Built with Heart: The Story Behind Sips & Sage

Sips & Sage started with a simple idea: I wanted to create something beautiful that was entirely my own.

As a mom of three, I’ve spent a lot of my life taking care of people, juggling schedules, solving problems, and making sure all the little details somehow come together. Somewhere along the way, I realized those same things I naturally do every day are also what I love most about events.

I love creating an experience.

Not just making a drink and handing it across the bar, but thinking about how the bar looks when guests walk into the room. The signature cocktails. The garnishes. The menu sitting on the bar. The flowers and greenery. The way everything works together with the colors, the venue, and the feeling my client imagined when they first started planning their day.

That is really where Sips & Sage came from.

I Wanted to Create Something Different

When I started Sips & Sage, I knew I didn’t want it to feel like just another bartending service.

Of course, the drinks need to be delicious and the service needs to be seamless. But I wanted the bar itself to feel like part of the event.

I wanted it to feel intentional.

Beautiful without being overdone. Elevated without feeling stuffy. Warm, welcoming, and a little unexpected.

Whether I’m creating signature cocktails for a wedding, designing an alcohol-free mocktail menu, setting up one of our bars, or helping a client decide what they actually need for their guest count, I care about the details that people may not consciously notice—but absolutely feel.

Because those details are what turn a service into an experience.

There Is a Lot That Happens Before I Ever Step Behind the Bar

One of my favorite parts of this business happens long before the first drink is poured.

It’s learning about the people I’m creating it for.

Maybe there’s a cocktail they always order together. Maybe one person loves bourbon while the other wants something floral and sparkling. Maybe they have absolutely no idea what they want and just know they want it to be beautiful.

That’s okay, too.

I genuinely enjoy taking those little pieces and turning them into something that feels personal to them.

There are quotes, shopping lists, mixers, garnishes, ice calculations, timelines, menus, emails, vendor coordination, packing and a hundred tiny decisions happening behind the scenes.

Most guests will never know about any of it.

And that’s exactly the point.

When the event begins, I want my clients to be able to enjoy it.

The Kind of Events I Want Sips & Sage to Be Part Of

I love beautiful weddings, but Sips & Sage isn’t only about weddings.

It’s birthdays and anniversaries. Bridal showers and celebrations. Backyard parties under string lights. Corporate events. Mocktail bars. Flower bars. Big milestones and smaller gatherings where the people around you are what make the night special.

I want Sips & Sage to be part of the moments people remember.

And no matter the size of the event, I want people to walk up to the bar and feel like someone thought about them.

Maybe it’s the drink.

Maybe it’s a beautiful garnish.

Maybe it’s seeing a signature cocktail named after something meaningful.

Or maybe it’s simply being greeted with a smile and handed something delicious.

Those little moments matter to me.

Building Sips & Sage

Building a business from the ground up has been exciting, challenging, messy, rewarding—and sometimes all of those things in the same day.

I’ve learned as I’ve gone. I’ve changed things. I’ve second-guessed things. I’ve celebrated every inquiry, every booking, every kind review and every time someone trusted me to be part of an important day.

And I’m still building.

That’s something I actually love about where Sips & Sage is right now. It’s growing with me.

There are new ideas I want to bring to life, more beautiful events I hope to be part of, and so much more I want to create.

But as the business grows, there’s one thing I don’t want to change.

I never want Sips & Sage to become impersonal.

I want my clients to know there is a real person behind the emails, the menus, the flowers, the cocktails and the bar.

Someone who genuinely cares how it all turns out.

More Than a Drink

At the end of the night, people probably won’t remember every ingredient that was in their cocktail.

But they’ll remember how the evening felt.

They’ll remember laughing with friends at the bar. They’ll remember raising a glass during a toast. They’ll remember dancing, celebrating and being surrounded by the people they love.

That’s what I want Sips & Sage to add to an event.

Something beautiful.

Something thoughtful.

Something that feels like you.

And maybe that’s the simplest way to explain why I started Sips & Sage in the first place.

Cheers,

Lauren