We had the good fortune of connecting with Sabrina Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sabrina, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in Baytown, TX, just east of Houston, before moving to Clear Lake in elementary school. My mom’s side of the family was raised in a little farm town in southeast TX called Magnolia Springs. My parents divorced when I was really young so I spent a lot of time with my great-grandmother, Lillie. We would drive “to the country”, which is what my family calls the farm, on weekends and during the summer. Spending all of that time around such strong, diligent, hard working women, like my grandma and her sisters, definitely had a huge impact on making me who I am today. Mix the country, family-focused upbringing with the influence of a diverse city like Houston and you get one ambitious, authentic Texas girl. Every part of my childhood – including the moving around Houston, learning how to start over in new places, and witnessing the different styles of living & values from such a wide variety of people – pushed me to where I am today. I experienced a lot of family struggles that kind of made me grow up really fast. So hard work and fighting for the life I wanted was always on my agenda. And my somewhat-crazy family gave me the ability to always find beauty & love even in a heap of chaos!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the proud owner of Lillie Jane Designs – a Houston event planning and design company. Our focus is mainly on wedding planning and design, but I always love the opportunity to plan another type of event, like a corporate holiday party or a memorable birthday celebration. At LJD, we strive to go beyond being just your Wedding Planner. We work so hard for you – understanding every bit of you, your personality, your style, & your preferences – we end up feeling like a member of your family. And as a client, you DEFINITELY become a member of our little LJD fam. I believe that you can plan a dream wedding on any budget…as long as you have the right people to bring it to life. 😉 LJD is still fairly new, only being open for about a year and a half now. I studied entrepreneurship and business management in college, so I knew starting and running a business was never going to be easy. But Lord have mercy! COVID-19 hit me like a brick going 60mph. Marketing and social media marketing has never been my strength, so I’ve had to double down in my efforts to learn and become more resilient in this industry, despite challenging surprises like COVID-19 or just general fluctuation in sales. Regardless of the expected & unexpected challenges, I try to remind myself that LJD is still doing pretty damn good and definitely staying in the fight. I’m so grateful for some seriously incredible clients that we’ve had the opportunity to work with, more than doubling our number of clients & events in the first three months of 2020! {*insert happy dance here*} I’m learning to take the ride as it comes – during the exciting, prosperous, periods of growth and through the stressful, what-in-the-fresh-hell, scary periods, too. Welcome to the world of entrepreneurship, right?

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Aw man, let me see if I can come up with an itinerary that does this amazing city justice. Let’s see… Day 1 – We’d start the morning off right with a gorgeous treehouse brunch at The Dunlavy, sipping some nitro cold brew or a cocktail on the shaded patio. Then we’d walk off all the extra pastries I know I didn’t need, but were definitely worth it with a stroll through the bayou. Definitely going to snap some bestie selfies because every view from Buffalo Bayou Park is perfect. Then we’d hop back in the car and head over to wherever The Dough Cone is serving that afternoon to treat ourselves with the biggest ice cream cone in town. Next stop would be the WE {HEART} HOUSTON sign to take some Instagram-worthy shots, then across the street to the Truck Yard for a chill night of great food & drinks. Day 2 – We’re grabbing some breakfast tacos at Torchy’s, harnessing my pup, and heading north to the Sam Houston state park trails for a nice hike. After our legs start screaming, we’ll head down I-45 back to suburbia for the best fajitas, margaritas, and chips & salsa at Gringo’s. Then we’ll cap the night off with a movie and some apple pie bites at Star Cinema Grill (yasssss to their latest renovations & heated recliner seat upgrades!). Day 3 – Only need 3 words to describe this day’s itinerary – Texas lazy river. Hello, Marriott Marquis! No better way to relax than a day+night mini getaway to the coolest pool in town, sipping cocktails and floating the stress away, Day 4 – Shop ’til we drop! We’ll hit up Rice Village (of course, we have to stop in to Susie Cakes for a sweet treat). Then we’ll head to the Galleria to get our boujee fix, and maybe keep each other from eating it at the ice skating rink. Day 5 – We’d do all things museum district, including feeding some giraffes at the Houston Zoo, admiring the beautiful work in the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and experiencing another world at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Then we’d walk over to McGovern Centennial Gardens, maybe get a sneak view of some lovebirds tying the knot. Then time for my favorite Houston team – over to the Toyota Center to watch Harden & Westbrook throw 3’s and lobs until Clutch is doing back-flips. Day 6 – I’d take them on a tour down Sabrina’s memory lane, starting with a trip to Space Center Houston with the tour through NASA Johnson Space Center (my old stomping grounds, pre-LJD). Then we’d head to Kemah for great burgers at Tookie’s and relaxing night overlooking the Galveston bay at the docks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my shout out to my great-grandmother, Lillie Jane, who I know would be super proud of how far her baby girl has come, and my mama bear, Dee, who stood by me in starting this business & constantly cheers me on even when I don’t feel like I’m where I should be.

Website: https://www.lilliejanedesigns.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilliejanedesigns/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-lee-houston/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilliejanedesigns/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lillie-jane-designs-houston

Image Credits
Adrianne Michelle Photography