December 2008
Rhi graduates from Michigan State University. Armed with a fancy degree, nine internships gracing her two page resume and a boatload of determination, she’s off with her fiance to Chicago to live happily ever after. So she thinks. Sometimes on the way to a dream, we got lost and find a better one.
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February 2009
After failing to find a reporting gig in the Windy City, Rhi decides to start a blog. On Valentines Day 2009 Pink Sugar Desserts is born in the living room of a little Chicago apartment. Hours and hours of job searching turns into hours and hours of baking while Rhi quickly learns the in’s and out’s of social media. Oh and the value of sticking with an idea
even when it seems totally crazy.
April 2009
Rhi packs up her Jetta. And makes the 15 hour tear filled trek from Chicago to Toronto.
May 2009
Rhi decides opening a bakery is the silliest idea ever.
September 2009
Tear-filled airport visits between Toronto and Chicago become fairly frequent.
January 2010
Pink Sugar Desserts bids farewell and Rhi’s blog becomes Hey Gorgeous Events just in time for the new year to start. It’s a wonderful transition to kick start a beautiful year to kickstart something pretty magical.
June 2010
A comment from a friend on facebook telling Rhi she should plan events professionally sparks the start of one big beautiful adventure.
October 2010
Six days after getting married, Rhi’s business is born in the basement of Rhi’s parent’s home. Humble beginnings indeed.
January 2011
Rhi gets to open a few Crate and Barrel wedding gifts.
February 2011
HGE graces the page of SMP twice in once week and Rhi has butterflies for days. To celebrate Rhi buys a desk so her office can move from the couch to the other side of the living room. For Valentines Day Rhi and Andy go for dinner. Rhi makes cupcakes for dessert.
March 2012
Rhi begins to offer floral design to her incredible clients.
August 2012
Rhi spends four back to back weekends in Northern Michigan handling the execution of some pretty big and spectacular weddings. A distinct HGE style starts to take place. It’s full of playful sophistication and classic gorgeousness.
June 2013
HGE’s biggest wedding season begins packed with weddings across Michigan, Ohio and Canada. Dozens of hotel stays, numerous all nighters, thousands of floral stems and more than 20 brides and grooms make that season one for the books.
November 2013
After months of preparation and planning, Rhi’s sister brand The Trouvaille Workshop is unveiled and tickets sell out after just eight hours. Remember that getting lost on the way to a dream thing?
Rhi doesn’t feel so lost anymore.
December 2013
The HGE crew hits the road for a 300 person New Year’s Eve bash in Cincinnati Ohio. Driving at 1:00 am through a snow storm with a U-Haul full of rentals and 23 boxes of florals proves to be a tad trying. But the confetti falls at midnight with the newlyweds smack dab in the middle of the dance floor and all is well.
March 2014
The Bosse’s basement becomes the official space for Rhi’s new studio. The hunt for a contractor, a drywall installer and the perfect shade of gray barn wood flooring begins. Rhi’s never been so happy to see a thin coat of white dust everywhere.
April 2014
The first ever Trouvaille Workshop takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan with 26 amazing women from eleven different states and Canada making an appearance. Three workshop days unfold, jam-packed with laughter, hands on learning and inspiration. Rhi begins to plan Trouvaille 2.0 the day after the workshop ends.
May 2014
HGE’s largest event is featured in a five page spread in the national issue of The Knot. She buys too many copies. Rhi also turns 27 this month. And executes (with the help of her amazing staff) two beautiful events for two incredibly special couples. May is beautifully busy. Those 15 pink peony bushes start to bloom.
June 2014
Trouvaille 2.0 plans begin to come together just in time for tickets to go on sale.
August 2014
Hey Gorgeous grows up and gets a little makeover. It’s pretty perfect don’t you think?
September 2014
Rhi travels to Nashville for a four day speaking engagement only to hop on back to back flights to get down to Texas for the HGE finale event of 2015. Rhi and Andrew spend five days in Austin, Texas y’all bringing together an event that was planned in nearly two years. We made a really pretty floral arch in about 30 minutes. And ate wedding cake at the end of the evening. After the happy couple is sent off on their honeymoon, we fly back to Grand Rapids to prepare for The Trouvaille Workshop set to unfold in October. We sneak in a few cat naps here and there.
November 2014
Rhi surprises the Southern Weddings Magazine gals and makes an appearance at the Volume 7 Launch Party in North Carolina. Of course some HGE blooms also make an appearance and the night is spent reminiscing with good friends, good food and of course, some Cheerwine.
A festive and home cooked Thanksgiving feast is hosted at The Bosse home. We sure love celebrating milestones around here!
February 2015
Rhi finds herself in Solvang, California to further her floral education at Flowerwild’s workshop. Rhi tries to convince Andrew to move to California where the light is always lovely and dreamy (and the cherry blossoms bloom in February!) Andrew politely shrugs off Rhi’s efforts.
June 2015
From Ann Arbor to Lowell, Michigan, the HGE team spends two back to back weekends executing two beautiful backyard soirees. In between, they help spearhead the grand opening of West Elm here in Grand Rapids! There are many hours spent on the road and many iced lattes consumed. And lots of flowers. Always lots of flowers.
July 2015
Summer rolls on with an editorial up in Glen Arbor, two smaller floral only events and a big destination event in Northern, Michigan. The HGE team loves road trips. They’ve become pretty great at them too.
July 2015
Sweet Baby Bosse is a BOY! Rhi and Andrew determine their son is their greatest adventure yet.
September 2015
A Labor Day event in Berrien Springs gives Rhi and the HGE team the opportunity to do one of their biggest floral installations yet. With more than 400 stems of Michigan grown dahlias and rose petals for days, we conquer the 92 degree heat and create a whimsical floral fairy tale for our happy clients.
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March 2009
Rhi starts spending $14.00 on real vanilla beans to make really yummy butter cream. But with no job prospects in sight (thanks to that pesky OPT post-graduate visa rule) Rhi realizes this isn’t very logical. Her dreams of living with her fiancé, buying dinner party supplies from Crate and Barrel, and getting that weekly paycheck start to slowly fade away.
May 2009
Rhi decides to open a brick and mortar bakery.
June 2009
Instead, Rhi enrolls in a New Media Journalism program, the dream of being a reporter still fresh in her mind. Between a fast track school schedule, a part time job, and starting to plan for her own big day after a year of being engaged, blog posts about cupcakes turn into blog posts about weddings, events and making celebrations meaningful and lovely. Andrew still lives 15 hours away. This is sad.
October 2009
Rhi and Andy set a wedding date finally! One day while casually flipping through a bridal magazine Rhi finds her dress. Coincidently it’s the newest gown displayed in her hometown’s bridal salon’s window. Naturally she heads downtown by herself to try it on. She doesn’t even look at the price tag before telling the sales clerk it’s the one.
May 2010
Rhi graduates from her post gradate program and shocks even herself when she realizes TV news isn’t for her. Instead she rides the subway back and forth from Toronto, interning with a reputable magazine smack dab in the middle of the big city hustle and bustle. Cute outfits to wear to work become Rhi’s favorite thing next to day dreams of business ownership, pricing strategies and planning events for others.
September 2010
Rhi and Andy get married. It’s a beautifully chaotic day. A lot goes wrong. It rains. The food isn’t what the couple picked. The bride doesn’t even have time that day to shave her legs! But that wonderfully chaotic day becomes the catalyst for the mission behind what ends up becoming Hey Gorgeous Events. A five day honeymoon in the Bahamas doesn’t just include sun tanning and relaxation. It includes daydreaming, price strategizing and visions of flawlessly executed events.
November 2010
Work happens here. Lots of work.
December 2010
Rhi moves back to Chicago at long last, this time to be with Andy for good. With a Jetta full of belongings, a small collection of event inventory and Rhi’s 12 year old Siamese cat Chenks, the 15 hour trek unfolds. She walks back into the apartment she signed with her fiancé nearly two years prior and tells her now husband, ‘I’m home.’
March 2011
HGE kicks off it’s first official full wedding season under the HGE brand. Five beautiful weddings are about to unfold, in four cities, two countries.
April 2011
Andy lands a job in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rhi says she refuses to move back to Michigan. You can probably guess where Rhi and Andy end up.
July 2011
Rhi’s asked to help a friend with her wedding florals. And thus the journey into floral artistry begins.
December 2011
The Bosse’s first home is built and the couple moves in just one week before Christmas. Rhi naturally plants 15 pink peony bushes along the side of the house. Andy naturally buys his first grill to sit on the back deck. They wake up on Christmas morning with not one thing unpacked except the perfectly manicured and decorated Christmas tree.
June 2012
Zoe Francine comes home with Rhi and Andy. They’re head over heels. Zoe also becomes the official (non-working of course) assistant in the HGE office. She also has her own Instagram account. It’s ridiculous, Rhi knows this.
September 2012
After deciding it’s time for an official logo, Rhi starts the rebranding process.
December 2012
The big reveal comes and goes. Rhi celebrates with a relaunch party and close to 50 colleagues and friends.
February 2013
The hunt for a new HGE studio begins.
October 2013
October is full of good things. Rhi’s work is featured in Martha Stewart Weddings. She calls her Mom first with the news. Rhi also travels to Making Things Happen to speak to a really amazing group of attendees on living with purpose and going after a life that matters.
November 2013
Rhi’s family and Andy’s family come together again at long last for a lovely and styled Thanksgiving dinner in The Bosse’s home. Rhi makes her first turkey and pumpkin pie; a paleo version made special for her Mom. Rhi decides cooking isn’t her thing. Thank goodness she didn’t open that bakery.
January 2014
Rhi takes a few days off. To you know, catch up on sleep.
June 2014
After purchasing plane tickets to Georgia, Nashville, North Carolina, Denver, Seattle and Texas all for business trips, Rhi thinks it’s time to invest in a frequent flyer program. Or perhaps one of those fancy neck pillows that help you snooze during a flight.
July 2014
HGE sees more press in The Knot magazine, Style Me Pretty, Junebug Weddings, Snippet and Ink and more. Being a part of spectacular events with devoted vendors and such wonderful families brings her so much joy. 2015 begins to fill up with full service events across the nation in some pretty awesome places. Rhi continues working on a little project that’s sort of top secret but a whole lot of awesome. This is mainly on this timeline of events to help keep her accountable.
October 2014
Rhi crosses off a bucket list item; her first magazine cover! Southern Weddings Magazine launches their seventh volume at long last and on the cover is a pretty lovely photo with our florals. Our Bushel and a Peck shoot brings together all of those things our brand works so hard to stand for; family, love and tradition. We’re tickled pink to have been given such an honor!
January 2015
Touch down in LA. Rhi has the opportunity to assist Sinclair and Moore on the Bachelorette wedding in Rendondo Beach, California. It’s a truly stunning celebration and a chance to escape a cold Midwest winter.
March 2015
Pickles & Pigs! One of the largest groups of artists ever come together to execute an editorial shoot for Volume 8 of Southern Weddings. And yes, a sweet little piglet names Goodie steal the spotlight that day.
April 2015
Lots of work! Mock ups, emails, timelines, phone calls; it’s full on wedding season in the HGE studio!
May 2015
Just two days before Mother’s Day (oh the perfect timing!) Rhi is completely surprised, shocked and absolutely grateful to discover she is growing a little miracle. She tells Andrew the next day when they meet at Rhi’s family’s cottage and together celebrate their sweet news in private. They spend they entire weekend daydreaming of their answered prayer and whether sweet Baby Bosse will be a boy or a girl (they totally think it’s a boy).
August 2015
Trouvaille 3.0 finally arrives and exceeds each and every last expectation. Four magical days in the Windy City bring inspiration, education and encouragement to almost 50 women and men from all over North America. Everyone dines under bistro lights, sips wine on rooftops, and learns from each other’s stories of triumph and failure, success and mistakes. It’s truly bittersweet to end the workshop and bid farewell to our sweet attendees but Rhi heads home with a purpose to make 2016’s events more intentional and magical as ever.
September 2015
Rhi and Andrew head to Tuscany, Italy for an intimate destination affair set against the rolling hills of a historic villa. On the schedule for the week? Lots of florals and too much pasta. The six month mark of Sweet Baby Bosse in Rhi’s belly is celebrated with a photo session in Milan. Because when else do you find yourself on a work trip overseas with a talented photographer, who happens to be a great friend, and your expecting?
September 2015
September 24th, 2015 marks the Bosses five year wedding anniversary. Time flies when you’re having fun, right? The couple celebrates with a quiet night in reflecting on the original HGE wedding that first started this journey.
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Fall 2015
The weather begins to change, Rhi continues to serve her 2016 clients, and Trouvaille 4.0 details are being worked away behind the scenes.
It’s a much needed change of pace in the studio.