The Board of Advisors
Shay Brown
Owner, Shay Brown Events
Owner, Palettes of Perfection
Director & Producer of B...the event
Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina,
Shay was naturally drawn back to her roots. The majestic mountains of Highlands & Asheville North Carolina were always home to Shay. During her professional career as a Lobbyist she developed a love for working with people. Shay
is focused on getting to know individuals on a personal level.
Understanding the layers that make up someone is fascinating to her.
Shay
started Shay Brown Events 13
years ago because she felt that there was a major element missing in
the wedding & event planning field and that was customer service. Shay’s
goal is to understand each client’s needs, passions, likes and dislikes
and tailor the event to fit their genuine personality. She truly
believes that each event should reflect the character of the client not
the desire of the planner. This is what sets Shay Brown Events apart from others - listening to you.
Shay
has
surrounded herself with an amazing, talented and professional staff that
delivers each element of the planning process with the same quality and
detail that Shay has worked so hard to instill within the company. The Shay Brown Events
team finds inspiration, harmony and delight in working together to
create an amazing experience for each and every client. Working together
is so enjoyable and fulfilling, that Shay started a sister company for Wedding Professionals 3 years ago. It has become a great success. Palettes of Perfection is the vision of many years of planning where in Shay realized that each client should be surrounded by the best wedding vendors in the Southeast. So the POP wedding planning library was created.
Shay
is very
passionate about a lot of things in life - hiking, books, cooking,
friends but most of all family and her three lovely dogs (Gracie, Prince
and Noble). You will find in working with the SBE team that you will be treated like family and the best compliment that SBE can ever receive is for your family to enjoy the time with you during your special day.
What The Professionals Say:
Brides Choice Award 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
Best of City – Charlotte, Atlanta
Published Works:
Beth Poslusny, Biltmore Estate
Beth Poslusny is Director of Catering and Conference
Services at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. A National Historic Landmark, Biltmore is the
private estate of the late George W. Vanderbilt. Biltmore estate is completely
self-sufficient, receives no outside funding, is open to the public, welcomes
over 1,000,000 guests, and hosts over 250 wedding and social events
annually. The Inn on Biltmore is rated Four Star by
Forbes Travel and Four Diamond by AAA.
Born in Bernardsville, New Jersey, Beth has been in the
hospitality industry for the last 30 years including our family owned
restaurant Jack Murphy’s in Spring Hill, Florida, restaurant manager at the
Trellis Restaurant in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, wedding sales manager at
the Marietta Conference Center in Marietta, Georgia, and Director of Catering
at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel, North Carolina prior to Biltmore Estate.
Beth has lived in Black Mountain, North Carolina since 1998
with her husband, John, daughter, Kathryn, white lab, Stone, and miniature
dachshund, Jade. She enjoys reading,
traveling and most of all spending time with her family and friends.
Amanda Weissman
Office Manager of Palettes of Perfection
I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2002, I graduated from The
University of Georgia in Athens with a Bachelor of Science in
Psychology and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. I traveled across
country and to Hawaii and then found myself back in Atlanta. After 2
months, I realized how I had become more of a small town girl and was
looking for my next step. I have always loved the mountains, hiking,
camping and had visited Asheville throughout my childhood, so I decided to make Asheville my new home. I worked as a social worker with at risk youth and as a holistic chef on and off from 2003-2008.
In April of 2005, I met Max and we were married two years later on June 24, 2007. This is how I know Shay Brown - she was our wedding planner! Shay became a friend after 6 months of planning together and one day in August of 2008 we decided to meet up for coffee. Shay
told me she was looking for a new employee and I was saying how I
needed a change from social work, and voila! I have been a proud member
of the SBE team
since September of 2008 and love what I do. I enjoy sharing my story
with our clients and making them feel like they are in the best hands
possible! Soon after the launch of SBE's sister company, Palettes of Perfection, I became the Office Manager of both companies. Our goal at Shay Brown Events and Palettes of Perfection
is to go above and beyond for our clients and as the Office Manager, I
am determined to listen to your needs, provide excellent service and
offer innovative and creative ideas to our clients.
Jessica Gregory
Owner and Designer, Aria Floral & Event Design
Jessica
grew up in rural Pennsylvania, fascinated by the woods and her
grandmother’s flower gardens. She graduated from Corry Area High
School and went on to college in Florida. There she graduated with a
Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nursing. She then worked at a local
hospital in Florida, putting all she had learned to work. This
experience led Jessica to question her path as a nurse, so she decided
to leave it and hike the Appalachian Trail for 6 ½ months to find
clarity.
Through this walk in the woods the idea behind Aria Floral was founded. Her true love of nature and flowers inspired Jessica to create Aria Floral in 2006. Specializing in sustainable design she found a niche in Asheville, North Carolina.
Aria is a
floral and event design studio in the heart of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. Their focus is custom and unique floral design for weddings
and events in Asheville
North Carolina and the surrounding areas. The natural beauty of the
flora here continues to encourage a spirit of exploration and
creativity.
Jay Qualls
Renowned Cake Designer, Jay Qualls Holdings LLC
On April 25th, 1992, Jay Qualls
decorated his first cake for his daughter’s first birthday party.
Little did he know that experience would blossom into a passion for
creating delicious, beautiful and distinctive cakes. Since then, this
passion turned into a full time successful business known as Maples Wedding Cakes, which lead to the multi-faceted company, Jay Qualls Holdings, LLC and creator of the Jay Qualls Fondant Fabric.
After graduating in 2003 from Middle Tennessee State University with a business degree, Jay
decided to put both his new found business expertise and his passion
for baking and designing to good use and open a high end wedding cake
boutique. With his belief that cakes should not only be beautiful, but
equally as delicious, Jay quickly turned Maples Wedding Cakes
into a leader in custom designed wedding cakes. He has studied and
worked alongside some of the greatest sugar artists in the industry. Jay,
himself, continues to be one of the leaders in the cake industry with
his unique sense of style in cake design, teaching, product development,
and business consulting.
Achievements:
Founded Maples Wedding Cakes, LLC in 2005 and has become known as one of the premier celebrity cake designers/artists in the country
Teaches classes and demonstrates his methods of cake design all over the
U.S. as well as Canada to shop owners, cake enthusiast and hobbyist
Has designed wedding cakes and special occasion cakes for country music celebrity artists like Martina McBride, Jo Dee Messina, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert/Blake Shelton, and most recently Hillary Scott and Chris Young of Lady Antebellum
Featured in Martha Stewart Weddings 15th Anniversary issue – Less than 10 designers have been invited to collaborate with Martha Stewart Weddings in the history of the magazine.
Connor Boyle
Catering Sales and Conference Service Manager, Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville
R. Connor Boyle was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She lived briefly in Colorado, but moved to Asheville as a pre-teen, establishing unforgettable roots and friends here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
After graduating with a major in Psychology and a minor in Hospitality from Western Carolina University, Connor worked at the Biltmore Estate, where she learned about catering, sales, and the hospitality world during her three-year tenure there.
Ready to expand her career she ventured back to Colorado to work with the Kessler Collection at the Beaver Creek Lodge
near Vail, Colorado. Her specialties while there were catering and
weddings sales, corporate events, and other-sales related
responsibilities. But she jumped at the opportunity to return to Asheville on task force to open the Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville.
She joined this newest AAA Four Diamond property in Asheville
soon after, as Catering Sales and Conference Service Manager, which
entails detailing every corporate, social, catering, and wedding event
that enters the property doors. Working with a great team helps her
provide a high quality of service and attention to detail on which the Kessler Collection prides itself.
Connor’s favorite part about helping plan weddings at the Grand Bohemian Hotel
is being able to work with the bride and groom from start to finish.
She walks them through the hotel on their first site tour of the
property and watches their faces as they fall in love with the space as
she did three years ago. Throughout the planning process she prides
herself on building relationships and helping create the couples’ dream
day, tending to all the details and seeing the entire event come to
fruition.
Connor shares her Asheville home with her chocolate lab, Porter. She is a fan of live music and loves spending time with friends and family.
Scott Ford
Founder and Owner, Classic Event Rental
Scott was born in Phoenix, Arizona and moved to Asheville,
North Carolina in 1985 where he has called it home ever since.
Following in the footsteps of his entrepreneurial parents and business
mentors, Rick and Gwen Ford, Scott started Classic Event Rental
in 2001 with the help of Jessica Shoemaker. As the business grew and
developed, so did Scott’s relationship with Jessica and they were
married in 2007 and proudly announced the birth of their son, Lucas Ford
on January 6, 2012.
Scott has developed a solid reputation serving North Carolina,
Tennessee, and the Upstate South Carolina by working side-by-side with
wedding designers, planners, vendors and clients to create the
environment that they all desire. Classic Event Rental distinctively serves clientele ranging from the individual bride to planners with over the top ideas for their large events.
Despite a devastating fire that destroyed Classic Event Rental’s
warehouse in 2008, Scott did not allow that situation to defeat him.
Instead, he turned that circumstance into an opportunity for growth and
expanded Classic Event Rental to its current 36,000 square foot facility that currently employs over 45 people.
Scott says that he is “always extremely excited to see what he can learn
from working on the next event” and looks forward to the opportunity to
be a part of your event experience.
