Hi friends, we’re Stephanie & Matt Milosh, the hearts behind Beauty & the Budget Events.
We met when he hired me for a part-time job at Papa Johns. I wasn’t excited about the gig, but it was convenient while I was at NC State, and a cute manager was a perk. We spent the better part of 3 years ignoring our feelings for each other, and every time we took a step toward each other, something knocked us a few steps back. So when the timing was right, we were like magnets, and one touch was all it’d take to connect us in a way I wasn’t willing to lose.
You can feel the moment when the earth shifts under your feet and you know your life is about to change. In the growing tension between friends who are about to be more, I told him, “I don’t want to kiss you if I can’t keep kissing you. I don’t want to go on a date, or hook up, or spend a few months together. I know you, and I know a little will never be enough. So please don’t kiss or hold me unless you want to hold me forever.”
He leaned in for the kiss, and just like that, we were essentially engaged before we began dating. A year later, in the backyard of our church with 40 guests in attendance, we said our vows and he took my last name.
I (Stephanie) fell in love with the wedding experience while planning our own wedding in 2017, and maybe this makes me a cliche, but I got hooked. Less then a month after my wedding, I was sitting at the same office worked at since graduating from NC State in 2014, bored out of my mind, and the business name popped into my head. I’d never considered being a business owner before, but I became totally captivated by the idea and dove straight in.
Matt officially joined the team as the day-of guy during our first wedding. I was so convinced that, after hours of running around in the rain and carrying a dozen of bags of empty beer bottles to the dumpster, he would never want to work a wedding again. Instead, he surprised us both started assisting at every wedding, doting on the parents, supporting the groom, and handling all the major lifting – it helps to have a tall, strong dude on the team!
At Beauty & the Budget Events, creating an event is about more than never-ending checklists coming together to create a single, beautiful moment; instead, the entire process is meant to be enjoyed. Every moment is valuable, whether it’s a mountaintop moment full of joy and celebration, or a stressful and difficult valley that encourages growth and self-realization.
We’re here to walk with you every step of the way, from creating a budget and overall gameplan to securing and collaborating with vendors. We love sharing our tips and tricks, turning your Pinterest board into a cohesive design, and finding ways to reflect your relationship in your day. Whether you’re planning an intimate elopement or an elegant affair for 500 guests, let’s partner together so we can manage the checklists while you enjoy your engagement season before embarking on a beautiful marriage.
As we’ve built our business, connected with incredible vendors, and worked with the coolest couples, weddings have become my absolute passion. Our favorite thing is being able to connect with super rad couples who challenge us with new ideas, especially when those ideas incorporate family and cultural traditions. You won’t find a whitewashed, Pinterest-perfect Instagram feed over here – we welcome all couples who want their wedding to express their love story and who they are in an authentic way.
Bellatrix the Ferret is the princess of weird. She’s a ball of sunshine and energy to keep everyone in the cheery wedding spirit. There’s a good chance I show you a pic when we meet up.
- We value lifelong marriage. Marriage is hard, but it’s so worth it. We believe preparing for marriage before the wedding can lay the groundwork for a happy, healthy marriage.
- We value relationships: our team’s relationships with our clients, vendors, each other, and spouses/families; and our clients’ relationships as a couple and with their families. We always prioritize people, and we believe that relationships are the most important things in life.
- We value a healthy balance between hard work and relaxation. We believe that anything is possible if you balance these two so that your life and work are enjoyable and productive.
- We value inclusivity: We love working with such a diverse group of clients and wedding vendors, and we believe all love stories are deserving of celebration. We’re dedicated to breaking down systemic racism in the wedding industry and beyond.
- We value tradition (but we also love breaking the rules). We believe that wedding traditions should only be included if the couple feels a connection to them. And we’re happy to work with you to keep the traditions or twist them to make them feel so “you.”
- We value adventure – artistically, geographically, mentally. We believe that each experience can be an adventure, and we encourage clients to explore all the possibilities for their wedding day, especially if it seems a little unexpected.
- We value learning. We believe that the individual and business that stops continuously learning becomes stagnant, and we love to read constantly, learn from every experience, and listen to others because each person has a unique experience to share.
- We value community. For every wedding we book, we love making a donation to a local charity. We encourage our couples to tell us about their favorite charity for this donation, or they can choose one of our favorites. For 2021, we have chosen to support SAFEchild, Your Center Peace, and A Place At the Table.