We recently connected with Ariana Macahia and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ariana, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
When I think about my legacy I think of my two little boys, Silas and Sebastian. They are my legacy and with my business I aim to provide them with generational wealth. Everyday I strive to give my boys the best life I possibly can. I hope that my passion for event decorating and planning can go from a small business to a big business. In the future I hope to expand into owning event venues or an indoor play place that my boys can one day play at and eventually own. Hopefully I can witness this dream life I wish for them but if not I hope that when I am gone I’m able to leave them with enough tools, assets, and wealth to live wonderful and happy lives. As well as lots of fun memories and being the best mom ever to them.
Ariana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
En Vogue Event Designers began in June of 2022. EVED was first started by my childhood friend Taylor Perez and I. Taylor and I grew up together having similar passions about trends, fashion, decorating, and just simply having an eye for detail. I reached out to her with the idea of starting an event decorating business and we took off very quickly. Starting a business is never easy and neither was our timing in our personal lives to start a business. At the time I was pregnant with my second child and I already had a two year old and my former partner was dealing with personal issues as well. Come November 2022 we decided to go our separate ways in the event decorating industry. Although we no longer work together I still am very grateful for the help and influence she’s had in my upbringing as well as starting EVED.
By November 2022 I was partnerless in the event decorating/planning industry, a mom of 2 boys, working full time, ect. To say I had a full plate was an understatement. Fortunately around the holidays, events began to slow down. Just in time for me to heal as I was post-partum. Not that I let that stop me. I actually did two events 4 days post-partum with the help of my Fiancé, Gage Allen and family friend, Patrick Callahan. I’ll blame that crazy decision on lack of sleep.
En Vogue Event Designers is mostly known for balloon art. Balloon arches, garlands, columns, clusters, ect. I definitely am very proud of my balloon art. Although it can be a bit much, most weekends my house is completely filled with balloons. Maneuvering around toys, a toddler, a baby, and balloons is way harder than it already sounds. Over the year I’ve focused on improving my technique and quality of work. And I can confidently say I’ve done just that but I still plan to get even better. Although when most people think of EVED they think of balloons there are many other services that I provide such as custom signs, small tent rentals, centerpieces curated to your theme, table linen rentals, backdrop rentals, even custom made backdrop rentals, dessert display services, artificial floral arrangements, and so much more to come!
This isn’t a commonly requested service but I’m actively working on pushing more of my planning and coordinating services. I have recently been given the opportunity to be the Wedding coordinator for a wedding on October 8th, 2023. It will be my first of hopefully many more. I am far more experienced in the decorating part of events but creating itineraries, assisting in finding and communicating with vendors and venues, and overall assisting clients during the most difficult times of planning any big event is also a passion.
En Vogue Event Designers main mission is to create beautiful decor but to also alleviate the stress that comes with event planning. That’s what I think sets EVED apart from other event decorators in this industry. I know a few local businesses that are also in the event decorating industry to name a few Em and Sons Extravagant Events, Lex Make It Happen, and Perez Projects and Events. All do incredible work, deliver beautiful decor, and they’re all boss babes. However EVED also provides the planning part of events, such as schedules/ itineraries, floor plan, vendor and venue assistance, ect. This is only an assumption, not to knock these other incredible businesses.
As I previously said I am very proud of my balloon art but I am also immensely
proud of my EVED team. Who I wrongfully did not give mention to in my last article. So to start if you’ve ever booked with EVED you’ve most likely seen my family friend Patrick Callahan by my side assisting me in hauling decorations, assembling, cleaning up, and making sure I don’t fall off of ladders. Pat has been an essential part of executing all my events and I’m very grateful to have him as my right hand. My Fiancé Gage Allen, although he doesn’t often join me on my jobs because he works harder than anyone I’ve met in my life he shows unwavering support for EVED. He is one of my biggest fans and my biggest critic as well as a great father to our boys. My Mother Angela Dela Cruz, my Father Dennis Patrick Anahaw, and my Nana Denise Moran Allen for also showing unwavering support for EVED and helping out with watching the boys when Gage and I have to work. Lastly although we went our separate ways EVED would not be possible without Taylor Perez, her Mom April Efstatios, and her Father Edward Heagy who also supported our business endeavor, assisted us anyway that they could, offered us ways to improve, and more. I regret to say that I selfishly left out any mention of all of these amazing people in my last article. But there would truly be no EVED without them and I would not be the woman, mother, and boss babe that I am today without ALL of them.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect is definitely the joy I bring my clients and their guests with my art. I’ve had the privilege of decorating baby showers, birthdays, fundraisers, bridal showers, a grand opening, and a few weddings. All very big events or occasions, it’s a lot of pressure to be given the responsibility of setting up a backdrop or balloon arch or floral arrangement whatever it is for a clients big day. For most jobs I prepare days and sometimes even weeks or months in advance to ensure I get everything right. I put my absolute all into all of my set ups and boy is it stressful. But I’m so grateful that my clients are able to put so much trust in me to execute and deliver beautiful art. It makes every second I put into planning, preparing, and executing so worth it, to be given so much trust then proving that their trust was placed in the right hands and not buckling under the pressure of it all.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My reputation in the event decorating and planning industry is thanks to the before mentioned immediate support system that I’m grateful to have. as well as my clients! EVED would be nothing without my clients. I’ve had clients who came to me with a trendy Pinterest inspired set up that I got to recreate and add some EVED touches too. I’ve had clients with unique themes like “Pancakes and Pajama’s”. Ive had clients who gave me their theme and allowed me the complete creative freedom to come up with something. No matter the client no matter the requests, I wouldn’t of been able to get to where I’m at now without them. I also have about two handfuls of friends and family on social media who consistently like and share my posts, recommend me, and always compliment my work. I owe my good reputation to you all!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Envogue_event_designers
- Facebook: En Vogue Event Designers