Detroit Wedding Day is honored to have had the opportunity to interview with brooch bouquet designer, Leslye Mathis, owner of Elegant Fantasy Events.
In 2016, Leslye Mathis, then a newly engaged bride-to-be, was blown away by one of the most beautiful brooch bouquets she had ever seen.
“I knew that I wanted a brooch bouquet. A friend of mine had one a few years back. I thought it was the most amazing prettiest thing ever. I decided to order one but the places that I was calling didn’t want to include my brooches that I had with the ones that they were going to be creating for me.”
Mathis continued, “My husband said you should try to make your own. I said that’s a good idea.”
The vendor’s decision not to include her own keepsakes greatly disappointed Mathis, however, the feeling of disappointment did not last long. The disappointment fueled her creativity leading her to design her own wedding brooch bouquet.
With the vision of the bouquet in mind and the clock ticking down to her wedding date, Mathis began to study how to make the jeweled embellished bouquet. This was a great accomplishment, not only because she was able to remain focused on the task at hand, but because she was doing this while preparing for her destination wedding. After many hours of research and many re-designs, armed with sheer determination, she completed her very own wedding brooch bouquet the night before her wedding.
Filled with the joy of the wedding and pride in her accomplishment, she held her prized fashion accessory during the wedding ceremony in Las Vegas.
“The young lady at the wedding chapel said this is one of the best brooch bouquets I have ever seen. I was surprised because it was an experiment for me,” Mathis stated.
Mathis began to explain that she used non-traditional items to make her brooch bouquet. Each item was sentimental to her.
Mathis continued, “The most interesting brooch on my bouquet is a doll of a little girl that my mother gave me. My brooch bouquet represents me and my family. I have my toy poodle, so I had a toy poodle brooch on there. I love hearts, so I had a lot of hearts on there. My husband treats me like a little princess and he is my prince, so I had crowns. The little girl doll represents our girls because my husband has three girls and I have one.”
Dolls, dogs, hearts, and crowns. By all accounts, these are items that the average person would not associate with a wedding brooch bouquet, but each was dear to Mathis’s heart.
To Theme or Not To-Theme…That is the question!
Mathis shared that the brooches she makes can be created around a theme if the bride prefers. It is purely based on what the bride wants. Unlike what Mathis faced when she wanted a bouquet for her wedding, she offers brides many creative options.
“You can theme-out a brooch bouquet if you’d like. It depends on you. If the customer wants a Halloween theme, I can do a Halloween theme. We just have to find brooches to fulfill the theme”, said Mathis.
Recently, she designed bouquets that display the popular burlap rustic look. During the time of the interview, she was working on a Halloween theme brooch bouquet, perfect for those who are into the gothic look.
So, what is her next big project? Who would have guessed, a steam-punk brooch bouquet rich with industrial components and internal clock elements?
Mathis shared, “I think this is the most interesting look ever. My husband wants me to just create, create, create. The thing is, people want to have their own theme or their own brooches incorporated in it.”
For this reason, Mathis just keeps a small inventory of items on hand. Her goal is to create a personalized keepsake based on the bride’s preferences. Mathis’s creativity truly has no boundaries.
Mathis said, “I suggest if a young lady wants to purchase a bouquet for her wedding, I would like for her to give me a call at least two or three months in advance. I would like to have time to look for want they would like to have and order the supplies”.
After all of the items are available Mathis shared that it can take anywhere from one day to two weeks to create the piece.
Mathis continued, “The reason is the bouquet is like a puzzle. Everything has to be placed in the right area. I sit back and I look and I study it.”
The Business
Mathis was not new to the wedding and special events business. For many years, before making her beautiful bouquets, she offered event coordination services to her client through her company Elegant Fantasy Events. It was only after perfecting her craft that she decided to add the brooch bouquets to her already existing business. The new expansion of her business dedicated to creating brooch bouquets was entitled Sparkles of Love.
Mathis continued, “I called my company Sparkles of Love because the bouquet is sparkly and I love doing it. Elegant Fantasy Events presents their Sparkles of Love.”
The Creations
By expanding her business to include brooch bouquets products, she was able to provide a more comprehensive service to her bridal clients.
During the interview, Mathis displayed a mint-green, white, and silver bouquet that had a special story. She shared that a bride commissioned her to create a bouquet that featured the groom’s deceased mother’s wedding ring. Including the ring was a way to have a little something from the groom’s mom at the wedding. The beautiful brooch was adorned with rhinestones and colorful brooches. It had shimmering strings of crystal beads cascading down its side where the treasured wedding ring freely hung.
In addition to the elaborate brooch bouquet, Mathis also designed an accompanying junior bride bouquet which displayed small white rosettes and a kissing-ball for the bridesmaids.
Mathis offers various bouquet shapes. She has the ever-popular round sphere shape but she also offers a heart shape, square form, and a flat round structure shape.
Availability and Access
Brides interested in having a customized brooch bouquet created for their wedding can simply contact Mathis to set up a consultation. Many brides might expect the price of the brooch bouquets to be a small fortune, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, the bride can essentially control the costs based on what is included in the bouquet. This is one of the greatest benefits of having a custom-made brooch bouquet.
Not every bride wants their bouquet to have a lot of bling. Others, on the other hand, may want the crème de la crème. The bouquet options are limitless.
For those brides who want that over-the-top creation, Mathis offers payment options. This makes it easier for brides to affordably create the perfect look for their dream wedding.
For the bride who wants the beauty of a brooch bouquet but doesn’t want the commitment of owning it, Mathis offers a limited bouquet lease opportunity.
Timeless Beauty and Shimmer
Over the years, Mathis has developed a process to keep her creations looking stunning for many years to come. She uses a process to preserve the jewels preventing them from tarnishing or losing their luster; while yet keeping items securely affixed to the foundation forms.
“I created my own process. I put it all together and I take my time to make sure that everything is very nice. I do it with love because I love doing it. I’m excited about each and every piece.”
After the Wedding
“The brooch bouquet from my wedding is still lasting. I still love it,” said Mathis.
To this day, Mathis proudly showcases her first creation in her home as a unique piece of home décor.
So, what do other brides do with their custom items? Mathis replied, “A couple of young ladies that had their own kissing balls from the wedding said that they wanted to use it to decorate their dining room table. I’ve seen it also used as a centerpiece during an event. If someone wants these for a table centerpiece, I can create that.”
Other Brooch Creations
In addition to the bouquets, Mathis also creates a one-of-a-kind jeweled storage box to house the bouquets.
Perhaps a bride has a bouquet from her wedding that she doesn’t want to keep as a bouquet but she still loves the glamour of the jewels. Mathis has a solution. She can use recycled pieces from the previous project and apply them to a new creation.
Mathis has even created brooch corsages that are perfect for weddings or even prom night. Moreover, she also teams up with other associates to create brooch boutonnieres.
About the Designer
“I have always been a person who wanted to help people”, said Mathis as she reflected on her work history before starting her own business. For over a decade, Mathis worked for the Detroit Medical Center in the human resource department. Her sole job was to help the employees. The desire to help others still guides her everyday activity. Instead of helping others with paper forms she is now handing over her beautiful for rhinestones and pendant creations.
“I still love helping people. I’m now creating for people. Back then, new employees come in excited about their new jobs. That brought happiness to me. Now, I’m happy to create for clients. I love seeing my clients happy after their events. I’m just happy to see the smiles”.
Mathis and her supportive husband have been married since 2016. She gushingly spoke about her husband who is in the creative arts.
“My husband is a filmmaker, film producer, writer…he does everything! He is like the Dr. Dre of Detroit”, Mathis happily stated.
In addition to her husband mastering his craft, he actively supports his wife’s business and may soon even help design a bouquet for the brand.
What’s Next?
When asked what is next for Elegant Fantasy Events and Sparkles of Love, she replied, “Oh my, I’m loving what I’m doing. My husband and I are trying to find a hall or a building to convert to a hall”.
How to create a lasting marriage
We asked Mathis what does she and her husband do to keep a lasting marriage? The short answer is, she dates her husband.
“My husband and I always have fun together. We’re like big kids. It’s always about taking time for you and your mate and not letting outside interferences, stress, or day to day work schedules upset things. We always find time to be with one another, take a vacation, or do something at home like go to top golf and Dave & Busters. We always do playful things to keep our relationship fresh,” said Mathis.
As an accomplished event planner and wife who recognizes the importance of couples making time for each other, she and her husband started a couple’s date night in 2015 for like-minded couples who were interested in keeping their marriage strong. She referred to the event as couple’s therapy.
“Back in 2015 when we first started, we called it couple’s therapy. You shouldn’t go to couple’s therapy just when you have a problem in your relationship. Couple’s therapy is also dating your spouse, going out, and going to the show. Spending time with that person. That’s therapy!”
The event is held at a hall and is open to all married or dating couples. The event features an evening filled with games, food, dancing, cocktails, and loads of laughs.
To learn more about Leslye Mathis and her business adventures, visit Elegantfantasyevents.com.
