It all started in the backyard of my home in Matawan, New Jersey. My parents were known to throw the best parties in the summer, and our house, was the "party house" to all our family and friends.
During High School I worked for a florist where I really started to see my passion for events grow even more. I started designing florals, and setting up beautiful arrangements for weddings and all occasions, and when I was not playing field hockey, I spent my time in the kitchen watching my Mother make the families favorite desserts. I then started to use any occasion as an excuse to bake and decorate a cake, and that's when I decided I was going to be pursue a career as a pastry chef.
I received a Baking and Pastry Degree from Johnson and Wales University in 2015, with the idea that I would open my own bakery. I worked along side a very successful baker in Manhattan, NY for a few months decorating sixty to seventy cakes per week. But of course, my creative mind wanted to see what else there was in this industry. In college I worked at David's Bridal helping beautiful brides find their dream dress, and was one of their top sellers for the store for three years! One thing led to another and I was now on a journey to receive my Bachelor's Degree in Food Service Management with a minor in Meeting and Event Planning. I worked for the talented Pamela D'Orsi Ryan for events and weddings in the Newport, RI area where I really dug deep into the ins and outs of weddings and all things planning, and I LOVED IT!
After graduation, I moved back to New Jersey and started a job as the office and events coordinator for Relish Catering at the beautiful Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, NY. I worked a handful of weddings, birthday and holiday events, and made many connections with vendors and other industry professionals along the way. Even though I was commuting everyday and working long hours on the weekends I just kept falling in love with the rush you felt on the morning of a big event. Running back and forth, tons of people coming to you for help with the design and set up of the rooms, and all that hard work paid off when the clients would give me a huge hug and heartfelt thank you for making their vision come to life! I lived for those moments and I wanted more...so I took my career a step further and became the catering manager for a local restaurant,
Apple Street Kitchen in Tinton Falls, NJ.
This is where I found my nitch. I worked with the clients from start to finish from guest counts, menus, table set up and design, coordinating with vendors, all the way to the execution of the event. After a little while some customers were asking to hire me as their day of coordinator at their event, and I couldn't resist!
After a few years, I made the decision to leave and take care of some personal matters. In October of 2020 and then in January of 2021 I had lost the two most important people in my life. My parents were a true inspiration to me; hardworking and strong willed they always pushed me to follow my dreams and make the most of my talents. My mother being the most dedicated worker both in her career and personal life, combined with my fathers creative and fun spirited personality I truly have learned everything I could to make my business successful from them. For a while I was not sure what I would do with the rest of my life, and then one day it just clicked. I would take this time to reflect on everything my parents had taught me and follow my dream of running my own business. I got working fast, and it all led to Guardian Angel Events. I now have my own guardian angels that help guide me through whatever task is handed to me, and my job now is to make sure I do the same for someone else by providing the best services and execution of your event from start to finish.
