Welcome In: A Chat with Hostess Extraordinaire, Ashley Anderson

For this month’s staff spotlight, I was excited to chat with Ashley Anderson. She is our very own expert in all things hospitality. Ashley is an event planner, as well as a manager for our planning team. She is our vendor liaison, leads our hospitality training, and serves on a gambit of committees and boards around Sioux Falls. Aside from all that, Ashley is one of the best hosts I’ve ever met, she is deeply invested in her family and community, and she is diligent in building a truly beautiful life. I hope you enjoy my conversation with her as much as I did!

Photo credit: Solis Photography

RO

What are some of your joys outside of work?

AA

I feel like it's obvious, but my biggest joy is Graham. Because he’s just the light of my life. He's chatting so much all the time now and it feels like I just never know what's gonna come out of his mouth, and that is hilarious. He's so fun to be around right now, so that's probably my biggest joy.

Otherwise I'm working on a cookbook of a compilation of recipes from all of the women in my life who have made an impact. So, like influential women in the community that I really respect, family, friends. So I started messaging people and gathering their recipes. My hope is to make the dish, have photos of the dish and a photo of the person, and then their influence. It's not for publication, probably. But I’ll give it to all of those people too. Yeah, that's my passion project right now.

And then, obviously, I enjoy spending time with Erik, too. But I feel like it's like the time with Erik and Graham that means the most.

RO

Who do you want to be when you grow up? Who do you admire?

AA

Ina Garten. I don't know her, obviously. But I so appreciate so many things about her.

Ina’s an incredibly hard worker. She's built this brand, she's written countless cookbooks, she's had numerous shows. But she's also a very intentional and thoughtful host. She’s not choosing to make things because they're her favorite. Part of her show is always like, “Jeffrey's coming home, this is his favorite.” “My friend Michael loves this, so I'm going to make it for him.” She just knows all these little tidbits about the people in her life. I really strive to do that and be an intentional gift giver and a great host and a great guest. I feel lucky because my jobs ties into all of those things, and personally, I think it's fun.

RO

What are you proud of about yourself?

AA

This was maybe the hardest question but I think if I had to name something, it would be the level of commitment I give to the things that I agreed to be a part of. Motherhood, being a wife, being a friend, being a good co-worker, being a manager. If I am putting my name in something, for me to take pride in it I need to know within myself that I've given as much as possible. Now, does that lead to some burnout in there? For sure. But in general, I also think that's led me to be the person I am, and it allows me to walk around with my head held high.

RO

How would you describe your design style? What does an Ashley Anderson event look like?

AA

I think cohesion for sure. If a client comes to me and they're like, “I want people to feel this way” or, “This thing is important to me.” Okay. Let's make it work. No detail is too small. I think the details are what make an event special and memorable. I say that as someone who tends to go aggressively over the top for any of my own personal events that I host, which you can probably attest to as having attended some birthday parties. So I think the inclusion of all of the little details is really what says Ashley Anderson. I believe people do notice them, and so I like finding and creating little moments in an event that make people smile.

Photo credits: Ivory + Fern, Sydney Leigh Photography

RO

What is the most important part of an event? Is it different between a wedding and a corporate event?

AA

No, it's similar. Events are a lot. And the people planning them, whether that's a committee or a bride and a groom, put a lot of effort and time and energy into the event. So the most important part is taking a pause on the day to look at everything and look at the people in the room and the joy on their faces, and just to appreciate it. Otherwise, they get caught up - I'm supposed to get caught up in the running around and doing all the things and figuring out what's next. That's why they have me. So I get to do that, and they actually get to enjoy the event. The biggest gift that I can give clients is that they do feel that way, whether corporate or wedding, they feel enough peace and trust in me that they get to just mentally be present.

And I remind, especially my couples, how fast a wedding day goes. I will always try to carve out time in their timeline for just the two of them to have a break and be with one another. Yes, you're hosting all these guests, but also the day is about the two of you. This choice that you've made to commit to each other for the rest of your life. That's important. But it's also super, super special. That was something I strived for on my wedding day with Erik. My favorite memories of the day are the ones where it's just the two of us, like going for drinks at the treasury before our ceremony, just any of those moments. That's what's beautiful about an event.

RO

What is a trend you are excited for in 2025 and looking ahead to 2026?

AA

Maximalism. I'm not a maximalist at my house, but it allows for the details. Minimalist is very sleek. It's very beautiful, still in its own way, but there is something about just going for it and bringing in color. My gosh. I love a timeless black and white wedding. It is really classic, and it's very wedding. But when people aren't afraid of color, holy smokes, fun. It's fun to design. It's fun to be a part of it. It's fun to see people see that event, like when they walk in. And they're like, “Oh my gosh, there is hot pink draping from the ceiling.” Yeah, there is, thank you very much! Let's go for it!

Photo credits: Prairie and Wild Photography

RO

When did you first get into the planning world? When did you know it was something you wanted to try?

AA

Just before Jane Rae, when I was working at USF, there were events and I had a hand in them. I recognized that I was good at planning things, and I was really organized. And so when I was looking to transition out of that, I remember having a conversation with Erik that was “What will I even do?” I got my masters in higher education administration, which is aggressively specific, so if I'm not doing that, then what am I doing? And he said, you're really good at hosting things. And I said hosting things isn't a job, but hey, turns out, it is! So, that worked out for me.

I love planning things, and I love hosting. I love the details. And I think that's why I also appreciate corporate events. Of course, I love weddings and they're all different in a sense, but the timelines tend to be the same, so it feels kind of like I could do it in my sleep. A corporate event is this beautiful challenge for me, and every event is so different. There's just so many nuances and things to think about, and I like being challenged. So I like that piece of it.

Photo credit: Corey Gross Photography

RO

You are one of the early members of the Jane Rae team. You’ve been here for eight years now. How have you seen the business change over your time here?

AA

Oh my gosh, in so many ways. But I think most importantly, and most drastically, are our systems. We really didn’t have any when we started. Every day was just kind of terrifying - also, really fun! I think the reason I'm so passionate about our systems is because I had the opportunity to play such a role in them. Getting the opportunity to then train new planners into that and know that it's going to be so much easier for them than it was for me.

I've told numerous people this. But when Katie trained me on floral, I asked, “How do I know what's in a bouquet and how do I know how many stems are in a bouquet?” And she said, “Okay, close your eyes. Picture the bouquet and you count them.” And that's how I did it. I Googled pictures of bouquets to start, and I would count the stems. The learning curve was a straight face mountain, you know? So, the fact that we have a system to just go in and be like, I want an Akito Rose and it costs this much in a bouquet. It's wild.

But I think what's beautiful is at our core, we've stayed who we are as far as celebrating one another and being really supportive and creating that environment, too. That was important to Rachel, Katie, and I. That's just who we are as people.

RO

You are an event planner, but you also manage the planning team, lead our hospitality training, and serve as our vendor liaison. How do all those moving parts work together in your day-to-day routine?

AA

Some days, they work together. Some days the priorities obviously shift really heavily towards one of those things. My head is always in every event, so not just mine, but because I manage the other planners I try to be really aware of what's happening in their projects as well.

Katie and I have joked about this. I can't explain the way my brain works, and I keep a lot in my brain. In general, my Trello is my fail safe. So, every morning I come in, I look at the calendar, I look at my emails, I make a handwritten list of what I have to tackle. If I get to the other things, that's a bonus.

But things pop up during the day too. I'll feel really good about a day, and then I'll get an email or a phone call from someone. Fantastic, but I have to stop everything I was doing and then jump into those other things. And I am working alongside vendors and people within the community - I'm on the SME leadership Summit planning committee and two subcommittees, the awards committee, and the event enhancements committee. So it’s balancing all of those things because they're not just getting coffee. It's like real engagement. That's pulling me out of the office for chunks of time. Same with being on the operations board with the Washington Pavilion. It’s great! But this creates these pockets of time that I’m not in the office.

The only way I function is to be incredibly organized. And I'm thankful that I'm a morning person! I get my coffee, I get to the office early, rock it out when no one's there. I'm so thankful that I have that time to get things done so that I can be available.

RO

What is your favorite part of your job?

AA

I love managing the planning team. I love it in the same way I love seeing Graham learn, you know what I mean? The pride that I see the planning team feel when an event goes well is priceless. I get to share in that pride with them. I'm so impressed by them constantly. By the things that they take on, and the things that they're able to do that I'm not good at. It's so fun! It's so fun to see their confidence build as they continue to learn things. I love being helpful, and it can get a little crazy sometimes, too. Like the questions of, “Ashley, do you have a second?” “Can I ask you a quick question?” but I love that I get to help. Something that feels really big to them I can step in and say “Oh yeah, XYZ.” and they're like, “Oh, easy peasy, got it!” I like being able to do that, so that's probably my favorite.

Photo credit: Sampson House

RO

Do you have any specific memories that feel like they sum up your experience with Jane Rae? Successes, obstacles, funny stories?

AA

So many. Okay, I have two. Katie and I were in Aberdeen. This was early on, and we had back-to-back weddings. Friday and Saturday. We were so, so tired and delusional by the end of the second day. We were trying to get into the hotel after tear down. Could not get in. Turns out it was a push door, not a pull. This man walked up and got through the door and looked at us like we were absolutely crazy. Keep in mind we were saying yes to every opportunity that came to Jane Rae because we wanted our name out there. So we were exhausted and then this happened. We were just hysterically laughing, like bawling our eyes out from laughing so hard. I think it says a lot that laughter was where we ended the day, not frustration at each other.

And then, my second is just a really good depiction of me, Katie and Rach, and like the ways in which we respond to things. We were driving to a site visit or something, and Katie was driving. I was in the passenger seat. Rachel was in the back. A spider came down from the visor in front of Katie, and she is screaming her head off. We are going all over the road. It's wild. I can't help because I'm laughing so hard, I'm crying, and I can't see anything. And Rachel just calmly reaches up between us both, gets the spider, throws it out the window, and we're fine. But that moment will forever live in my mind as this exact depiction of our personalities.

RO

What are you looking forward to most in Jane Rae’s future?

AA

I am really excited for us to continue to grow our team. I think the demand is there. I think we need it. That's always scary as you picture this beautiful thing that you have - and imagine it expanding and inviting more people into it. I don't think we want to be huge, huge, you know, but we want a good solid team of people where we have the capability to support our clients. And so I'm excited for that. I'm excited for everyone to continue to fall into the role that is designed for them.