Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Guest.
Hannah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always had a sense of hospitality, but wasn’t sure what path to go in. The hospitality industry is so large with SO MANY sectors so while I was in college, I started looking for opportunities to start my journey. In December of 2014, I job shadowed my very first wedding at Historic Smithonia Farm in Colbert, GA (about 20 minutes from Athens). After I completed the wedding, the owner, Pam NeSmith decided to keep me around part-time to help around the facility which eventually led into a part-time job, then a full-time Venue Manager position over the course of four years. Through the venue management side of the wedding and event industry, I was able to see weddings through a unique lens, which gave me the idea of my own business. So in June of 2018, I decided to take a chance on myself and officially launch under the business name, Your Best Guest. I grew the business from June 2018 until January 2019 while working full time at HSF and working on my Master’s at the University of Georgia full time. In January, I turned over my keys to HSF to focus on my business more because my 2019 was filling up faster than the venue I was working at, so I knew I was on to something!
When the business originally started, it was coordination only, but after coordinating a few weddings, I decided I could do more and was craving the creative side of things, so I decided to start offering floral design services (in house) and started collecting vintage, boutique pieces to rent out to my clients. After our clients were impressed with our work, I decided to keep all three services to make sure our clients are taken care of on both the planning and design aspects of a wedding or event!
Has it been a smooth road?
EVERY DAY is a challenge because as a small business owner, so many things go on each and everyday that you weren’t expecting to happen. The challenges have helped pivot and decide major things for the business, so I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
The successes of the business have been so amazing and getting to work with our clients is just the icing on the top! I wouldn’t trade any of the challenges I’ve had because I know that everything has and will work out in the end.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Your Best Guest – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Your Best Guest is a wedding and event planning and design business. We offer wedding or event planning/coordination, floral design (in house) and boutique decor rentals. As soon as I first meet a client, I try to understand their full vision for their wedding or event (which isn’t an easy task). To be honest, I feel like a secret investigator digging through their Pinterest Boards, researching their everyday style. After doing some digging and the initial consultation, I typically try to do a venue tour with them as soon as we can to walk, measure and understand the layout. I always draw on my venue management experience when creating our client’s tailored floor plans because I understand logistically how guests move through a space. After that, we start chatting through the design aspects that I come up with. I love sketching out designs of a room or accent locations in my sketchbook to show clients what I envision for their day. Being both a planner and a designer allows for me to have a special angle on BOTH the logistics of a design plan and the overall opportunity cost of certain looks our clients want. Weddings are a huge expense and from my angle, I always love to show our clients well, you could have this which would look great in the space, but truly changing to a similar design look would be more cost-effective and useful in the long run. Going through the ENTIRE process from beginning to end is hands down my favorite part!
I have learned that our Bridal Previews we offer our clients is where EVERYTHING comes together. We allow our clients to come to our showroom 1 – 3 months before their event day and we go through their estimate and show the actual look they will have. It is so fulfilling to see our clients pick up our pieces and decide exactly what they want. I always tell our clients that on their event day, there are 100,000 other things that takes your focus away from the design aspects for their wedding or event, so our design, Bridal Preview meetings are the perfect way for our clients to really understand what they are getting and feel confident in the overall design for their event.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Atlanta is such an amazing place with so many styles and cultures. I love being able to design and create things for a variety of people and tastes because it allows me to step out of my comfort zone and create a design plan for an event that is so different. The Atlanta area is HUGE and has a massive market for small and large weddings/events, which makes it a perfect place for my business to thrive and work alongside of other amazing vendors!
Because Atlanta seems so spread out (especially the metro areas) I am on the road SO MUCH! I wish Atlanta and Georgia were a little smaller because hauling our 16′ enclosed trailer around with wedding and event design materials gets pretty pricey with gas!
Pricing:
- Wedding Coordination Packages start at $950
- Floral Design Pricing starts at $2,000
Contact Info:
- Address: 364 W Memorial Drive
Dallas, GA 30132 - Website: www.yourbestguest.com
- Phone: (770) 853-6920
- Email: hannah@yourbestguest.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/yourbestguest
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/yourbestguest
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/your-best-guest-dallas
- Other: www.pinterest.com/yourbestguest
Image Credit:
Chandler Haligas Photography, Wanda Isabel Personal Brand Photography, Claire Diana Photography, Gracious Company, Hannah Swede Photography, Amanda Garrett Photography
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
