The Story Behind The Name
Once upon a time there was a special chicken nugget loving princess named Breann!
Breann is Katie's sister. Breann was born in September of 1990, the best month (it's Katie's birthday month too)! Breann was born with an extra chromosome, which is called Down Syndrome! The extra chromosome makes them extra special and truly amazing! If you know anything about people with Down Syndrome they are a whole different being! They are full of life, so happy and truly love life! Breann was all of those things, she loved music and really LOVED chicken nuggets! She was always dancing about or blasting Michael Bolton (insert face smack). Katie can probably sing all of the Michael Bolton songs word for word!
Princess Breann lived as normal as a life as any kid, she had friends, enjoyed annoying her sister and was sassy as all hell! She was known for telling Katie, "Get a Life" or yelling at Katie's guy friends, "Don't Kissa my Sissta"! She kept the whole family on their toes and always knew how to make them laugh. There was never a dull moment growing up.
The Turning Point
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Valentine's day of 2005 is when everything began to change. Breann had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. In June, Breann started to get sicker and was spending time in the hospital. On August 6th, Breann passed away. This day left a huge hole in Katie and the family. Katie did not know how she would get through the rest of her life without her "chicken nugget".
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At Breann's wake, there was a butterfly that kept close to the family. Katie took this as a sign of her sister. If you look at the A Lively Event logo you will notice a butterfly, this is in honor of Breann. Every version of the logo over the years has included a butterfly to keep Breann included. Katie has a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder for Breann.
The Creation of A Lively Event
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The next two years were really tough on Katie. In 2007, Katie had her son Kaleb. Katie began planning elaborate parties for Kaleb. Her friends began getting married and having children on their own and ask Katie to help with planning all of their events.
This is when Katie thought why not start a business planning events! When thinking of a name for her business, nothing seemed to fit until she thought about her sister and keeping her sister's memory alive. She thought about naming it Bre's Events and other variations that included Breann's name. It wasn't until she was explaining who Breann was that she was saying how LIVELY Breann always was and that no-one was more Lively than her, when it clicked! A Lively Event! This was a name that could cover all types of events and keep with the spirit of exactly who Breann was. Plus, who wants a boring event?
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From this moment on, A Lively Event was born! Katie picked out the name for A Lively Event in 2011. Katie then began working on her education and business plans to make the business official and something she could be proud of. A Lively Event was officially created as a business in 2013 and has been growing and keeping Breann's story alive over the years.
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Katie has added two more tattoos to the collection for Breann. On her right forearm, one says "We shall never drift apart" and the other is a Triquetra or Trinity Knot (the symbol of eternal spiritual life, is one continuous line interweaving around itself which symbolizes eternal spiritual life) and the Celtic symbol for family. These are everyday reminders of her love for her sister and to keep Breann's story shared.
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Breann always loved parties and weddings! So this love is in every wedding and gives Katie joy being a wedding planner knowing that Breann would have loved working alongside her at weddings!