Article In Brief
Cherise Frazier, MD, and Jamika Hallman-Cooper, MD, met at Emory while training to become pediatric neurologists. There, they discovered a common passion for planning parties and special events. Now the two run a successful business doing just that—when they're not busy at work seeing kids with neurologic disorders.
A sampling of some of the special party décor Drs. Frazier and Hallman-Cooper have come together to create as part of their business off-hours from pediatric neurology.
If you can dream it up, Cherise Frazier, MD, and Jamika Hallman-Cooper, MD, can deliver it.
Outside of their work as pediatric neurologists, the two friends run a successful event-planning business, Dreams Delivered, that specializes in what they call “luxe” children's parties and other events. Located in Alpharetta, GA, the business operates out of its own space that the neurologists customize according to their clients' wishes.
The two met more than a decade ago at Emory University in Atlanta, where they were the two youngest people in a department of pediatric neurologists in the later stages of their careers.
“All we had was each other,” Dr. Frazier recalled. “When we started, literally it was mostly males in the division. There was one woman and four or five men.”
“We found that we had a lot of outside interests in common and things going on in life that mirrored each other,” Dr. Hallman-Cooper added. “It was very natural to us to click and become friends.”
Since completing her epilepsy fellowship at Emory in 2009, Dr. Frazier now runs a private practice, Sunrise Pediatric Neurology, in Marietta, GA. Dr. Hallman-Cooper remains at Emory University/Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), where she is associate professor of pediatrics in the division of pediatric neurology. Like many others, though, the pandemic inspired them to explore new interests and flex their creative sides. They founded Dreams Delivered, gutted and renovated a space they lease out for venues, and celebrated the one-year anniversary of their business in April.
The pair recently discussed the experience with Neurology Today. Their comments are excerpted and edited here.
HOW DID YOU BOTH GET INTERESTED IN NEUROLOGY?
Dr. Jamika Hallman-Cooper: I always knew that I wanted to work with kids. But I really fell in love with neurology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology—the whole physical exam and how you could figure out where the problem was in the nervous system just by examining a patient. And I found the neurologic genetic syndromes that affect kids very interesting. It was a patient population I wanted to work with, and the science part of it was interesting to me, too.
Dr. Cherise Frazier: In elementary school, I knew I wanted to be a doctor and wanted to work with kids. In medical school, I wanted something a little more challenging than general pediatrics, so I went to a residency that had every single subspecialty [at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY]. At first, I thought I was going to do nephrology, then cardiology. But a rotation with a pediatric neurology practice helped me decide to pursue neurology. I knew I didn't want to be an academic. I did an extra year at Emory University [in Atlanta] doing EEGs and fell in love with epilepsy and spent nine years at Emory University/CHOA. And then I broke away.
WHEN DID YOU DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN EVENT PLANNING?
Dr. Frazier: Whenever Jamika or I had a big event in our lives or even one of our friends, we would throw an event for each other. We would always throw parties and go above and beyond decorating. When my daughter was turning 3 and it was near the end of the first year of COVID, I wanted to throw a party but didn't want to throw it at my house. I saw this wonderful place called Olivia's Tea House where all the kids could go and play dress-up and have a little tea party. But I found out the space was closed. I thought [places like that were] a great idea—I know there are people who don't want to have parties at their house. I was doing it in the area where I live, and I thought I would really love to have a partner in crime. I didn't want to do it by myself. I am a physician, I have my own practice, and I knew Jamika liked throwing parties.
Dr. Hallman-Cooper: I had mixed feelings at first. I loved doing events. I loved hosting people. It was in the middle of the pandemic; I was beginning to question what I was doing in medicine and whether I was still enjoying it. I was starting to think about what other things I could do outside of medicine to find joy. I always joked that if I had a different career, I would be a hotel concierge or an event planner. So I thought, “I want to embark on this venture.” I talked it over with my husband, and I decided to try it. I thought this would be a good thing to do outside of medicine.
DO YOU HAVE A CREATIVE BACKGROUND?
Dr. Frazier: I've always been creative. I liked to draw when I was young. I've also pushed myself to become creative. For my 3 year old's party I wanted to throw [at the tea house], I wanted to do these balloon characters, so I taught myself how to twist balloons. I can actually twist a balloon princess in a two-tiered dress. I do the balloons and the big décor, whereas Jamika's more [involved with] the fine décor, the table décor, and we mesh well together.
Dr. Hallman-Cooper: Ever since I was a kid, I liked to do crafty things. I used to like to write poetry a lot, and as I went higher in education, I didn't use that part of my brain as much. I've done wedding invitations for some of my friends. I've done baby shower invitations and that sort of thing. I get a lot of fresh flowers, and I practice arranging them. I do the tablescapes. Cherise is self-taught with ballooning; I've done the same thing with floral arrangement.
WHAT KINDS OF EVENTS DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN?
Dr. Hallman-Cooper: We went into this thinking we would be people who specialize in small, custom, luxe kids' parties. We [do everything from] baby showers to first birthdays...
Dr. Frazier: ...to college graduations. Now, it's basically anyone's dream. We do a little bit of everything.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE EVENT YOU PLANNED?
Dr. Hallman-Cooper: One we did most recently involved a mom who called for her 16-year-old's birthday party. She wanted a starry night picnic, but she wanted it indoors. We set it up where it looked like she was outside with stars all around. The teenager loved it, too, but the mom was brought to tears when she saw the decorated room. She gave us a small glimpse of her vision, and we were able to go over-the-top carrying it out without her having to be heavily involved in the planning process, so that was extremely rewarding for me. Another favorite for me was the seventh birthday party for Cherise's son. We did science experiments like building volcanoes. We had them grow faux bacteria in a petri dish using Jell-o as the agar gel and various candies as the bacteria.
“It was in the middle of the pandemic; I was beginning to question what I was doing in medicine and whether I was still enjoying it. I was starting to think about what other things I could do outside of medicine to find joy. I always joked that if I had a different career, I would be a hotel concierge or an event planner.”—DR. JAMIKA HALLMAN-COOPER
Dr. Frazier: Everything has actually been my favorite because we always push ourselves to the limit when it comes to what our clients' desires are and what they think they want for the party. Tell us your vision. Me and Jamika will then bounce it off each other and make it a reality.
It is definitely stressful trying to make sure that we capture a client's vision and get it just right for them. But once we've gotten it all together, we always do a big reveal. We have the client and maybe their partner or the significant other walk into the room by themselves. It's always rewarding to see their faces when they walk in and see all the décor. That makes it all worth it.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR WORK IN MEDICINE WITH THIS WORK?
Dr. Frazier: I have no idea. [Laughs.] It is really hard. We both work full days; there's no half day, and then my kids are fairly young, and her son is younger. Somehow, we make it work. I just happen to be a night owl. Once the kids go to sleep, that's when I start doing my brainstorming. If we're texting each other or calling each other, it is 8:30, 10 at night. We have people who help us but no full-time employees. A lot of time, it's just us doing stuff after hours.
Dr. Hallman-Cooper: We're still trying to figure it out. It's late nights and weekends. We go over to the event venue and get stuff done. After work, we may go there in an evening and start setting up for an upcoming party.
WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO TAKE THIS BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE?
Dr. Frazier: We don't know. It is a lot of work; a lot of long hours; a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But when you see how beautiful the outcome is, it is amazing. ... Our lease is for five years, so we're going to test and see how it goes over the next five years.
“It is a lot of work; a lot of long hours; a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But when you see how beautiful the outcome is, it is amazing.”—DR. CHERISE FRAZIER
Dr. Hallman Cooper: We're trying to go with the flow, see what the market wants, and what niches we can fill. We're finding that when people call us, they have these very unique and custom ideas. It's these really fun but sometimes odd requests, and in a dream world, we want to be that company that's known for ultra-customization. That's why we called it Dreams Delivered—because we will make any kind of dream you had come true.
Dreams Delivered
Where: 10700 State Bridge Road, Suite 6, Alpharetta, GA 30022
Contact: 678-831-0631 or [email protected]
Online: dreamsdeliveredevents.com; @dreamsdeliveredevents on Instagram and Facebook
