Meet Donna Gullatte | Event Stylist & Beverage Designer

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

Hi Donna, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had always dreamed of becoming a successful Fashion Designer and owning my own business. Here was my time to shine and there I was a B.S. Degree from Alabama A&M University and ready to conquer the world. And then suddenly all my plans came to a halt as I realized that 1.) If I wanted to do anything…I needed to get to work to get things started and 2.) In the Fashion Industry during the late 80’s you kind of needed to relocate to a larger city where Fashion was “On and Popping!” This statement is not so true today as you can make it anywhere…you just have to have the drive and commitment to make things happen. I decided that I was not ready to take that leap of faith, so I made the decision to stay in Huntsville. I worked in retail until I snagged a job with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES). I also enjoyed many years of watching my parents- own and operate their business. I found ownership quite intriguing. They owned a nightclub and a restaurant. My Mom loved crafting and putting together weddings, so in my spare time I was often found assisting when she had weddings and catered events as she was one of “The Best” cooks in the Huntsville area. I guess you could say that I followed in her footsteps with planning and styling weddings. I enjoyed my career with ACES because it was like a ministry to me educating the Youth, adults and seniors about basic life skills, financial and estate planning, parenting and much more. I learned so much about people and I am grateful for the opportunity to help people become more self-sufficient and for myself to learn more patience and compassion. I still had a burning desire to own my own business. So, after 30 years, I realized the only thing stopping me from my passion was me. Even though I had been an Event Planner and Designer for 20+ years as a side gig…I had a gut feeling as well as the courage to start doing something that I had always dreamed of. Passionate and ready to use the gifts God had given me. The wedding and event business was something that came natural for me because I was still able to use my creativity and fashion sense to not just style clothing but spaces and drinks too. I am obsessed with creating events that bring people together for joyful celebrations. After reading, planning and doing many events pro-bono, in October 2017 I decided I was no longer a side hustle chic, but a legally operating African American Woman owned Business, however, I was still operating part-time because I was still employed. I began planning and journaling what and how my business would operate by asking questions and hanging out with other creatives in the business, going to seminars, creating vision boards, purchasing inventory from the profits of small jobs, watching and learning from others in the business and practicing my craft. I applied and became Couture Creations Designs, LLC. in 2020 during the pandemic…what a blessing! My plan was to retire as of March 2022 and so I did and as of April 1, 2022 I was officially retired and ready to go. It seemed that it was all a part of God’s plan as I began to get all sorts of inquiries and bookings after all these years of imagining owning my own business, doing a little here and a little there it became clearer and more intentional that this was my time to dream big. My Side hustle then became…my Businesses ~ Couture Creations Designs & Events and Couture Creations Pours & Potions. I still do a little Fashion design every now and then, but I am more and more obsessed and in love with creating beautiful spaces, seeing the look on a couples face and discovering new ways to use our Pours & Potions. The thought process behind naming my business came from my love of fashion as when you see and hear when top designers fashion lines are being described on the runway… you hear that word “Couture” which generally describes clothing that is designed by a Top well-known fashion designer. I tweaked the meaning a bit and related it to events as I am an Event and Beverage Designer and I describe myself as Good and Growing…meaning I am pretty good at my craft but I am always growing and learning. It seems as though the event and wedding industry is becoming totally saturated with Event Planning and Design, but in the words of Social Media Clips…”Everybody ain’t you” and it serves as a constant reminder that you have to always reinvent yourself and not worry about what someone else is doing because they are not you. In starting my business I knew that I wanted to offer Design services and it was only natural to offer clients the other services that go along with styling events such as Planning, Private Catering and Mocktail Bar Service. My preference is not to do cookie cutter style where I would use the same look with a few changes here and there… I wanted to make each event or Beverage “Couture” by giving it its own vibe, identity and ambiance. Everyone is not the same so your events and what you serve should always be a version of you and reflect your personality and your story. We plan to add other services and items to our repertoire as well as ecommerce items to our website as we continually grow. We also plan to grow a wider market for those who may not be looking to have events but may need beautiful Couture accessories to create beautiful spaces at Home.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I will begin with the last question first…I want the world to know that I love and I am very passionate about what I do and with each event that I am entrusted with whether it be from planning weddings, decorating or styling events or mixing up some beverage concoctions…rest assured that you are going to get my best and then some. I look at each event as if it were my own paying extra attention to the details. My continual goal is for The Couture Creations Brand to be associated with Trust…Beauty…Uniqueness… Being Dependable…. Rich Flavors…Timeless Aesthetics and Memorable Presentations. I also am very passionate about giving back to my community. In 2013 my dad’s cancer came back having had it back in 2016. He became ill and needed to be cared for on a regular basis and during the same time My mother was barely getting around because she needed a knee replacement. Well, in between taking Dad to Treatments my mom was trying to recover from surgery and to this day has not been able to walk. I am her Power of Attorney and Primary Caregiver. I never would have imagined being their caregiver, but I would not change it for the world. Family Unpaid Caregivers hold a special place in my heart because being a caregiver you experience a lot of emotions, anger, aloneness and stress. I am presently working to create a Non-Profit for Unpaid Family Caregivers-“The Heart of a Caregiver” (FB- @heartofacaregiver). I have been a Caregiver for my parents since 2014 and never really knew all the things I would have to do and prepare for and let’s not talk about the stress levels that caring for anyone brings. I never let being a caregiver discourage what I had dreamed and planned for in my business. It is my goal with this platform is to encourage others who may be going thru some of the same things and share with them that they can do it still do whatever they want to do in life. I would like to support other family caregivers by giving respite opportunities with just simple things like stepping out to go to the movies/overnight staycations and support them by paying registrations to conferences that may empower them. I produced my first event last year to give back to Non-Profit Organizations last year…It is call “Christmas & Cocktails”. This event helps me to get the word out about my Pours & Potions, my Styling Talents as well as helping the community. It is always my goal to give back. This will be an annual platform that I will use to help with funding for Caregiver Respites. To get to this point in my career has been challenging…because I have had to step out of my box and get out of my own way. This has been a personal challenge for me, sometimes questioning myself with self-doubt, comparison, and sometimes even a lack of confidence. I have come to realize and learn that if I don’t believe in my products nor myself it’s going to be a hard sell to potential clients and investors. Of course I have run into other challenges such as not being consistent with marketing, making connections with the right people and that accounting piece…boy has it always been a beast for me as I love creating and not so much the bookkeeping side of business, but I do understand that it is absolutely necessary because this part gives you the true picture of you and your business and how it is going financially. I am totally proud of myself for getting through some of these adversities and to have overcome some of my own hurdles. I am certainly not where I want to be but not where I used to be. I consider myself ever evolving and learning. I have had to speak life into myself and my business and some of the most important things I have listed have been integral my business and the learning journey:

*The art of intentional prayer
*Speaking life into yourself
*Accepting and Respecting others Criticisms and Compliments
*Knowing that others products are not your product
*Embracing the fact that you are worthy to have a seat at the table or create your own
*Networking
*Not being afraid to talk about your business
*Researching, Practicing and Knowing the backstories about what you do and things you create

As you can probably see, there are many lessons I have learned but these lessons have also helped me to overcome some of my challenges. I still have a lot more growing, evolving and creating to do. I have gotten to this point with much prayer, sacrifice, educating myself, support from family and friends and just simply Starting! I am super excited for the increases of traffic on my website and social media. I am very happy to have actual clients and repeat clients who trust me to handle some of their most precious memories. I’m proud and honored to have been a part of some dope photoshoots and for my work to have been seen on David’s Bridal social media Page, The White Azalea Estate Client brochure and Urban Cook houses Wedding Brochure. I am very thankful to Mr. Jonathan Hambrick for believing in me and allowing my product to be sold and promoted in his restaurant Big John’s BBQ and His MyKitchen Commissary Kitchen. I am presently working to get my Pours & Potion Beverage line available to the consumer into a store near you. One of the challenges that I have faced is how do I get feedback on my products other than asking for client reviews…Well, last year I organized a social event and advertised it as “Christmas & Cocktails. This event was created to give the public something fun to do plus it would serve as an Introduction to society for the Pours & Potions. It provided an opportunity to showcase my Pours & Potions Collection and sample them both ways…as a Pour-Non-Alcohol and as a Potion-Favorite liquor added. I provided QR Codes for the flavors and I was able to collect data on most popular flavors what flavors worked or did not work. Presently we are in the planning stages of our 2nd Couture Creations Christmas and Cocktails as we plan to make it an annual event. The other goal for this event would be to raise funds so that I could provide the respite services for my Passion Project “The Heart of a Caregiver as well as a local community organization. So, I am looking forward to Couture Creations future journey and can’t wait to see what God has in store.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh, this is a great question…one my husband and I ask each other almost daily…So this is always a challenge because I am pretty much a homebody but here goes anyway: I would first welcome them into my home since one of our favorite things to do is to entertain. I would prepare a few meals throughout the week, but We would also get out and explore this beautiful city ranked as one of the best places to live in the US. I would seek out a few events going on in the city and purchase tickets if needed but there is so many free activities going on that we would take advantage of those for sure. So, weekend a weekend Brunch is very necessary at Super Hero Chefs/Hammerheads Daiquiri Bar/Another Broken Egg 2 of these is Black-Owned and Hang out at The Camp Mid-City for their Sunday Market of Local Crafters and Artisans Monday would be our day to relax maybe get some pampering in at the spa/nail shop/Premier Dental & Spa facial and then our evening would be spent hanging out at Concerts in the Park with Food Trucks like Big Johns BBQ and Live Music. Tuesday we would Tour the City by day have dinner at Tom Browns and visit Stovehouse for a little more music and Cocktails and maybe even hit a local hometown spot like 708 Bar & Grill. Wednesday-Friday would be some fun and action and try our hand at Civil Axe Throwing (which I was quite surprised that this was such a fun and stress relieving activity)/Dave & Busters and later visit Burritt on the Mountain for Cocktails with a View. Friday night will take us on a visit to Robyn’s Garden Winery where we will enjoy wine and catch so more live entertainment and Saturday we will journey over to Lowe Mill Arts District and take support local makers and artisans at their Saturday Market and pending which Saturday it is they may have a theme going on such as Cosplay (people actually dress up and walk around in their favorite costume of their favorite book, movie or video game. I love Stand Up Live Comedy shows so getting our laugh on will be essential as well as checking out a Concert or Event at the new Orion Amphitheatre.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh yes, and Without a doubt I want to shout out my husband-“Mr. Hypeman” and holds the title offset Designer and Builder. My daughter Mariah Gullatte is Assistant Creative Director & Event Coordinator having just finished Graduate school at Auburn University in Hospitality and Event Management My Hub and Children are my biggest motivation, my Super Fans, my Support System, my Employees, my Critics. They are the ones who pushed me and encouraged me to do it! There are many family members and friends who have supported my business and efforts but I have to give a shout out to my Madison County, AL community for providing and creating vendor opportunities to local small businesses and to Jonathan Hambrick Owner of Big John’s HSV/MyKitchen for giving me the opportunity and believing in me and my product

Website: www.couturecreationsdesigns.net

Instagram: www.instagram/couturecreationsdesigns

Linkedin: Couture Creations Designs & Events

Facebook: www.facebook/couturecreationsdesigns

Youtube: Couture Creations Designs & Events

Image Credits
2PearlsMyBusiness Photography: Valerie Robinson-Burwell