L y m A e started her wedding planning business, Breathe and Relax Events, five years ago. But the seeds for this particular calling were sown much earlier.
“It’s kind of a combination of a few different things that brought me to where I am today,” Lee explains, a mixture of effervescence and efficiency coloring her words. “My dad owned a movie theater and I’ve always been a romantic movie, happy ending kind of person. I love ‘love stories’ in general.” A childhood fueled by family (and more than a few films at her father’s Park River, North Dakota, movie theater) left Lee with many happy memories. She earned a degree in sales, marketing and management from Northland Community and Technical College in East Grand Forks and spent over decade working in creative and wedding-adjacent fields. Lee styled brides’ and promgoers’ hair for more than 15 years, enjoyed a long career as a DJ, perfected her photography skills and also worked as a commercial and residential interior designer. Lee flitted between these creative fields with verve and curiosity, gathering experience and gaining expertise. She worked with a variety of people and worked tirelessly to help her clients discover and elevate their own style. Don’t let her winding career path (or her fondness for blush pink, happy endings and anything with sparkles) fool you — Lee is fiercely driven, impeccably organized and laser focused. Just like in the romantic movies Lee loves, a suitor soon arrived on the scene. She fell in love with her now-husband Matt and the couple was delighted to learn they’d soon be welcoming a baby. But dark days were coming for our leading lady. In 2014, Lee lost her mom to cancer. Just six months later, she and Matt welcomed a daughter, Juliette. Lee found herself navigating the ups and downs of new motherhood while grieving the loss of her mom. As the couple planned their wedding, tragedy struck again; Lee’s dad passed away seven months before the ceremony. Wedding planning can be stressful, time consuming and difficult under the best of circumstances. But when the mother of the bride has been taken too soon, that all-important role stands empty. That can make even simple details like event set-up an emotional minefield for her daughter — and for the entire family.