An event planner in Raleigh, North Carolina, Elizabeth Flake is a Southern home and hospitality enthusiast, inspiring others to make their celebrations more extraordinary through seasonal and holiday decor, party ideas, and tips for entertaining. With the most festive spirit and a deep appreciation for traditions and memory-making, Elizabeth’s signature style is full of color, nostalgia, and whimsical elegance, with a passion for mixing new pieces with old treasures!
My Story
Hey y’all! I’m Elizabeth Flake (known to many as “Liz” or “Flake”). I was born and raised in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina (right off Tobacco Road…GO HEELS!). After college, I stayed in the Triangle and ten years later, I now reside in Durham! I am a wedding planner at A Southern Soirée and absolutely love my job! Designing luxury weddings was always a dream of mine and I am honored to be trusted by my wonderful clients to make their weddings come to life!
Since I was a little girl, I have obsessed over and talked non-stop (literally, non-stop) about celebrating holidays and holiday decor! When most kids asked Santa for toys, I asked for a sleigh bell and new Christmas ornaments. I was very “opinionated” with the holiday decor in our home growing up so my parents gave me a lot of creative control! On my parents’ birthdays, I used to secretly stay up and late hang streamers in the middle of the night for a surprise when they woke up. For my own birthdays, I always had a hand in the theme and decor. I was the kid who planned all the school dances, prom, homecoming weeks. I was SO excited to be Senior Class President so that I could help pick out our high school graduation invitation and later plan our class reunions!
My passion for celebrations continued into college when I became the social chair for all my friends and family that needed help with their events. My college apartment was always styled for the appropriate season or occasion and I hosted many, many parties complete with meatballs, cheese dips, and sausage balls. On tailgate Saturdays, I made my own themed t-shirts, famous deviled eggs, and signature bacon-wrapped smokies. I never missed an opportunity to spread seasonal cheer or feed a group of people!
I started a Southern entertaining and holiday blog in late 2015 while I worked full time as a sales manager and waited (im)patiently for someone I knew to get engaged and give me my first shot as an official wedding planner. Now I’m a full-time wedding planner and host the occasional birthday or theme party, while finding any excuse to entertain guests in the home I share with my fiancee Kendall. I feel so grateful for all the creative outlets I have through designing weddings, styling our home for the holidays, and inspiring others to intentionally and beautifully celebrate!
When I’m not working on weddings or decorating our home, I’m usually gardening, binge-watching Golden Girls, Gilmore Girls or Frasier, and browsing Pinterest for new ideas! I’m always cheering on my Tar Heels and am a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in Communications. Kendall and I also met at UNC! He proposed in December 2019 at our annual holiday party in front of all our family and friends! While we had originally planned our (my) dream Christmas wedding for December 2020, we unfortunately had to postpone to 2021 due to COVID-19…what a year to be a gatherer, a wedding planner and a bride! Whew!
The other important supporting cast member to this show is Bella, the cutest little Maltichon (Maltese and Bichon mix) dog with the biggest personality!
Fun Facts About Me:
