if you're new here; welcome to a little piece of my heart!
I'm so very glad you've stopped by! Welcome to a little piece of my heart. This little space of mine and especially my blog, has been an online home and diary of sorts for all my life experiences since Halloween 2009, when the love of my life asked me to marry him. It became a way to vent about all the stress and excitement that planning a wedding was during the three long years we were engaged. Now my blog is where you'll find all the things that fire me up: my home and life experiences, celebrations I've helped plan and style, wedding planning tips, marriage obstacles, editorial and styling shoots, my obsession over shades of grey, turning our house into a home and of course my addiction to fresh flower and now; the journey of becoming a first-time mama! Most of all; you'll find things that are near and dear to this big Greek heart of mine. My name is Cassandra, most folks' call me Cassie or just Cass! It's so nice to "meet" you!
I'm the heart and soul behind the name. I launched my blog back in the days before Pinterest (did such a time ever exist? Yes friends, it did!) when planning a wedding to a State Cop still in the academy and 2 hours away seemed nearly impossible. I was finishing grad school, while working for the State Appellate Court - while dealing with my parents divorce after 30-years of marriage. Needless to say - crazy and lonely didn't begin to explain planning a wedding during this time. - I had no idea what I was doing; so along side prepping for state exams, I was devouring every wedding planning book and reference guide I could get my hands on. I was memorizing how to properly select and dismiss jurors during voir dire, and the proper order of a wedding processional. I was simultaneously dreaming of prosecuting sexual predators and walking down the aisle at St. Anthony's Cathedral with my papa on my arm in my designer ball gown.
Six years, ten moves, separate graduate schools across three states, and six months at the State Police Academy; we finally took our first steps as husband and wife on October 20, 2012. With my new husband by my side, and this blog thing growing and a new found love for helping brides plan weddings - I started helping planners in Springfield and St. Louis - and learned quickly my natural organization abilities, love of planning, and natural eye for design gave me happiness that the legal system seemed to just be sucking out of me. With nothing but an idea and a dream I officially started Cassandra Dattoli Events on November 1, 2012. Three years later, with years of planning and flowers and a surprising growth in this new business - on April 1, 2015, I walked out of the State Appellate Courthouse for last time, carrying a box of pictures and leaving behind 7 years of college and years of dreams of pursuing criminals to the ends of the Earth.
Sometimes on the way to a dream, we get lost and find a better one. Getting lost and following devilishly-handsome, blue-eyed Sicilian boy - changed my life. Now I'm the owner, and Creative Director behind Cassandra Dattoli and Cassandra & Company - a creative boutique business that I've built from the ground up. I've shared so much of my life here, the most important milestones -- from my engagement to my college sweetheart, planning my destination wedding, Joe graduating the State Police Academy, finally starting a life together after three years of a long-distance relationship, (including our first year of marriage) moving ten times across 3 states, starting this boutique, building our first home, experiencing heartbreaking loss, walking away from 10 years at the Appellate Court, our five-year infertility battle, hosting an exchange student from Italy and now the miracle of pregnancy. This space has given me the space to educate and share and I'm forever grateful for everyone that stops by and takes a little time to get to know me a little more.
with love, Cassandra
all photos of the CD Team & CD Studio were taken by my go to photographer and talented, dear friend aimee novy photography
