watch the masterpiece be unveiled.
Chic Soiree Events – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Chic Soirée Events are: Chic. Modern. Effortless. Timeless. With an impeccable eye for detail, as well as a passion for music, great food, and entertaining, Chic Soirée began creating events with lasting memories in 2002. Having a sincere love for helping clients “Celebrate life… in a fabulous way,” I took a leap of faith and established Chic Soirée Events. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my career, it is that I’ve never lost my insatiable thirst for newness. My disposition as a designer and artist is one of perpetual romance mixed with the new.
Music, film, poetry, my son’s artwork – the world is full of abundant beauty and is constantly overflowing with fresh inspiration that regularly influences my designs. My favorite events and spaces are those that evoke strong feelings. If your event tells a story, why not tell a magical one? ” We have been hired regularly by clients because they want the assistance and knowledge of a skilled professional with something superior to what has been “the norm” in events.
Through the years, clients chose Chic Soirée as their wedding or event designer for a variety of reasons – reputation, referrals, similar taste and style. The alchemy is always different. But the one thing that remains the same in all of their choices – trust. No one chooses someone they don’t trust and that professional is esteem is something that I do not take lightly. I’m a firm believer that the word luxury suggests that you’re going a little further for it… and that is just what I do for our clients in order to create memorable events.
As the designers and wedding or event managers, we are responsible for the overall flow of the event’s success. We walk with each client through the creative process, coordinate/manage and plan the event with our specialized internal and external teams. In addition, we provide on-site management and support the day of your event for setup and strike. One of my favorite aspects of being a designer is – the reveal. I love making my clients cry tears of joy! I’m a giver by nature, so I love making visions come to life. There is no greater satisfaction as a designer than the climactic moment – when you welcome your client into their decorated event space and watch them fall utterly in love with it. I love that they find their space is exactly what they wanted, yet, far beyond what they ever imagined!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Growing up as a child, I always bubbly and friendly! As the only child in the home, I had plenty of time to imagine and CREATE! I enjoyed celebrating events and surprising people for their birthdays. I enjoyed watching people celebrate their milestones and loved watching their expressions as they were surprised by their guests’ gifts, I was someone who loved attending parties more than most children. I always was a creative individual. My first love was music and singing.
You could always find me doing something creative with art, cooking or decorating. I would constantly rearrange and redecorate my room regularly. My dad had a drafting kit, and I took an interest in it. I would sneak into his office, open his briefcase and, at one point, I took an interest in drawing floor plans and created layouts for placement of furniture. Through high school and college, I was super involved in music and sports. I was involved in Drama and Choir, along with playing Varsity basketball and a part of the track team. In college, I began to become that friend that always decorated and hosted parties for my group of friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ChicSoireeEvents.com
- Phone: 8326469147
- Email: chicsoireeweddings@gmail.com
- Instagram: @ChicSoiree_Events
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChicSoireeEvents/
- Twitter: @ChicSoiree
- Other: www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-patrick-chicsoiree/
Image Credit:
IMG Photography
Motley Melange Photography
Second Shots Photography
Pharris Photography
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