I'm Sara - a twenty something living in central Illinois in a little apartment where I contemplate the cost of rent vs. a mortgage. By day I work full-time as an event professional at Rivian (electric automotive manufacturer), and by night I swoon over wedding and event planning. Flowers and Leather technically started about 4 years ago. It began as a space to blog about the things that inspire me as well as an opportunity to dip my toe into the world of wedding planning. In 2018, I took a leap to grow the wedding side of things and officially established Flowers and Leather Events.

I love each little detail of wedding and event planning with each part of my being. It's not something I can fully explain, but it's definitely something I feel when I'm setting up your centerpieces or watching you walk down the aisle to your forever. I’ve said before that I feel the most like myself when I’m working on event days.

I seriously get goosebumps, and I love the adrenaline rush of pulling everything together on the big day. I'll be your cheerleader, your listening ear, your mediator, your cheesy joke provider, your mimosa maker - I got you girl. I promise to bring my creativity, expertise, dedication, and kindness to the wedding planning process, and empower you to have the wedding that showcases your unique love story.

Weddings and writing are both huge passions of mine. While you may not see new blog posts often (working on that), I love sharing blog posts about all kinds of topics including event planning, traveling, exploring local businesses and activities, fashion and make-up trends, healthy living, professional development, and more.

And yes, I truly have wanted to be a wedding planner for as long as I can remember.

It's pretty simple, really. One day I started thinking about my personal style, and this idea of flowers and leather almost immediately came to mind. Almost every other item in my closet has some type of floral pattern, but I'm also obsessed with this black leather jacket that’s followed me from my study abroad days. Then I started thinking about this 'flowers and leather' concept as a much bigger idea…

In general, I am hands-down a girly girl, there's just no denying it. I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who meets me, since I'm usually wearing dresses [with flowers] and big statement earrings and talking about weddings or The Bachelor (or The Bachelorette on alternate seasons of course). My co-workers always save me the pink donuts and pink flowers, because they already know.

But there's another part of me that may take a little longer to recognize. I also love wearing black and leather jackets and edgy jewelry. I love putting on my leather gloves and practicing kickboxing (I pack an okay punch but a really solid side kick), and I'm probably stronger than most people take me for. I love spicy foods to the point where I can't even tell you if something is spicy - my definition is probably different than yours. I even had a spicy margarita named after me.

Aside from my personal style and interests, this idea truly relates to my personality and wedding planning style as well. The thing is, there are always two sides to every story, and about 23984629 sides to every person. So let's get to know each other, sound good?

uncorking wine on weeknights

mac and cheese

exploring cities by foot

collecting paper momentos

whipping up new recipes

planning my next trip

beautiful and creative design

always learning