HALEY HUGHES DIDN’T CHOOSE THE SPECIAL EVENTS INDUSTRY. “I think it chose me,” she says. Hughes started her career in the nonprofit sector, working in the Austin Parks and Recreation events department. It seemed like a natural progression when Hughes decided to handle in-house events and branding parties across the country for The Knot magazine. Before long, however, she took it a step further, launching En Vogue Events in Houston. Recently, the company opened a Dallas office.
Today, as a certified event and wedding planner, Hughes does everything from events management and marketing to writing proposals and staffing events. The company’s diverse undertakings include planning a launch party for a winery, coordinating a grand opening for a historic theater and hosting a dignitary event. In 2010, Hughes’
company was named a “fastest growing woman-owned business” by the Houston Business Journal.
Hughes’ record of solid growth hasn’t always followed a clear-cut path. She admits she didn’t really know where to start networking when she entered the meetings industry. “If I had only known of ISES or NACE,” Hughes muses. “Those organizations have since unlocked several doors for me. They have provided me with
great contacts, education and a better understanding of the industry.”
Hughes’ current understanding includes a desire for continued improvement. “There are constant changes in the industry and you have to know all about them—or be the one creating them. When we leave an event, the planning for that date may be over, but the research for the next is just beginning,” she says. This steady information stream is part of the appeal, says Hughes. “We are a dynamic industry,” she says.
“Some years are good, some are bad and some are great. We have seen a lot more growth this past year. More businesses are expanding into major cities in Texas, which brings more events to us. The value of business events seems to be on the rise as well.”
photo by Jill Hunter
