Milestones are meant to be celebrated! Whether for a wedding, anniversary, or birthday, taking time to gather with family and friends to mark the occasion is fun and meaningful. Ten years ago, the joy of celebrating others prompted A.J. and Shannon Gaston to transition from planning corporate events to focusing on planning and facilitating personal celebrations. Through Integrity Events & Design, they provide full event planning, event design, wedding coordination, milestone celebrations, corporate event planning, and professional bartending services.
This husband-and-wife team channel their expertise to design personalized celebrations that reflect the personalities of their clients. “For us, every event is different and everything we do is very unique,” shares Shannon. “I am constantly looking for inspiration in my surroundings and how I can connect that to my job because we do not copy and paste anything. Each event is customized specifically for the client.”
Integrity Events recently planned a 40th birthday celebration and Shannon loved working with their client through every step of the process. “Keely and I definitely connected off the bat,” says Shannon. “She is fun-spirited and such a blessing to work with. She gave me a general vision of what she was looking for and my role was to create something that was aesthetically pleasing and really matched her vibe.”
Keely chose a restaurant for the celebration and wanted a luxurious western atmosphere to reflect the heart of Fort Worth without leaning too heavily into the stereotypical western theme. “Through the design process, we helped her fine-tune her color palette and then really elevated the experience with a few of my favorite things, cowhide leather and chiffon,” explains Shannon. “Then we aligned everything with fringe through a couple of things I created, specifically leather fringe lamps that provided lower mood lighting and brought a warm feeling to the area.”
Throughout the space, Shannon incorporated texture to set the tone for the celebration. “I like including different textures and layering each one in a different manner to where when a guest sits down, they feel energized by that moment,” she says. “I want them to love everything in front of them and, as their eye is drawn to each individual piece, they have fun exploring what they are seeing and experiencing.”
Although each event designed by Integrity Events & Design is unique, Shannon finds that special decade birthday celebrations, like Keely’s, open endless possibilities for themes and individual flair. “These are some of my favorite because they are personalized to just one person as opposed to a traditional concept like a wedding,” says Shannon. “With celebrations like this, it's fine-tuned to one person, and it gives the person an opportunity to share what they love and celebrate in a particular format.”
For Shannon, a vital part of creating a unique experience is tailoring elements to the person and the occasion. “I think that the most fun part of the process is being able to create an element that we've never done before and is not going to be duplicated again,” she says. “I love sharing with them that it was created solely to celebrate them during this specific time in their life.”
Professional event planners like A.J. and Shannon bring with them a wealth of expertise and established collaboration with vendors to ensure that the person being celebrated can truly enjoy the festivities without the uncertainty and stress of planning the event. “We want to save them all the hours of planning and sourcing all the things,” says Shannon. “We just want them to just show up and give themselves permission to have a blast and celebrate.”
To connect with Integrity Events & Design for any upcoming celebration, complete the contact form at integrityeventsdesign.com. Also, follow @integrityevents.design on Instagram for photos of prior events.
Vendor List:
- Event Planner | @integrityevents.design
- Photography | @kayla_oudthone/
- Restaurant & Bar | @palomasuerteftx
- Balloons | @ayalaballoons
- Linens & Table Rentals | @royaleventrentalsdfw
- Marquee Letters | @lonestarglowco
- Florist | @swept.away.florals
- Cake | @cake_aholics_bakery
- Sketch Artist | @artsyfartsyfashion