Today we’d like to introduce you to Desiree’ Thornton.
Desiree’, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m originally from Georgia, born and raised. Crazy because you don’t hear that much these days! My story is one of determination I would say. I became a mom really young with my daughter at 16 years old. Although I cannot say I am “Proud” of it, I can definitely say it helped shaped me into the woman I am today. I managed to graduate with Honors from my high school (South Cobb High) and get accepted into Georgia State University. I had my son right before my sophomore year in college. Needless to say, I struggled. I was always a great leader and extremely smart so I knew whatever I did in life, I would need to be my own boss.
After being in college for FOUR years, I realized my current path was just not working. I prayed about it and decided to take a different direction. I was speaking to one of my best friends and we were discussing career paths and she mentioned how good I was at planning events. It was never something I thought of, being an event planner that is. But she was right, I was very good at organizing functions and I loved the creativity of it all. So, in 2009, I started my event planning business at 21 years old. I transferred to a technical college (Chattahoochee Tech) and after a year, I received my Associate’s Degree in Marketing Management and then, I transferred to Kennesaw State University and after two years there, I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. The whole time I worked full time, I raised two kids, and I ran my event business. My scale of events grew and my clientele grew. In 2014, a year after I finished College, I did a very special wedding. After the overwhelming response to my work, I decided to pursue my business full time. I prayed about it and spoke with my support system and everyone believed in my dream. I had another daughter in 2016 and even then, my business kept growing. I’m happy to say I am truly doing what I love. I get to travel to make memories for people, I get to be a part of their life milestones and create amazing moments! I was able to turn my dream into reality!
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?
My journey to success has definitely been tough. At one point, being a full-time college student, a full-time employee for someone else’s company and more importantly, being a full-time mom while trying to manage a business was just a lot. It’s hard when sometimes you’re the only person that believes in your dream. It takes A LOT of sacrifices, long days, longer nights. I had to learn from a lot of business mistakes and some were very costly.
Having to invest in your business while being a single mom is tough. You want to provide the best life for your kids while growing a dream. Also, my daughter was born four months prematurely in 2016, so while tending to her in the hospital and recovering from emergency surgery, I still had to make sure my business and clients didn’t miss a beat. I have been blessed to have the best clients!
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I manage A.M.E.E. Event Planning, a full-service event planning company and we specialize in creating once in a lifetime memories, one event at a time. We are national and travel all over to create memories. We provide services for both social and corporate clientele. My clients would describe me as personable, professional, detailed, funny and well balanced. Our company works with the BEST vendors to create these wonderful memories. What I am most proud of is that we are very consistent in our ability to surpass our client’s expectations. I believe my ability to truly connect with my clients is what sets me apart from other planners. Every client turns into extended family after our planning experience!
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always very creative, very detailed oriented, and very bossy, lol. I cheered throughout middle and high school. I was an honor roll student and loved learning new things. I would say I always had a great time no matter where I and my friends went. My mother always tells me I’m a natural-born leader and even as a child, I was always very independent and responsible. I also liked entertaining. I was the friend that would get the cake, balloons, and card on everyone’s birthday.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ameeevents.com
- Phone: 6786441835
- Email: info@ameeevents.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/amee_events
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/AMEEEventPlanning
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/amee_events
Image Credit:
Joy Over Money Productions, AMEE Event Planning
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