On today’s episode of Wedding Secrets Unveiled!, Ashly Whalen from Menta Graze joins us to share her extensive experience in the wedding industry. What began as a luxury picnic business during the pandemic has blossomed into something much bigger. Ashly brings her passion for blending one-of-a-kind experiences with bespoke décor to craft unforgettable events. Tune in as she shares tips and tricks for planning your bridesmaid proposal, bachelorette party, bridal shower, and beyond on today’s episode of Wedding Secrets Unveiled!
Meet Ashly.
I’m Ashley and I own Menta Graze, a luxury event company. We focus on event decor, tablescape rentals, event rentals and luxury picnics – really anything events need us to do, we’ll do it.
How did you come up with the name?
A lot of people ask me that! Menta is an abbreviation for my maiden name, Mentablos. Graze came from grazing boards, which are popular for luxury picnics. I got to incorporate a little bit of who I am in the name, which is nice.
Tell us more about your luxury picnics business and how it’s evolved. I’ve watched Ashley grow for years, and we’ve done many weddings together. I’ve seen the business grow from something small to this.
That’s the greatest part of Menta Graze, it started because of COVID. It grew quickly and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. My career started when I worked as an event specialist for Longwood and Newport back in 2012. In 2020, I left before COVID hit because I had my son, and then the world shut down. My maternity leave was over and I wondered what I was going to do. I started with grazing boards and charcuterie boards, and those were a hit. Then I went to the breakers for a picnic with my husband and son and I went over the top – because I do that with everything. When we did that picnic, I was like: this is an awesome idea. We had people asking if I did it for a living and the lightbulb went off that I could do this.
It just blew up. They look like mini weddings too. They are so elaborate. We’ve done engagement photo shoots with them, we’ve done bridal showers, we’ve done bachelorette parties with them. And it just keeps going. I started doing more luxury events from that.
It’s really taken off – and you started with those cheeseboards! Now you’re leveling up that picnic tablescape area.
Yeah, we do them for 10+ people because it’s more elaborate than a 2 person picnic. It can be great to do with your girlfriends or for an event. We can get creative. We can really look at something fun and have an experience at your picnic as well. You could do a little bit of painting. You could do a little arts and crafts, make best friend bracelets, or have photo backdrops. We do add on photographers. We want to leave the creativity open for your luxury picnics or events.
Let’s start there. Say someone calls you after hearing you on the show and says they want to plan an event or luxury picnic. What do those first steps look like?
Yeah. So really, I just want to know who they are and what they want to put together in the event, experience and decor wise. The options are endless. With every client, we talk and brainstorm all of the ideas together. Then I get really creative on various aspects.
I love that. These events can really set the tone of your wedding experience.
Absolutely! You can make a whole day out of it. We have done a charcuterie class that all the bridesmaids did together, and then they went and had a little mocktail that I created. It was very delicate, cute, and I switched their whole table from their charcuterie class to ask my bridesmaids boxes. So it was an event in itself. I was there as a planner and decorator at the same time, and the bride could relax and really enjoy the time with her bridesmaids, or whoever she wanted to ask to be in her wedding. And she gets to really enjoy it. I think that’s the best part for brides and grooms, is they do so much work, it’s nice to have a boutique luxury event company handle that for you.
Another little nugget you just stuck in there: you can be the planner and help setup, but also host. So the actual host can just enjoy the time with their guests.
I want the host to enjoy the time, and that is the most important thing. That’s why I’m there.
Talk to me more about tablescapes. I want to know what you’re doing lately. I know every event is different, but what’s been popular?
That one I might have to think about. We did a few Thanksgiving tablescapes. I went into people’s houses that were hosting Thanksgiving dinners and I did their charger plate, their dinner plate, salad plate, flatware, glassware, full on centerpieces for their dining room table or wherever they were hosting dinner. I set it all up with name cards, and I would come back the next day and pick it up. All they have to do is take all of their items that they had and put it in the two boxes that I left with them, put it on their front steps, and I will remove it. We don’t even need to see you, and we don’t need to schedule time for pickup. It’s very convenient for the person. They don’t even have to clean their dishes.
So you can really do it all since you’re a rental company, too?
Yes – from start to finish. I think I like doing it that way, because I like planning and executing things my way. I’m the one who consulted with the client. And I want to be there from start to finish and make sure everyone’s happy.
So, Ashley does big events – like weddings and parties. But I want to talk about the smaller events, like the custom luxury picnics.
We’ve been doing a lot of weddings lately. We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries for 2025 and we have been really looking at what we can do for people. I think that’s the most exciting. I have been drawing up crazy mood boards for people – and we have been thinking so out of the box. And I absolutely love it. I cannot wait for this season.
Ooh. Spill the tea on some mood boxes!
This is terrifying for some brides, but brown and blacks are coming.
Listen, here’s the deal. Do you know that the Pantone color just got released? It’s the mocha.
Yeah! I’m so pumped because I had brown in my wedding. I’m excited to finally see it come to life. I’m a huge antique person, so rustic trunks and all of that brown, those tones are coming into the wedding world, but they’re also transforming into delicate colors. They’re using it in the bows and ribbons and velvet, and it’s so exciting. So I’ve been dying for a daredevil bride or groom to come and do something cool, all dark and moody.
It’s so funny you said that because you’re so talented and already ahead of the trend. Weddings this year absolutely will have the browns, because the Pantone color came out. We’ll see it more in fashion and home decor too. So, this is your tip to be on trend!
It’s daring. But I also like to be ahead of the trend. So I’m trying and thinking about what the color could be after brown.
Love it. So now let’s talk about the smaller events for weddings!
There’s something to be said about going over the top and the unexpected areas, and people will talk about it forever. If you want people to talk about it, put your money in that spot. It’s tough, because you’re planning so many other things for your wedding. Thinking about doing something fun for your rehearsal dinner is a nice luxury.
So, I’ll think of a bunch of brainstorming ideas, present them to you on a mood board, and you look and see which one you like best. We don’t do just one mood board. We do multiple so people can really pick what they like. They’ll get a signature drink at their rehearsal dinner. They’ll have a beautiful custom table scape with escort cards, their seating arrangements down to the experience. And I think that’s also another huge thing that people need to think of when planning all of these parties: the experience in itself, not always just decor. We can facilitate the experience of giving your guests something fun to do, say, even down to their signature drinks. We’re there to do the things not everyone thinks of.
It can get a little overwhelming for someone who’s not in our industry. And I think one thing that gets lost for somebody who is not a planner, and not in our world, but who is planning something, is they think about the details and the decor, but they forget about the marriage and the merging of the guests who are attending this event. They forget about that experience. That’s why they need to find someone like you or a wedding planner.
I work a lot with wedding planners, because wedding planners do so many other things you would not think about when you’re dreaming up your wedding day. And wedding planners have a lot to organize, so they outsource the smaller jobs like the engagement party or rehearsal dinner.
I just have to say that it’s amazing to see what you’re doing. I remember when you started this, during COVID – and were doing smaller picnics. We photographed one where a couple got engaged.
Yeah, I’d love to see that happen again. Right now, we’re doing such bigger events that we really can’t do the 2-person picnics right now. When we were starting out, we were doing 2-4 people picnics and multiples a day. So, I made it worth it for us – doing 10+ people for those luxury picnics, like the bachelorettes, bridal showers, and bridesmaid luncheon. We’ve even done little girl parties, which is so cute.
It’s amazing to see where you are and from where your business started with luxury picnics.
I know – it’s crazy how things change. We were doing luxury picnics right away. We were the best of Rhode Island the first year that we started. I could not believe that. Then, it blew up. It was unbelievable. It was new and it was great too, because I’ve been in the industry for so long before that, that I knew a lot of people and referrals that happened. Honestly, once everyone could go inside, it all kind of died down.
But like you said, it’s because we’re able to go back inside now, right? So, why not decorate what you already have inside now?.
That’s another thing. So we’ll be doing like galentines events for table scapes, or Valentine tablescapes. I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries for that. So anyone that’s going to be doing kind of like a romantic dinner at home, or wants to propose to someone at home on Valentine’s Day, we can execute something together like that, and make sure it’s all set up in your home.
I love that.
That’s very brand new. I’ve been doing it for about six months – maybe closer to a year. It takes a long time. I am creating a local book for hosting at home. So I wanted to create something to teach people how to host at home. I know you can see a lot of the stuff on social media and instagram with influencers. But people don’t even know where to begin to do that. I want to help them create that at home and budget wise, and I’m incorporating a lot of local vendors in this book. So pretty much it’s for a local community to host at home. They can go to their local restaurant and see the dish that I bought from there, and they bring it home, and I’ll teach them how to make a tablescape very cheap per that theme, and step by step as well.
It’s perfect. It’s second nature for you, but not everybody has that!
Wrap-Up Question
What are some key points that couples should be asking when they call a luxury picnic / experience company to make sure that they are working with a professional company that will ensure that their event is a perfect one?
I think the most important question would be making sure that that person is there from start to finish.
I think creative juices that flow very quickly is a huge green flag.
When it comes to budget, I don’t have a minimum. Of course, it’s not free, and I work with all budgets – what we can do changes.
What We Discussed
Meet Sarah and Cole (2:55)
Menta Graze’s Services and Creative Approach (7:35)
Event Decor and Table Scapes (8:07)
Planning and Executing Events (8:36)
Luxury Picnics and Non-Traditional Events (11:58)
Small Events and Custom Picnics (12:27)
Future Trends and Innovations (13:17)
Wrap Up Question (30:41)
Links Mentioned in the Episode
Find Menta Graze: Website | Facebook | Instagram
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