We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrice Nephew. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrice below.

Alright, Patrice thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

My business name “Events DownPat” is a play on words. It includes my name “Pat” as I am affectionately called (the shortened version of “Patrice”) and the phrase “down pat” which suggests that things are perfectly mastered and are completely under control.

When I was thinking of what to name my business, I wanted something that would be top-of-mind and catchy, but more importantly I also wanted the name of the business to reflect the quality of service that my client would receive. I’ve always been a fan of English Literature and figurative devices so when the term “DownPat” came to my mind I immediately warmed to it.

This business name is near and dear to me because, having my own name in it, I feel a level of personal responsibility and accountability to always overdeliver as I believe that I am giving of myself ( my time and positive energy) with every event that I execute. My Company Promise is also included in the name, and each client can and should expect that their events will always be done to perfection and everything will remain perfectly under control.

Patrice, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born in a small rural town in Jamaica, but I’ve always had big dreams. I’ve taken many turns, experienced many hurdles, but have also experienced the beauty of the human spirit and all these experiences have made me the person I am today.

I am the Owner and Lead Planner and Stylist for a full scale event planning and decor business on the island of Jamaica. While my team and I can plan and style just about any event, our core service is Destination Weddings. I guess I can say that “I love Love”, but it’s a bit more than that.

I get immense joy in bringing my clients’ dreams to reality. I live for that immeasurable joy on a couple’s face when they have been declared officially wed and are making that recessional walk down the aisle. I enjoy guiding my couples when they are newly engaged and have no clue of how to proceed. It is a so fulfilling to see the plans unfold and culminate in a perfect celebration. As for Destination Weddings, they offer the opportunities for visitors to Jamaica to experience our country’s natural beauty, rich culture and mingle with its phenomenal residents.

There is usually a significant percentage of the guests who have never been Jamaica, and it is always fun to plan excursions and culturally immersive activities for them. I believe that each wedding is unique, therefore it should reflect the personality of the couple and should also provide an unforgettable experience for couples and guests alike. I often say that I am “allergic to ordinary” so I go out on a limb to ensure that my clients get their bespoke experiences.

Guests who book Events DownPat can expect: comprehensive guidance from idea to execution, multiple consultations and clarifications where needed, decor and event styling to suit their style and budget, assistance with travel planning and general logistics, pre-and post-event celebrations and tours, along with just about anything in between.

This is my 10th year of Destination Wedding Planning however I’ve been planning parties and other events for almost 20 years. In my earlier days of event planning I used to help my friends with their weddings and other events, and wherever I worked ( when I was in the 9-5 world) I used to be the resident office party planner and event organiser.

I’m always seeking to improve my wedding planning skills and stay informed of the trends and innovations in the industry. I’m a Certified Wedding Planner (WPICC), a protege of celebrity wedding stylist Preston Bailey, and an alumnus of the David Tutera Experience, so named after the celebrity wedding planner. I’m also a member of different industry associations such as the Coterie by MunaLuchi Bride, and the RSVP Club which is based in the United Kingdom. I also attend various retreats and conferences. This is not only because I love to travel, but I always gain such valuable event industry insight. Apart from the ones industry events affiliated with the associations I’m a part of, I also enjoy attending the annual Wedding MBA held each fall in Las Vegas as it is a melting pot of all wedding professionals , and did I mention that it’s in Vegas?

Since 2021, I’ve also been blessed with the opportunity to teach event planning at Jamaica’s national training and skill development institute HEART NSTA Trust. It has been an honour to impart valuable industry education to emerging and existing event professionals . I wish that I had a course like the one I’m now teaching when I was just starting my event business. The journey has indeed been rewarding.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As I reflect on my life – professionally and in general- I can think of many occasions when I’ve had to exercise resilience. I often describe myself as a ‘gymnast’ even though I could do a ‘cartwheel’ or a ‘handstand’ even if my life depended on it! I however use the ‘gymnast’ metaphor to describe myself as I have had to be adaptable and change directions on many occasions.

The years 2020 to 2021 were however the most trying time of my life. If you’ve guessed that the pandemic had something to do with this, you are absolutely correct. Not only was there a total halt on events, but the contract for my 9-5 job had ended in 2020. I worked on a project that was scheduled to come to an end, I had always been doing my events ‘on the side’, and I always had it mind that 2020 would have been the year when my business would have peaked as I would be able to dedicate 100% of my time to my business. I was so wrong. Instead of increased revenue from the many events that had been and would have been booked for 2020 and beyond; I had mounting credit card debt ( from all those wonderful conferences that I had attended and from using credit cards to pay for items that my salary used to take care of). My husband and I also had to give up an apartment in the capital city – Kingston – that we had rented, and move back to my childhood home in St. Elizabeth located in rural Jamaica. Moving back home also had its own share of disappointments and curveballs but that’s for another article (or maybe my autobiography – wink, wink). To make it all worse, I lost my mother and stepbrother during that period as well.

So being stricken with grief, jobless with no prospects of planning events anytime soon, and a feeling of hopelessness, I knew I had to find a survival strategy. Of course that strategy was initially just tears and depression, but I am grateful that I can report that I’m an overcomer.

Having been in my situation, I dug deep and relied on my faith. Being a practising Christian, I prayed a lot. I found the renewed meaning of the scripture verse about “walking by faith and not by sight”. Each day I woke up, I convinced myself that I was one day closer to my breakthrough, each day I spoke positive affirmations, each day I practised gratitude for my blessings no matter how small, and I remained optimistic.

I also got up each day and worked on my business. This felt weird as no ‘business’ was coming in, but I got up and worked everyday anyway. I enrolled in every online course and webinar that came to my attention, thankfully there were many free ones. I made connections with wedding and event professionals all over the world ( remember we were all at home with nothing to do).

I also organised styled photoshoots for my decor portfolio with the hope of booking clients for whenever the industry would reopen. Once the borders reopened, I also put on my protective gear and travelled overseas to 2 industry events in order to prepare myself for the wedding boom that I believed was coming.

In terms of survival, I had to become innovative. I worked with my husband to turn his farming business into a household fresh food delivery business. We travelled across the island to supply households with fresh fruits and vegetables as there restrictions on citizen’s movement ( as a containment strategy by the government) plus people were generally afraid to leave their homes for fear of getting ill. This new food delivery “hustle” was a huge blessing as it kept our household afloat. I also had to venture into micro events as the laws stipulated that no more than 15 people could be at a wedding, and I also did new things such as balloon decor ( which I used to vow that I would never do).

Today, I can look back at that time and be grateful that I made it through. I gained some survival skills that I really never knew I was capable of having, I met many new event professionals ( some of whom I have since collaborated with), I also learnt the value of good relationships as many of my friends ( and some strangers) were absolutely kind to me and genuinely were cheering for me to win.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The books “Who Moved My Cheese” by Dr. Spencer Johnson and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey have definitely impacted my entrepreneurial thinking and my general outlook on life.

I read “Who Moved my Cheese” over 20 years ago while still in University and it has stuck with me to this day. This simple and entertaining book offers varying perspectives on change. Change is something that most people dread, yet it is inevitable. The book uses ‘cheese’ to represent the things in life that make us feel happy and secure ( be it our jobs, relationships, possessions etc.). The characters in the book are mice and “little people” (these “little people” look like mice but have brains like humans).

The book takes readers on a journey of how the different characters deal with the diminishing cheese ( which represents change). The lessons from this book have stuck with me and I – just like the mice – always have a mindset to preparing to find new “cheese”. In hindsight, I believe this mindset would have helped me in my post difficult times.

I discovered the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” about 10 years ago ( even though it had been around over 30 years). While I agree with all the 7 habits described in the book, the ones that resonate the most with me are: Think Win-Win; Synergize, and Sharpen the Saw. I believe that these habits are so important for business survival.

As entrepreneurs, we should always seek the eventuality where all parties involved can ‘win’ to some extend and we should always seek to collaborate where possible. Lastly and quite importantly, we should constantly be seeking opportunities to ‘sharpen’ our knowledge base and improve ourselves. We should also practice self-care and have healthy relationships ( with others and with ourselves). These practices will enable us to be the best versions of ourselves and will equip us with the ‘soft’ tools that we need to lead successful businesses.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @eventsdownpat
• Facebook: Events DownPat
• Linkedin: Patrice Nephew

Image Credits
Chris Colyard Photography Andrew Thomas Warren McKane Yee Kim Photography Nfiniti Gfx Patrice’s iPhone