First Year Reflections | About Jodi Marie

As I wrote this blog post, I was sitting at the spa indulging myself with a pedicure. I was celebrating the last wedding of the year and I was also reflecting on this past year. Today, I’m going to share some of those reflections with you. ​

I officially launched my business a year ago this month. I've been in the wedding industry for over 8 years now, but it's been an entirely different experience running a business of my own. I honestly never pictured myself as a business owner. However, it just landed in my lap and I'm so grateful that it did. I haven’t yet shared how I came to start Jodi Marie Events, so I'd like to share that story with you. 

I've always loved weddings. I worked for a wedding decor company for years, and I loved seeing all of the unique weddings that I had the opportunity of setting up and helping put together. When I was married back in 2012, I loved the entire wedding planning process. It was such a joy to put together all of the details of the wedding day, and it was overwhelming and wonderful to see it all come together the way that it did. After I was married, friends of mine began asking me to help with their weddings. I ended up helping plan, coordinator, setup, and decorate quite a few of my friend's weddings, and I always loved it. In 2013, someone I knew posted on Facebook that they were looking for a wedding venue. I messaged them and suggested a few wedding venues to them that fit the description that they were looking for. I also mentioned that I loved weddings and would be happy to help them if they needed any assistance. The couple ended taking me up on that offer, and I worked alongside them through planning, organizing and coordinating their wedding. I learned so much throughout the process, and was grateful for the experience. Part way through the planning process for their wedding, they noticed that I had a natural knack for wedding planning, and suggested that I start a business for it. At first, I didn’t take them very seriously, as I didn’t think I could do it plus I didn’t have the funds in place to start a business. But in the end, the couple paid me for my services, which was more than enough to launch my business. After the couple’s wedding in May 2014, I slowly worked towards starting up my business. I wanted to do it well. I did a great deal of research into every step of building my business. In the end, I had a website that I loved, a logo that I loved, business cards that I loved, a brand that I loved, and quite honestly, a business that I loved. It was mine, and it was exactly how I hoped it would be.

Since officially launching my business, I’ve worked to get as much experience as possible. I know that a business certainly takes marketing and advertising to grow, but I've found that most of all, you need positive referrals and reviews. If people are happy with your services, they will refer you and your business will grow. In order to expand my experience, I began approaching a few friends and people that I knew to see if they needed any help with their weddings. I explained that I was fairly new in the wedding planning industry, looking to gain experience, and would love to assist with their weddings. The positive response from those that I approached was overwhelming, and I had the chance to help many people with their weddings. I was also elated to be featured on Vancity Bride back in March of this year, which helped to get my name out there. 

I had a specific goal in mind at the beginning of this year as to how many weddings I wanted to do for people that I did not know and had never met before. At the time, my goal seemed absolutely impossible. Now that the year has come to an end, I am grateful to say that I was able to triple that goal. It really has been a year of growth, stretching, and hard work. It hasn’t always been easy, but in the end it has been so worth it. I’ve met so many amazing people, and have been able to assist with a great number of beautiful weddings. I absolutely love what I do, and cannot wait to see where my business will take me from here. 

I appreciate everyone who has supported me along this first year of business, and I look forward to what the future years will look like! Thanks for reading! <3

Jodi Marie

Photograph by Wink Photography.