Meet Courtney Ochoa: Certified Balloon Artist, Event Consultant and Decorator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Courtney Ochoa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process of starting my business was based off my own personal experience of planning, decorating, hosting and of course clean up with my sister for all of our family events and birthday parties, we realized we never had time to get ourselves “together ” in time to relax and enjoy the fun. From this experience collectively, the thought process was to create a planning and decorating service in order to alleviate the stress of my clients; leaving them the opportunity to focus on themselves, relax and actually enjoy their party or event.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Something To Remember Parties & Events is widely known for our amazing balloon decor and art such as columns, arches, balloon marquees, bouquets, balloon walls, balloon frames, and more. Our services also include; consulting, setup, and formal event decorating. What sets us apart? Our ability to bring our clients ideal concept for their event into reality. We are most proud about being a staple part of several local schools for their homecomings, Senior Week, Senior Banquet and more. What excites us about this is having the opportunity to work alongside the sponsors and student volunteers in the planning process to create their dream event then seeing the Wow on their faces when they see the final results. I got where I am today business-wise by dedication, continued training to keep my skills sharp and keeping up with current trends of the industry. Most definitely I’ve gotten where I am today through the continued patronage of all of my clients and they’re recommendations to their family, friends and associates. It definitely has not been easy. Building a brand from scratch is a difficult challenge. I overcame challenges by seeking God’s will (in what way through my work or my presence his light will be represented). Also through listening and applying sound advice from others who have gone through the same. Lessons I’ve learned along the way are 1) how and when to “pivot” 2) taking a moment to breathe brings about clarity to stressful situations 3) opportunity does knock. So if one door closes, open the next one 4) No is not final. What I like the world to know about me and my business is we are a small business but we think big! We’ve come a long way since opening our doors. What started in the Metro Atlanta areas has grown throughout other towns/cities in Georgia and has span as far as cities in New York. My educational resume in the industry includes training by world known masters of Special Events Meeting & Planning (S/O to Prof. Q), I’ve also been trained by local, world known, and International balloon artist in Balloon decorating industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When family and friends visit, breakfast would definitely begin at home Sunday morning for a home cooked meal, Monday- Saturday definitely would be Pastries a go go downtown Decatur, Nana’s Chicken and Waffles Conyers. Lunch and Dinner: Naan’s-Downtown Atlanta, Tin Drum Asian Kitchen, Oz Pizza-East Point, Corner Bakery-Atlanta, Newks Eatery-Tucker, Cheddar’s-McDonough, Jim n Nick’s and Longhorn Steakhouse-Conyers, Some of the fun and interesting places to check out are Sweet Alburn Festival, Ponce City Market Atlanta, Arabia Mountain Park to walk the trails and visit the wildlife reserve, Atlanta Botanical gardens, Fern Bank Science Center, Fourth Ward Park (Taste Of Atlanta), Food Truck Tuesday-Stockbridge to name a few. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to my sister Niki who started this journey with me and encouraged me to keep going when she left the business to manage her girls music career 💓, To my Husband, kids, mom and sister Blythe for all their love, support, giving of their time when I needed team, for dealing with me when I stress but finding ways to make me laugh and realize I got this. Last but definitely not least Carolyn who is more my sister than friend ❤️. When I was ready to close the doors she stepped in to help keep things going until I could get back on my feet again. Words can not express all love and appreciation I have for them all. Thank you all for the continued love, prays, support and encouragement.

Website: www.somethingtorememberevents.com

Instagram: @strpartiesandevents