Hugh Howser has made a career out of giving people the time of their lives. For more than two decades with H Three Events, he’s orchestrated some of the most lavish, talked-about weddings in the country — affairs so meticulously over the top that guests still talk about them years later.
These days, Howser is doing something new with that same gift for spectacle and reading a room: He’s walking onto comedy club stages.
It’s a second act that feels less like a career pivot and more like a revelation. The secret is that Hugh Howser has always been a comedian. It just took a few million-dollar weddings — and one very famous funny friend — to help him figure it out.
“I think of myself as a comedian,” Howser says. “That’s who I am.” Growing up in Nashville’s old-school social circles, Howser always stood out. With a memorable mane of hair, a flair for drama, and a personality that filled the room, he was performing long before he ever held a microphone.
“Even as a kid, I was entertaining, decorating, storytelling — all of it,” he says.
He grew up in a deeply supportive family and learned early how to blend humor, imagination, and heart. That combination would become his superpower. Whether it was hosting friends, dreaming up elaborate parties, or designing weddings, Howser was doing more than planning events — he was creating experiences.
That instinct led him to launch H Three Events in the mid-2000s. What started as a grassroots operation quickly became one of Nashville’s premier luxury event companies. Today, H Three is known for producing weddings that stretch into the seven figures, from European destination celebrations to jaw-dropping local affairs — including a famously massive wedding staged on the Tennessee Titans’ football field.
For years, Howser’s humor was part of the product. Clients didn’t just hire him for his design eye — they hired him because he made the process fun. In an industry fueled by stress, expectations, and enormous budgets, Howser became the creative, lighthearted presence who could defuse tension.
“My secret to my entire success is that I’ve made these weddings so fun for them,” he says. “I don’t mean that cockily at all, but that’s the only feedback I get. I mean, I have letters!”
It turns out that skill set translates naturally to comedy.
After years of hiring comedians to entertain at corporate events and private parties, Howser found himself forming friendships in the comedy world — including the wildly popular Leanne Morgan.
Howser met Morgan in 2011, back when she was touring steadily but long before her viral fame and stardom. They hit it off instantly.
“She called me, and we just instantly fell in love on the phone,” he says. “She’s like, ‘I’m sick as a dog. I’m going through perimenopause. My breath smells bad. My kids hate me. I want to die.’ I mean, she was just hilarious. We hit it off.”
Their friendship grew naturally — two Southern storytellers who laugh about family, understand observational humor, and appreciate the art of connecting with an audience. Morgan, who would later skyrocket to stardom, quickly recognized something in Howser. His hair and bellbottoms reminded her of a Bee Gees member, but she also thought he needed to write a book and do stand-up.
“Oh, my Lord, look at you,” Howser remembers Morgan saying. “That’s how it all began. And then she said, ‘You should do an open mic night at Zanies. I know everybody there, and they gave me my big break. I know they’ll give you a break because you can sell it.’”
It was the push he didn’t know he needed.
Howser took the stage at Zanies in Nashville — at first terrified and unsure — but discovered it also felt familiar.
“I’d been doing this my whole life — just not with a microphone,” he says. Morgan became his cheerleader and mentor. She helped him navigate the comedy world and encouraged him to keep showing up. She reminded him that building a career is a marathon, not a sprint.
Howser’s comedy is unique because of how seamlessly it grows out of his real life. His material is observational, Southern, and personal — from society ladies and Ozempic culture to post office lines. And, of course, weddings.
“I have crazy stories about weddings,” he says, recalling a last-minute elephant cancellation because the animal got turf toe. “I could change that act every night if I wanted to.”
There’s a rhythm to his comedy that mirrors his event planning. He built his comedy following the same way he built H Three Events — one room at a time and one audience at a time.
“It’s a groundswell,” he says. “Wherever I’ve gone, the next time I go, I sell out. You can’t sell out your first one. No one knows you. But I was never scared of that. I was just enjoying the fact that a comedy club said, ‘Yes, we’d love to have you.’”
That larger-than-life presence — equal parts Southern belle, society insider, and tongue-in-cheek truth-teller — makes him stand out in a crowded comedy field.
“My fans want me to succeed,” he says. “They feel like they know me.” For Howser, the line between event planner and comedian isn’t a divide — it’s a loop. The weddings gave him stories and confidence. Comedy gave him an outlet.
These days, Howser still plans spectacular weddings. But his comedy excites him the most.
“Leanne’s always like, ‘Isn’t it so fun?’” he says. “I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s so fun that I don’t even care if I sell all the tickets. I’m just building the business like I did with events. Leanne goes, ‘If you’ve got that attitude, you’ll be fine.’”