Our mom jokes that the two of us started out as twins, but Kirstie just got “lost somewhere” for about four years until she decided to make her debut…
Ridiculous, we know, but sometimes we wonder if she had a hunch – we truly are very similar in lots of ways, and not only in our looks. We accidentally end up wearing the same blouse to work some days (no joke), we’re constantly finishing each others’ sentences, and we strangely feel the same feelings at the same time … among countless other things.
So, what does this have to do with Elevate Events? Well, sort of…everything. We’ve known for years that we make a great team. We’ve always known that event planning was our calling. Once we realized that we could do it – together – it was just a matter of when we could make that dream actually happen.
So… How DID it happen?
Elevate was first conceived when Mallory stood up in one of her best girlfriend’s weddings. She was taking a few classes for meeting and event planning, so naturally, she wanted to help in whatever way she could to bolster her planning knowledge. For this bride (love you, Jamie!), that included everything from making crafts, coordinating meetings, and even driving back and forth to Milwaukee to scope out venues and attend menu-tastings. Needless to say, Mallory loved every single bit of it – and asked a few more friends, and friends of friends, if they needed assistance with their upcoming weddings. (Thanks for the support, Abby, Jace, Evelyn, Joe, Erin and Josh!)
At the same time, Kirstie was finishing up school in La Crosse, hearing from afar how excited Mallory was about these weddings, and how, after a few months, there were even a few referrals coming in, made by her former “clients!” The two talked about how cool (hypothetically) it would be to own a business one day – where they could use their organizational skills, creativity, and mutual obsession with trends to help overwhelmed brides and grooms plan their dreamy, amazing, personalized events.
Fast forward a few years to 2014, once Kirstie had finally completed school. She always knew that La Crosse wasn’t her permanent home, but wasn’t confident about the next step. Naturally, she turned to Mallory for guidance, and within one month of her graduation, Kirstie was moving to Madison, lined up for *nearly* the same job as Mallory. (Seriously, Mal and Kirstie currently work at the same law firm – it’s weird.) Roughly one month later, Kirstie and Mallory co-coordinated their first wedding together – and it was great! It was then that they realized that they could actually DO THIS.
Elevate Events is Born
We decided to wait until 2015 (mostly due to Mallory’s own wedding in October 2014) to officially launch our business – and man, was it a labor of love! Luckily, some pretty amazing people had our backs during the whole process. (Thanks again Maison Meredith Photography, K is for Kat Photography & Design, Gretchen, and of course, our beloved friends and family!)
People have asked us how we decided on Elevate Events. To be perfectly honest, it took us a long time (and roughly 6,459 text messages) to decide on our name. Family roots? Inside jokes? Nicknames? Beyoncé-inspired? After some ridiculous options (seriously, we considered the name “Beans & Malloy” for a while), and repeated frustrations, it finally hit us. Elevate. Elevate Events! Our mentality and reasoning behind it is that our individual style and creativity gives us the ability to transform anything from good, to great! If approached with a very simple vision or even a crazy idea, we will take that vision or idea and raise it to its highest potential.
We are so excited that we are finally able to make our dreams a reality with Elevate. We can’t WAIT to meet new amazing people, clients and vendors, and know that we have lots of exciting adventures ahead. It’s corny, we know, but knowing that we have each other through everything makes our upcoming journey that much more encouraging, thrilling and valuable.
Thank you for all of your continued support. We are so blessed.
Cheers!
M & K
