Welcome to By Design:events by leila

It’s official! As some of you may already know, I’ve started my own event & wedding planning company – By Design: events by leila, LLC.  Ever since I was younger, I’ve loved the organizing and planning that goes in to any event and would spend hours looking at event and wedding styling books.  Now I find myself constantly perusing event and wedding websites for inspiration! Having my own business is something I’ve always dreamed of and after I moved back to Birmingham, the timing just seemed perfect.

During my 6 years in New York, I was fortunate enough to work with the best of the best, and I truly saw it all!  I’ve worked on events of all sizes – from small, intimate dinners, private wine tastings, to cocktail receptions for 500+ people at the Museum of Modern Art.  I’ve planned events for the “spare no expense” client and I’ve also worked with the more budget savy.  I spent a few years planning fundraising events with the New York Junior League, and despite the little to no budget, these fundraisers were always a hit! What I’ve learned through my years in the event industry is that it is not the budget that makes the party.  What makes the event truly special is having a bit of creativity and being surrounded by your favorite people. And just remember, you don’t have to have a reason to throw that get together you’ve been wanting to throw for months.  The next time you find yourself planning that special event, I hope you’ll consider By Design to help with all of the details.

My first blog post would not be complete without some very special thank you’s – first off, this site would not be possible without Bryan Powell at BPizzy.  This site has been a true labor of love and Bryan has really helped to make this site exactly what I envisioned.  Bryan, thank you for everything!  A very special thank you also to Rachel and Jean-Jaques Gaudel for allowing me to use their beautiful images.  Rachel is an extremely talented florist & stylist and I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to shadow her to see what really goes on behind the scenes. I also want to thank my family – from designing my logo, to helping me start my LLC, to editing copy, taking photos, the list can go on  – I would not be here if it weren’t for all of you! A million thank you’s to all of my family and friends for your love and support!