Supermom

Ashley Cash SUPER MOM

BY LIESEL SCHMIDT

After running her own business as a wedding planner and designer for almost a decade, Ashley Cash had to pivot in 2020 and meet the market where it was at. With events being at a standstill, Cash turned full-time to balloon artistry, creating beautiful balloon garlands and displays for clients. Now, The Graceful Host Shop in Covington has become a one-stop source for all things party, including party supplies and décor for all occasions, as well as gift wrap, cards, and gifting items. The colorful, fun retail party shop also features a balloon bar for walkin or call-ahead helium balloon bouquet orders, and they are widely known for their balloon installations while also offering party planning and design services.

With so much on her plate in running the shop and all its many facets, active parenting could fall by the wayside, but Cash is dedicated to being present for her two boys—though she freely admits she struggles to balance everything. “I am often asked how I do it all, and my answer is always that I’m not!” says Cash, whose husband has a job that demands an extensive amount of travel. “It’s impossible to do all the things and be all the things for everyone all the time. I frequently use the analogy of juggling. At any given moment, I’m juggling a lot of balls; but I prioritize my juggling act and which balls can drop because they really aren’t that important. I don’t have it all figured out, by any means. But I do make it a habit to reflect each month and take stock of what worked and what didn’t—both in my personal family life and in my business. This has helped me make necessary changes to systems and practices that weren’t serving me well, and I lean into those things that are serving me well.”

With a three-year-old and a five-year-old at home, the need to be there for them is certainly acute, but Cash also sees the importance of what she is showing them in pursuing something that fulfills her. “I feel that being a working mother has shown my boys life skills and qualities that I wish for them to learn and emulate as they grow into adulthood,” says the 34-year-old. “They can learn all about the importance of hard work and sacrifice when it comes to building a business and a career, and they can see from my example that you can follow your dreams and achieve anything you set your mind to. They also see that their dad and I are a team and work together to maintain a home and care for them with love. In turn, we are teaching them that when they are fathers and husbands, they can contribute to and play an equal role in their household with their family.”

Cash also hopes they carry her love for them into their adult lives, knowing how important they were to every decision she made. “Without a doubt, my children are a huge driving force in my business, and I hope that my boys realize when they are older how everything I’ve done was with them in mind,” she says. “I worked hard to create a legacy that would make them proud of their mom, and I hope that they will see that I did my best to juggle my roles as mom and business owner. And that at the end of the day, I gave them everything I had and tried to create fun, lifelong memories as a family.”

Those memories are, indeed, special and fun—Cash has done an incredible job in creating unique moments and traditions with her boys. “I absolutely love family traditions, and I am always on the hunt for creating new ones with our little family,” she says. “A lot of our family traditions revolve around their birthday celebrations. I love the idea of celebrating this special life I was gifted, reflecting on how they’ve grown and changed during their last trip around the sun, and thinking about all the adventures that lay ahead. I create a big helium bouquet with their age and a few favorite characters and activities in balloon shapes, and we wake up the boys with the balloons on their birthday morning. Then, we also dump loose air-filled balloons in their room while they sleep so they wake up to a party.

We also started a tradition of taking off from work and school for their birthday and spending a solo day with the birthday kid—just mom and usually dad, giving undivided attention, doing something fun! Their actual birthdays are just spent with the four of us, and then we weave in family celebrations during their birthday party weekend, since my husband’s family members usually travel in for a visit.”

As a party planner, Cash knows the importance of celebrations. As a mom, she knows that celebrating her children is one of the most important things she can do.