The next women owned business feature is unique! In this blog, you’ll be meeting the dream team behind House of Style in Williston, ND: Ashley Oyloe and Angie Dunbar. What started as two separate businesses merged into one stellar event planning business, & they were kind enough to tell me all about the journey.
House of Style is a Williston based event planning business that specializes in weddings. However, they also cater to corporate events like holiday parties, retirements, and other celebrations. Angie Dunbar and Ashley Oyloe are the North Dakota event planners behind the brand, though they didn’t start out as a team. Before co-founding the business together in March of 2023, these ladies successfully ran their own individual businesses.
In 2011, Angie founded Stylish Events, a decorating business that she expected to be a side business. It quickly grew from decorating for events to planning and coordinating as well. At the same time, Ashley ran So Fetch Events and the two collaborated on several projects within their community. In early 2023, they met for coffee and discussed the possibility of teaming up. A few months later, they dove right in! They dissolved both of their companies and createdHouse of Style Event Planning & Design. They announced their collaboration at the 1 Million Cups meeting on March 1st, 2023.
House of Style became an instant success and the two ladies secured over 30 events within the first few weeks of business! While these North Dakota event planners specialize in wedding planning, Ashley & Angie also handle other life celebrations as well as corporate events. They’re known for their fun, personable services & unmatched creativity with their clients to make their celebrations events to remember for a lifetime.
“Whether you are marrying the love of your life, receiving a prestigious award, or creating something for the community to do – they each deserve a moment to be enjoyed and appreciated,” Ashley explained. “It feels good to know that we can take some of the stress off of people so that they can enjoy these events instead of running around making it happen.”
Their knack for celebration is effortless along with their ability to style events of every kind. From glitter & disco balls to sleek and elegant, Ashley & Angie make event planning look easy while maintaining professionalism with clients. Finding balance as mothers and business owners, on the other hand, is something they both explain comes with some challenges. These mamas are definitely setting an example for their three daughters with their immense talent and work ethic. (Angie is mom to Makenzie & Harper, and Ashley has Lacy.) They’re also teaching them it’s a strength to recognize when its time to ask for help. Event planning often means late nights which means leaning heavily on their respective villages when necessary. In turn, they place a ton of importance on prioritizing time with their babies whenever possible, and sometime they come along for the fun!
Their combined years of experience has taught Angie & Ashley a thing or two about customer service & prioritizing tasks. “Over the years I’ve learned that not every task is a fire. I take notes, make checklists and just take life one work day at a time,” Angie told me. They agree that new business owners should prioritize getting processes in order from day 1 to prevent overspending & burnout. Ashley would add, “Let Jeff Clarke do your books so he doesn’t look at you cross-eyed when you show up with your Jungle Book DVD case full of receipts at the end of the year saying, “Can you fix this?” Outsourcing more tasks through full time staff is one of the goals these ladies have set for their business in the near future. I look forward to watching them grow their brand in the years to come!
ASHLEY: You’ll typically find me with an iced coffee in my hand and I’m always down for a Happy Hour! Sugar on the rim when it comes to my margs, please!
ANGIE: I love Coffee and Pink Panther Lotus’s.
ANGIE: No, I am not much of a Reader. Although I am reading a book by David Tutera, he is a wedding god. And I got to meet him at Wedding Conference. Talk about a dream come true. He was so NICE!!
ASHLEY: I love reading and it’s one of the things that lets me feel human and calm my brain after a hectic day! I usually am reading at least 2 books at a time – one on my Kindle and one through Audible. And I have recently found a little love affair with podcasts!
Recently, I’ve tore through podcasts like Sweet Bobby, Midwest Murder, Scamanda, The Bakersfield Three, and am right now listening to Season 2 of Betrayal. Little bit of a theme there but I’m gonna ignore that and keep listening.
ANGIE: As a family we get together on the Holiday’s and play dice games or sometimes Board Games and eat!
ASHLEY: Lacy and I love to travel. I read a quote a long time ago when I adopted Lacy that said, “I want to see the world twice. Once to see the world, and twice to see the way you see the world.”
I’ve taken that to heart and Lacy and I love traveling anywhere and everywhere together. Even if it’s places we’ve already been – we love to get out of town and see friends, new places, and make some memories.
ASHLEY: I stay in the realm of charcuterie. I am half owner of Velvet Vine Charcuterie and I love to cook and fold meat and find new ways to cut cheese wedges 🙂
Hey, I’m Kellie, a Williston-based branding photographer who focuses on authentic, heartfelt, inspirational photos that tell my clients stories through my lens. Are you a business owner looking to up your marketing game through brand photos that feel like you ? Let’s make it happen! Take a look at my branding packages and let’s chat about how we can make your dream branding photos a reality. Want some inspiration in the meantime? Be sure to follow me on Pinterest or come say hi on IG, FB, and TikTok!
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