Meet Justyna!
Today on the blog, we're introducing our Co-Founder and Creative Director, Justyna Payne!
Photo by Kathleen Voss
Full name: Justyna Payne
Age: 29
Title: Co-Founder & Event Designer
Educational background: Justyna has a bachelor's degree in Interpersonal Communications and double minor in Event Management and Media Design, Production and Technology from Central Michigan University. She also obtained a PGC in International Business from St. Mary’s University in London.
Photo by Amanda Dumouchelle
- Where are you from? Born in Stalowa Wola, Poland but spent most of my childhood raised in St. Clair Shores, MI. I consider myself a midwestern gal with a European heart:)
- What are your favorite things to do in your free time? Taking adventures and traveling to new places. Meeting new people. Spending quality time with my husband and enjoying being a newlywed. Cooking. Yoga. Wine. Dancing. Karaoke. Projects around the house. Gardening. Hosting dinner parties and getting together with friends and family!
- What do you love about wedding planning?How personal it is. Really getting to know our couples and their stories. Taking their visions and bringing them to life in a way they couldn't have even imagined. I love the process and building close relationships with our clients..so at the end of the day, they know they can trust us to allow themselves to let their stresses go and truly just enjoy the day...soaking it all in. I love the adrenaline rush that comes on the day...being as prepared as possible and tackling anything that gets thrown our way as unexpected throughout the day. It gives you such a great feeling of accomplishment. And I love the reactions...of the guests, of the family, and most importantly of the couple when they see the decor and space all done up for the first time. It drives me and makes me want to give that feeling of a stress free and customized wedding experience to everyone!
- What is your favorite wedding trend?Going against the typical wedding traditions and just writing your own rules. I love when couples follow their intuitions and go with ideas or overall formats of the day as they please because it is what makes THEM happy. I love pushing boundaries and breaking the mold. I think it makes a wedding day so much more personal and allows it to stand out from all of the other weddings your guests have been to!
- What’s number 1 on your bucket list right now?ICELAND.
- What is your favorite candy?Sour Patch Kids. Or Swedish Fish. Or Kit Kat! All three would do great right about now actually.
- What kind of music do you listen to?Ohh goodness, it is such a mix that really depends on my mood! And it completely ranges... classical piano, bossa nova jazz, folk, feel good acoustics to oldies and dance hype ups...to even some rap, country and polish disco tech! But I would have to say that my go to favorites would be Ben Howard, Bon Iver, Adelle, Florence and the Machine, Lord Huron, Mumford and Sons, The Beatles, Queen and Billie Holiday. Yeah, I know I'm all over the place!!
- If you were an animal, what animal would you be?Hmm..Ill say a fox living in London. The Brits are used to them around and friendly. They get to explore the streets of the city and also wander around the outskirts in the fields. And you’ll likely always find a good biscuit laying around and never get bored of the people watching. So you are apart of the city scene but yet a wild animal!
- If you could travel back in time, what time would you visit and why?Either the 20’s or the late 60’s...and in a sense I feel like both era’s have a similar spirit about them in terms of culture and society. In my opinion they were both very pivotal points with music, fashion, politics and people just living out their beliefs. I would have loved to see those times in action!
- Do you have any new year’s resolutions for 2017? Pay off debt and make smarter personal financial decisions on a daily basis! I am turning 30 this year so I want to be able to dive into this new chapter without the burden and weight of student loans...that way I can accomplish more and truly live out my career, personal and fmaily goals in the next 10 years!
Photo by Amanda Dumouchelle