WEDDINGS
February 2023: a new chapter
January flew by so quickly that I didn’t even realize the first Thursday in February had come and gone until I looked at my calendar on Friday and realized I missed the date for our February newsletter! I guess you could say we have been busy.
In January we wrapped up our own wedding festivities, hosted a birthday party, hosted two beautiful weddings, and held two styled shoots at the venue.
I also officially became a board member for the organization called Women for Success, a Miami-based nonprofit that provides grants, resources, and programming for women entrepreneurs and business owners. Last week, the organization hosted a ‘Business Shower’ and celebrated the nine recipients of Women for Success’s 2022 new business grants. It was such an inspiring event to attend and has my wheels turning for community programming we can create at the venue.
On another front…I quit my day job on January 31 and will be launching my own financial planning practice in the coming months!
It felt very simple to type those words, but it was a huge decision that has been years in the making. After spending the last 11 years in corporate wealth management and after much consideration, I left my job with benefits and security to start my own firm. (Hence the delayed newsletter here as last week was filled with much transition.)
Just like with the venue, there are a lot of unknowns, challenges, and hurtles I will face in the coming months as my practice evolves, but I am excited to dive into this new chapter of entrepreneurship.
Photo Credit: Steph Tarno Photography.
Although financial planning and running a venue are two different industries, there are a lot of similarities. Both focus on planning, goal setting, budgeting, collaborating with family and industry professionals, and customized and personalized care for clients.
So, when people ask me if I was nervous to quit my job, of course a part of me was, but my feelings have been filled largely with excitement to create something that has been ruminating in the back of my mind for quite some time. And having the venue, building it with Mike from the ground up, has given me courage and experience to start this other new venture.
There’s more to come on that but I will dive into updates and happenings around #TheGoWM.
Updates for TheGoWM…
This month, we plan to:
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Continue hosting regularly scheduled open houses and tastings on Sundays at 11:00am (our next one is February 19) – this is perfect for newly engaged couples and party hosts who have yet to book any vendors or who have booked us but want to meet some of our preferred vendors!
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Continue to work on some of the projects we have around the venue, such as the Live Oak Bar and the Woods Tribute Library (photos to come!)
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Launch our new website along with some amazing resources and materials for party hosts and engaged couples!
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Revamp our preferred vendors list + resources to help booked clients more easily navigate wedding and event planning
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Create an inventory of the décor and rentals items available to booked clients who use our in-house rentals
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Brainstorm ideas for hosting more community events in 2023
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Get our Pinterest page back up and running
Our Asks…
This wouldn’t be a community space without the help from, well, our community! If you can assist us with any of the following, we’d greatly appreciate it.
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If you have been to our venue and enjoyed your experience, a review for us would go a very long way! If you feel inclined, these are the sites on which we get the most traffic: Google, Wedding Wire, and TheKnot.
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Please subscribe to this monthly newsletter if you haven’t and share if you like what you read!
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Please follow us on our social media pages: Instagram (@thegardenswm) and Facebook.
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Please engage (share, like, comment, save) with our posts on social media.
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Help us brainstorm events we can host in our space outside of private parties (e.g., wellness events, art galleries, concerts, gaming events, etc.).
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Book a tour if you’re in the area and would like to see our space!
Thanks for tuning in this month!
-Emily, Co-Founder, The Gardens of Weber Manor
“You will find that most times you have a vision of what it is that you want to accomplish and that’s most important. It allows you to work backwards and make cuts and changes that will still reflect the overall outcome you wish to achieve. What good is splurging on one particular item if it doesn’t result in the overall outcome you were trying to create?