Meet Martha Easton England

We had the good fortune of connecting with Martha Easton England and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Martha Easton, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Growing up, I often heard “no risk, no reward” in our home, so I’ve never really shied away from challenges, new experiences and now, as a business professional. Most of the time this mantra has served me well, I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. I also can’t say that it hasn’t taught me some pretty tough lessons while building a business from the bottom up. I don’t have a business degree, so it’s a lot of learning as I go. After graduating high school, I took the traditional path of going to college, earning a Fine Arts degree and practicing my Interior Design profession in a corporate setting. What I learned most in those eight years post-graduation is that the corporate structure was not fulfilling my need to stretch my wings, explore and take risk. I was “safe” in the constructs of a traditional business structure and as long as I produced what aligned with my company’s identity and made our clients happy, I would be successful. Ironically, I felt like I lost my identity as an artist. I also did not like the idea of someone else defining my success story. While I enjoyed my coworkers and community within the office setting, something inside of me was still restless and knew I could do bigger and better things. I took the risk and didn’t return to the corporate world after having our daughter in January 2022- both of which have been the greatest reward in life.

What should our readers know about your business?
England Events Co. transforms weddings and events into design-driven experiences. We are a full-service, planning and design company that creates bespoke celebrations throughout the southeast and nationwide. Specializing in high-touch, personalized services for our clients and their guests, our goal is to make the process fun and streamlined, while perfectly tailoring the event to their unique love story.

I officially started our business in 2022, after having planned my own 200-person wedding in October of 2019. I was working a corporate desk job with 50-60 hour workweeks and without any help from a wedding planner (not for the faint of heart!). Luckily, I was able to plan it all and pieced it together with my mom and a month-of coordinator. When I got back from our honeymoon, I truly missed the planning process and I think that is where the seed was planted. If I could enjoy planning a wedding in the midst of a stressful work life, then there may be something worth pursuing. COVID hit less than 6 months later, and while I was laid off, it gave me six months to reflect and research the industry. Truly, it was the best blessing in disguise.

I am most proud of what we have been able to accomplish in the past two years. In our short time as a company, we have planned weddings throughout the Carolinas, Montana, the Georgia Coast, Nashville and currently working on a 30A wedding. Our greatest joy comes in new venue spaces and the challenges brought in building a wedding from the ground up. Some of my most favorite weddings are our tented weddings – blank slates bring endless possibilities and personalization! I have quickly learned that the greatest asset to success are our trusting clients, our vendors, and choosing those teams wisely. While Instagram typically shows you the best of any one persons’ work, it’s essential to know how vendors work when the going gets tough.

Our approach to planning is highly relational – we want to be your best friend in the planning process by the time your wedding plans are all nailed into place. Each and every one of our clients are different and we want to be ultra-accessible to them, so we only take on about 8-10 weddings a year. We take on the quality over quantity approach – no one wants be a checked box! We get to know our brides and grooms on such a deep and relational level, that any more than that would not allow us to give them the attention to detail that weddings require. I think that is what makes our weddings so special – we take the time with each of our couples to build and design a wedding that is uniquely them. As we continue to scale, I hope we can take on more, but for the time being, I have found that number to be the sweet spot.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Charleston would be my go-to area for a weekend away – as an art enthusiast, architecture and history lover, (and self-proclaimed foodie and wine snob) Charleston is hard to beat. Here’s a fun, 5-day itinerary for visiting the Holy City:

Day 1 –

On the first day, we would drop our bags at our hotel (Hotel Ryder) and head down to the cutie poolside bar, Little Palm, before we head out on our first evening adventure. Our first night would be super casual and local, over at Leon’s Fine Poultry and Oyster shop we would order their chargrilled oysters and shrimp roll.

Day 2 –

My all-time favorite trip hack is to take a professional walking tour of any city, so you get insiders’ tips and tricks and local spots that may not have been on your radar. So, we would start there – a walking tour of the historic district, Rainbow Row and French Quarter to kick off the morning after a quick stop at Harken Cafe for breakfast and a latte. After the walking tour, we would head over to King Street to do a little window shopping and maybe head over to the Antique District. After a long day of walking, a well-deserved aperitivo hour at Delaney’s Oyster House followed by dinner at Chez Nous would wrap up our day.

Day 3 –

Day 3 we would get out of town and head to John’s Island to drive beneath the beautiful live oaks, see Angel Oak and spend the day around Kiawah Island and maybe a fun brunch at the Dunlin’s new restaurant, Linette’s. The Dunlin and Kiawah River properties have some pretty breathtaking views of the river. We would then head over to Charleston Tea Garden for a trolley tour before heading back to our hotel to hang poolside.

Day 4 –
The next day, we would head out to Sullivan’s Island or Folly Beach for a kayak excursion followed by a beach day.

Day 5 –

Our last day would be back in the city exploring the amazing amount of museums, City Market, and other historical sights you can find around the city! We would stop for a bite at Caviar and Bananas before meandering through all of the beautiful and historic homes near the Battery and White Point Gardens.
We would regroup back to our hotel, get ready for the afternoon/evening, and head out to golden hour cocktails on the rooftop of the Dewberry before heading to a tasting menu experience and wine pairing at Zero George.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think this is a two-fold response and both should get equal recognition – First would be my parents, Ellen and Jim. My dad was in finance and my mom was a music educator, so I’ve always had a nice balance of practicality and creativity. While there are “rules” in life, some of them should be broken, and I think my parents have always encouraged that. You have to color outside the lines sometimes to stand out and grow as an individual.

Secondly, my husband, Will, who sees me on the good and the bad days. We just celebrated our five year anniversary and have been together for almost 13 years. He has watched me grow in my career and fight those internal struggles of leaving my corporate safety net behind. He has been supportive as I grow this little business of mine, but he also keeps me grounded and focused. He works from home with me and is such a constant and consistent presence in our family and little girl’s life.

Website: www.englandeventsco.com

Instagram: @englandeventsco

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/englandeventsco

Image Credits
Lizzie Baker, Lizzie Baker Photography Megan Holloway, The New Romantic Holly Marbut