Heather is the founder and lead planner of EPOCH Co. (think Tupac, not epic - though she'd argue the weddings are both), a hospitality-led event planning and design company based in College Station, Texas. With roots in the DFW market and a portfolio that stretches from Texas ranches, to the mountains of New Mexico, to all over the world Heather has built a reputation for planning events that feel nothing like what you'd expect, and everything like who you actually are. In this episode, Heather shares the wild story of how she became a planner: a Sunday brunch wedding north of DFW, a no-show planner, a storm rolling in, soaking wet ceremony chairs, and a mad dash to Fort Worth to find tent walls. That day — zip-tying walls, hunting ship anchors from a grandfather's garage, and chucking towels at a planner who said "I wasn't paid to do this" — is the day EPOCH was born. From there, Kevin and Heather get into what it actually means to plan off-script: weddings that open with sound ceremonies, ayahuasca retreats in New Mexico, couples getting married standing in a spring-fed creek, and a festival wedding so elaborate it required clearing copperhead-infested land, flying in a Guatemalan priest, and learning what naturally composting toilets are. They also walk through a standout corporate event in Austin — an international crowd from South and Central America, chocolate guitar desserts guests smashed with tiny mallets, LED cowboy hats, a New Orleans-style second line, and breakfast tacos at midnight — that beat out simultaneous events in Dubai and Milan. But the heart of the conversation is Heather's design philosophy: she doesn't start with wedding inspiration. She starts with people. Her "story to space" method asks couples to pin images of things that pull at their heartstrings — not weddings, life — and builds the entire event design from there. Because the point of a beautiful event, she says, is human connection. A giant centerpiece that blocks the person across the table isn't design. It's a conversation killer. Heather also opens up about growing up in Houston, her mom's serious illness in seventh grade, losing everything and moving her family into her grandparents' home, and how those years of watching what actually matters shaped everything about how she plans today. About the Guest: Heather is the founder and lead planner of EPOCH Co., a wedding planning and event design company based in College Station, Texas, serving the DFW Metroplex, Austin, Houston, and beyond. EPOCH specializes in hospitality-led, off-script events for couples and corporate clients who want their celebration to feel like them — not like everyone else's wedding. Shoutouts from this episode: Leslie Rodriguez Photography | Ruet Photo | Shannon Rose Events | Katie Hubbard, My Wedding Wardrobe
