Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiffany Voyles. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Tiffany, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Am I happy as a business owner? Yes. Most days, yes. Do I miss working a 9-5 job, rarely. To be completely honest, I have mixed feelings about having my own business, bc I feel like I am working harder now to maintain my business, to build up my own reputation, build strong relationships within my community and existing clients, trying to figure out ways to attract more of my dream clients, plus juggle a husband, three WILD kids, a house that is literally never clean, and my sanity. So I went from working 30-40hrs a week to feeling like I am working 24/7.

I remember working full-time jobs and being in complete misery, not to be dramatic but I totally hated the idea of waking up and going to clock in where my co-workers were just as miserable as I was and then having to smack on a happy face, a fake jolly customer service voice, just to serve customers who treated workers like trash for very little pay. I had to repeat to myself, “Tiffany, you’re poor and you need this job,” just to keep myself from walking out! I was always drained, I missed my kids, and I was so unhappy knowing that fire that I had in my soul to do something more, I didn’t know what at that time, but I knew I was meant to do something else, it was slowly dying. I knew I had to do something because working a traditional 9-5 was not for me.

Since my mom and I started Lace and Oak Wedding Design and Decor, I am still overwhelmed, tired, and always contemplating how I can improve and grow our business. Constantly having to navigate around challenges such as doing all of my work from home (a very small home) with a million different distractions drained me.
Sometimes I miss being able to clock in at a regular job, knowing that my workspace was going to be clean, little to no distractions, much more quiet, and that at the end of the day, I completed the tasks that were given to me. But would I ever want to go back to a traditional job? Nope.

Now I have the opportunity to do what I have always been passionate about which is styling weddings and other social events. I love being able to interact with the clients that I choose to work with, traveling to some of the most stunning venues, meeting other creatives, and being able to be around my family much more.
It is seriously so challenging running a small business, but it is so much more fulfilling because I am truly doing something that I feel like I was always meant to do.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi, I’m Tiffany! I am the co-owner of Lace and Oak Wedding Design and Decor which is a small wedding and event decor rental business based out of an awesome small town named Potosi in Missouri ran out of my very small house, with three very wild children, and my husband who is the ring leader to our little circus.

My mom, best friend, and business partner, Margaret Johnson is the owner of Lace and Oak Wedding Design and Decor. We decided to get into this business because we have always, always loved weddings and styling. I swear every article, I have ever read about a wedding planner, stylist, wedding dress boutique seems like they were all inspired by the movie The Wedding Planner with J. Lo! I hate to admit it but that movie will always have a chokehold on my soul and is literally what inspired me to want to get into the wedding industry. Very cliche, but it’s true.

So we initially started out just renting decor items out for weddings, but I really wanted to be able to interact with my clients a little bit more than just allowing them to rent items and then bring them back to us. So I started to learn how to make bespoke floral arrangements using artificial and dried florals, so that I would be able to reuse them and rent them out at affordable prices. Plus God knows I cannot keep any flower or plant alive, so working with real florals is obviously out of the question. So not only do we have the decor items that you can rent from us, we can also create custom floral arrangements, custom-made items built by my husband David, we will also deliver, set up and style, and pick up your items from your event! I do not consider myself to be a coordinator or a wedding planner because organization and time management really isn’t a strength that I possess to be honest! I do love engaging with my brides and giving them reassurance that I am going to create the look that they are envisioning for their day. I am totally about open communication and allowing them to reach out to me with any of their ideas or concerns anytime. Planning a wedding is time consuming and overwhelming and the biggest stressor tends to be how the space is going to be styled (which is where I come in!) So I will create a mock-up look that they are wanting for their wedding in my front yard, such as the ceremony arbor with the arrangements and a mock table setup, take pictures of it and send it to my bride just to be sure that they are 100% happy with the look before their wedding day and if they are not, then I will cry, take it down and recreate it until they are happy with it.
My clients have always praised me for taking the time to do a run through with them weeks before their wedding day even if it’s in my front yard or at the venue itself or at their home. I really try to be their friend from the moment they sign that contract to the day they walk down that aisle. I want my brides to be happy, that’s the only way I can feel good about my job.

I also enjoy doing custom balloon garlands for parties and showers and I love styling storefronts for our local, small businesses especially when there is a fun event in our town, I really strive to make our main street look as inviting and festive as possible for our community.

Another little adventure that I am taking on in our business is hosting styled shoots. This is something that I have became increasingly passionate about especially in the last couple of years. Styled shoots give me the opportunity to achieve the looks that I really want to create that you don’t typically see or have real brides wanting to incorporate into their wedding look. I have total creative freedom and that means a lot especially when you spend an entire year evolving your business around accommodating everyone else. This is also an amazing opportunity for others, such as aspiring models, new photographers, wedding vendors / small businesses to showcase their work at styled shoots as well, which is so rewarding! Photographers and models get the opportunity to gain some content for their portfolios to hopefully gain their dream clients, dream gigs, get some experience and practice, and to be able to meet other amazing creatives in a low stress environment. Vendors get to show off their art, it could be bakers, custom wedding invitations, hair and makeup artists, etc. I have hosted and styled a few shoots in the past where the Photographers, models, and vendors have gotten published in magazines and it seriously such an amazing feeling seeing everyone achieve much deserved recognition! I absolutely love hyping others up, we all have a similar goal and that is to create; even if it’s capturing beauty behind a camera lense, growing it, baking it, building it, writing about it, painting, modeling, styling, we all want to create more beauty in this world and I love that I have a job where I can surround myself with people who inspire me to keep creating.

Now that 2022 is coming to an end, I can honestly say that I am so proud of everything that I have accomplished this year. I can confidently say that all of my clients were happy with my services. I am a people pleaser to the core, so my stomach will be in knots and my heart feels like it is beating out of my chest up until the day of whatever event that I am working and I do not find relief until I see a smile on my client’s face and to hear them say that they are absolutely in love with my work. So once I have achieved this, then I feel like I can finally breathe again. I finished out this year strong and I spent most of this year telling myself, ‘there’s no way that you can do this.’
But I did it!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think what helped me build my reputation within my market is being myself. I honestly feel like I have gained a good amount of clients and supporters because of my character, my love for what I do and just being my authentic self. I say that in the most humble way possible, I promise you that I am far from cocky!

I have other pals who are in the wedding biz and I have been told so many times that I sell myself short by settling with clients who have smaller budgets, bending over backwards for all of my clients, and not putting myself out there especially on social media and really trying to make a name for myself and my business.
That’s why I was absolutely blown away when I was asked to be featured in this magazine because I am the one who is always behind the scenes, the hype girl for everyone else’s businesses, hell, I don’t even have a picture of myself on my Facebook business page and I barely exist on Instagram! Gaining “clout”, thousands of followers, being completely booked for the year has never been my goal. I think continuing to operate my business the way I see fit has helped me to gain loyal supporters, supporters who may not have had a large budget, but supporters who were kind enough to take the time to leave an honest review, to refer me to all of their family and friends, co-workers who have also reached out to me wanting my services, and supporters who continue to follow me, like my stuff, and share it. Those are the people I want to attract, those are the people who keep my business going.

I will put just as much heart into my work for the client who has a smaller budget as I will for the client who has an unlimited budget. I really do want all of my clients to have the day that they have envisioned without breaking the bank.
Also being real with my clients has always made things easier for me. There has been situations where I couldn’t meet up with my clients bc I didn’t have a car or a babysitter, or if I sent them a picture of their finished arrangements and there are toys and a plate of nuggets in the background bc at this time, I don’t have a workshop to showcase my work or a place to display my inventory; my clients see that I am a mother, a wife, and a business owner and I am doing my best to juggle life and accommodate their requests for their special day, they are so much more understanding and supportive. I make it very clear that I am a human and I will make mistakes from time to time and thankfully all of my clients have been incredibly understanding and patient with me and have been loyal, reoccur clients and I am so grateful for that.

I feel like I do a good job evoking good vibes within our business. I want people to know that we are inviting, passionate, and we are going to be your friends during this process, and we are going to conjure up something magical for your special event, make sure that your storefront is the talk of the town, and that we are gonna collaborate, create, and help you gain those dream clients and dream jobs you deserve! I put my heart into my business and my work and I think (I hope!) people really see that!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I don’t have a particular story that illustrates my resilience and my drive to continue to grow my business, I think just the overall experience in general has taught me so much. I honestly think what drives me to continue on with this journey is to prove to myself and to my kids that you can go after your dreams. As cliche as that may sound, I strongly believe it to be true. I have been around so many negative people in my life that have told me that I wasn’t going to accomplish anything, there has been times where I have quit so many potential opportunities because I was scared of failing. I have had people who were cheering for me to become something great and I have disappointed them and myself because I would quit because I was scared to fail.

But truthfully working those soul sucking 9 to 5:00 jobs made me realize that I was meant to do more, and I just had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Now I’m back at this point of my life where people are starting to take notice of the business we have started and getting acknowledged for the work that we do and I would be lying if I told you that there hasn’t been many times in the back of my head where I felt like I needed to get out of dodge because so many people have high hopes for me and this business, and I am terrified that it is going to fail and I am going to make a complete fool out of myself. Now that I have three little ones who are watching how their mama takes on life and my amazing mama who continues to encourage and support me, I can’t stop now!

We started this little business about 4 years ago and honestly 2022 has been the busiest year yet. There has been many times I wanted to quit because it seemed like it wasn’t going anywhere, and of course, the negative people in my life who would try to discourage me to give it up, and then pouring more money into our business than what we were getting out of it and that it’s still somewhat true, all of these factors have made me want to throw in the towel. But I can’t believe how far we have come and it would be foolish to stop now.

I really am in the process of creating the life I have always wanted. Of course, it takes time, money, vision, and drive but I am getting a little closer to where I want to be within this business. I am so grateful for those who have supported me, trusted me, encouraged me to keep going. My confidence is through the roof and my heart is so full.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: laceandoak21
• Facebook: Lace and Oak Wedding Design and Decor

Image Credits
MKP Photography Cantrell Creative Studio Kara Hoganson Photography + Design ERN Photography