Episode 20 Building A Thoughtful Wedding Venue Experience From Scratch: Hazelwood Weddings

If your venue is the backdrop to every photo, shouldn’t it also be the backbone of a calm, guest-friendly celebration? We sit down with Kate from Hazelwood Weddings to trace how a teacher and a finance pro built a modern, non-barn venue that prioritizes flow, comfort, and transparent communication—long before a contract is signed. Kate shares why they ditched the idea of DIY coordinating and partnered with a pro, how a vetted caterer list quietly saves the day, and what fast, thoughtful replies do for trust when couples are overwhelmed by choices.

We walk through the anatomy of a great guest experience: shaded and covered ceremony options, a dedicated cocktail area, a climate-controlled reception space, and paved, accessible pathways that keep people close and comfortable. Kate also unpacks the evolution from one-size-fits-all to flexible offerings—elopements, micro weddings, and full-day celebrations—so couples can match budget, timeline, and vision without sacrificing the modern look they love. Along the way, we dig into vendor red flags, why response time beats follower count, and the simple systems that make personalization at scale possible.

For couples, you’ll get concrete tips on touring venues, reading pricing, and setting priorities. For vendors, you’ll hear how to stand out with clarity, speed, and service that feels human. And for anyone juggling kids and a creative business, there’s honest talk about seasons of life, staying present, and letting the noncritical tasks wait until Monday. Subscribe for more behind-the-scenes conversations with the people who make great wedding days happen, share this with a friend who’s planning, and leave a review to tell us your biggest planning question.

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Transcript

Meet Hazelwood Weddings

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days. I'm James, a wedding filmmaker. I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about real conversations with the ones who make it happen. Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way. Let's meet today's wedding vendor. Hey Kate, how's it going?

SPEAKER_00 0:24

I'm so good. Thank you so much for being here. Yeah, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

I am very, very excited. Um, Kate is the owner here at Hazelwood Weddings, which is the spot that we're in, the spot that you see here. Kate, I'm so excited to have you on today. Um, only to talk about your venue, but also to talk about the experience that you've had in the industry. As I was setting all this stuff up, we are just having such a good conversation about the industry, the things that are happening, the things that have changed over the years, and so I'm excited to get into that um today. Thanks for being on.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I am so happy that you're here and we get to host this and have so many cool people here this week.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

I know it is a lineup. Uh, we're here two days filming, I think, 10 episodes while we're here. And it's just so fun to see kind of the people that you've experienced um throughout the time that you've had the venue and have had good experiences with, and good enough to say, like, hey, you should have these people on the podcast. And I love kind of getting that insight from the venue owner. But take me back to when Hazelwood weddings all started.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Oh my goodness, that is such a big question. Take you like back back to how we even began this whole process. And we, when I say that, I mean Adam and I. My husband and I own and operate this venue together. He's not here because he's not feeling good. Boo. But um, I can handle this.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

We should have put a mic like in the room. He could just have been like, yeah, I totally agree with that.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

No, he's gonna totally have FOMO, but it's all good. Yeah. Um, so to take you way back, it is really such a long story. I'm gonna try to keep it short. We did not come from the wedding industry. I was a teacher, a high school English teacher for 10 years, happy in my career. Adam worked in finance, he had a hit in his family's business. Um, and just we kind of always had this idea in the back of our head like to have our own business. We just didn't know what that would be. Fast forward, we're like, what if we like buy a winery or like start a winery and have like an event venue? Because a lot of wineries have event spaces. And that there was a lot of twists and turns and things changing with that vision. But we were like, let's build a wedding venue. What the heck? Who thinks of like what? But we just said, let's start looking at properties, let's see if we can find a space that makes sense to build a wedding venue, not coming from the industry, not knowing anything, and really just kind of had this in the back of our heads for a couple of years, just doing research and looking at what was out there and making relationships with other people that were in the industry. And that was literally like me going on Pinterest and Google and Instagram and looking up like what are wedding vendors in South Central Pennsylvania in our area that we could learn from. Um, and I want to kind of come back to that in a little bit, but I'll go back to like how we started. Yeah. So we found this property, got this property with the vision to build a wedding venue that was different from what already existed. And I'm really proud of us for having that like insight to think, let's not just build something that's already here in our market. And we knew that what was missing was this like a modern venue, not a barn, not a ballroom, um, just something different. And that's that's what we did. Yeah. And I won't go too deep into the actual permitting and finances and how to actually do all that that's not very exciting. And honestly, that is Adam's specialty. He is way better at talking about that stuff. But that's kind of how it started. That's the fast version.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yeah. So you were just trying to find a business to run. Yeah. But you got it, sounds like, and maybe Adam might not have been so excited about finance, but it sounds like you guys were pretty okay with like what was going on in life, like the work that you were doing as a teacher. Um, what was the like why why was there a drive to like kind of ditch that it was working, seemed to be fine to like go out on a limb and and put all of your eggs into something like like a wedding venue?

SPEAKER_00 4:39

That's a great question. And people ask me that all the time because they knew how happy I was with teaching. And I wasn't looking for a change because I was burnt out, which is very real with teaching. It's a very hard and important job.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Yeah.

Partners In Life And Business

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Um, but I just loved the idea of doing something more and doing something for us. And I guess when I think about it, like I am inspired by my mom, um, who was a stay-at-home mom, but also had a business on the side and was able to be at home with my brother and I, but have her business from home and raise us and be there for us and have this really cool job that she could do when she had the time and on the weekends and in the evenings from home. So that when I think about it, I'm like, I guess that did inspire me because that is what I want now. When I think about our life, I'm like, I want to be able to be home with our kids, but also have a business that gives us the flexibility to do that and not clock in and clock out. I think a lot of wedding vendors feel the same way. They want to do something that is for them and they get control over their schedules, but also with that comes craziness. Like life becomes so much harder having your own business.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

For sure. And I I would say too, like, if you are a teacher now, like there's nothing wrong with being a teacher or doing the nine to five, clocking in and out. Yeah. Because there is a lot of chaos that comes with running your own business, but there's also a lot of flexibility on the upside, being that flexibility and kind of doing your own thing for yourself. Um did you think that you guys were like business minded at that? Like, like how did that? I know you had a little bit of like what you saw it from your mom, but was Adam like, was he a business-minded kind of person, like entrepreneurial?

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yeah, yes. His um father owned a business. And I think he grew up seeing that, you know, what that what that provided for the family, but also the flexibility of Adam is one of five siblings. And I wish he was here to talk about this. But he, you know, they were all part of that family business and decided to kind of take their own. Some some stayed in that direction, some took other directions. Um, and I think he learned so much from his father about what just I am not a person who is, I am not a numbers person. He is so skilled with accounting and finance and that back end side of the business. And he takes that from his other job. Yeah, right. Which is perfect. We really have this great balance of like, we started this business, we didn't come from this industry, but Adam has all this background. I do not run, he does the contracts, he runs our CRM, he works with our accountant. That's I'm like, don't even show me. I don't even want to see that because my mental capacity is for my side of the business.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Front end client facing. Yeah. What's it like to work alongside of your spouse?

SPEAKER_00 7:45

It's really awesome. It's hard, but not hard because we don't want to be together. We actually started this because we're like, let's do a business together. Like we, when you go back to our origin story, like we wanted to have something together. And it just happened to be a wedding venue, right? And we love like the day in, day out, like being able to like do our thing side by side. Um, and you have to like each other. That's a given. Like that sounds silly. Like, you have to like spending time with your spouse in that environment. And it's not meant for everyone. Yeah. I know you were just talking with another, you know, wedding industry business couple that owns their business together. And like, I'm sure they express the same things. Like, you have to be okay with working together all the time.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

And um we love it.

Finding Balance With Young Kids

SPEAKER_01 8:37

It's really easy as a wedding vendor, and maybe it's just a business owner in general, because I don't have, I've only ever been like a business owner in the wedding industry, kind of a little bit of corporate video stuff. But um, it's really easy to like be thinking about the business all the time or like bring it up in conversations uh, you know, that aren't business related, that become business related. How have you guys found a balance as a wedding vendor couple? I guess kind of balancing like the home family side of things and like the work life. Like, how are you balancing all of that?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah, it's such a great because I feel like it's not balance and it's so hard. Like having kids is just so hard. And I know so many of our fellow like wedding industry friends, like they're all on the same boat. They have small children, they're trying to run their business. Like it is just hard. And we were talking a little bit about this before.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Our kids are literally like almost identically the same age.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Yes, yep. Two and four. Yep. And um, it's a crazy time because they're not in school.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

And if you don't have childcare, like you're with your kids, you're doing that, you have your business, you're doing all the things, wearing all the hats. Um, but there is no balance. I think this is just you have to be okay with this stage and life. You know, there's different stages of hard in life. And this is just a really hard stage. Having little kids, scaling your business, having this level of growth, but also maintaining everything, right? Maintaining the property, making sure everything is top-notch, making sure all of our couples are taking care of current couples and the couples coming in, staying up to date with trends and what the market demands, and always staying like one step ahead. That's the challenge I enjoy. Like I love the fast-paced, like craziness of all of this. There are days when I am like, what are we doing? How can we have kids? Like the kids don't have school today. How am I supposed to get all this stuff done? Um, because I'm always going a mile a minute in my mind with like these ideas and things that I want to implement, but it's us, you know? And I have to sometimes check myself and be like, Kate, like you can do that next Monday. It doesn't have to happen right now. The things that are important right now are trying to take care of yourself and your family.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

And then keeping the business going. There's certain things that are like just, you know, smooth sailing. And then there's the new. There's always the inquiries, there's things coming in that you're also trying to take care of.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

I think it's just like what I'm hearing and what what we're in, I mean, we're filming this in October. Uh, I don't know when it's going to be out, but it's a busy season. And I maybe there's always busy seasons. But from everything you've said, family-wise, it's a busy season. Um, if you have littles and you're a wedding vendor, you know what we're talking about. Um, it seems like, and we were talking about this before, like as I was setting up, it's like we're balancing um being present in this like crazy season, not wishing it away. And like you said, just keeping the business going. Sometimes you just do what you can do. And, you know, as long as you're not dropping the ball to something like client-facing, or there's like a bad uh view from the client, like it's okay if it waits until next Monday or doesn't get done right away. Um, just trying to like navigate all of that the best that you can. If you're listening and you're like, I feel that way too.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Yes. And it's it's a lot of sacrifice, but you have to want to work hard and sacrifice some of those things. I am a very present parent. I get to be with our kids. I love our schedule and our arrangement with the limited childcare that we have. It's something, but I still have to work at night. I still have to work on the weekends. Like I'm with my kids a lot, but I have to step away often to answer messages. Like that's what makes us successful because we are fast with our responses. We get back to couples, current couples, but also inquiries coming in. We don't expect people to want to wait 24 hours to hear a response. People want to hear information right now. So that is my quote balance of trying to. I could be at the park playing with our kids. And in my mind, I'm like, this isn't the time to be doing business. But then inquiry comes in, and I'm like, okay, Adam, you go over, like you guys go do the slide for a few minutes. I'm gonna check in with this inquiry. It'll take me a couple minutes, and then I'll get back to life. And it's just that's just what it looks like right now. It's what works for us. But I will say, like, that's what people appreciate. They really want that fast response and attention.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

And it just has to be one of those sacrifices that you're willing to make.

unknown 13:29

Yeah.

Year One Lessons And Coordination

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Well, I think it helps that the two of you are doing it together because you have a little bit of that like give and take. There's gonna be moments where Adam might need to be out here working on a project or crunching numbers, and there's gonna be a moment where you need to respond to an inquiry or do a tour or something. Um, take me back to when things started though, in that like first year. What are some of the biggest like eye-opening, like, oh gosh, I did not realize that this was gonna be a thing that we had to worry about, or just like what you learned in that in that first season?

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Such a good question. So many things going through my mind. We thought that we were going, like, we're venue owners operators, like we are here on site, we're running, we're doing all the setup, we're taking care of everything at the property, and we're here on wedding days. We thought that we were also going to like kind of like coordinate the weddings. I don't know what we were thinking. So when we kind of come in.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

The other venue owners are like, what in the world?

SPEAKER_00 14:30

We didn't know. But we did know at the beginning that we wanted to make friends and make connections with other people in the industry. So when we were under construction, we had all these different vendors out caterers, planners, florists, photographers, makeup artists, you name it, just to kind of like learn about the industry and have them give feedback as we were building the venue. One of those relationships we made was with Taryn, a coordinator from Blake Events, right? The owner of Blake Events. So we made this connection and we were like, you know, we thought we were gonna want to coordinate the weddings and kind of like do all this stuff day uh, but we realized that that's not really it. So we actually hired her to work our first couple weddings so we could learn from her and we could like watch her kind of go through the day, coordinate the ceremony, do all of the things. And then once we did that for our first two weddings, we were like, we need to do this for all of our weddings. There is no way we can do this. And that was just a really smart connection that we made at the beginning and ultimately became such a big part of our experience here. And that partnership has grown over the last five years. But that was a huge eye-opener. Like, who actually does those things on the wedding day? And that is such a misconception to couples coming in when they're planning their wedding. The venue is often the first thing that they go to tour, right? And they're not thinking, like, well, wait a minute, who's actually gonna do all this stuff? Is your venue doing that? No. Um, that's why you need a coordinator, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yeah. And I I feel like it's it's even in the coordinating world. I've I've had a couple planners on now. And the the specific jobs that they do are often very different from each other. Um, and they might all use the word coordinator or they might all use the word planner in some form or another. But even that, like there's just a big difference between like what a coordinator does. Maybe the venue has a coordinator, but it's probably not gonna be the same as like you guys having Taryn doing coordinating and planning and stuff for all of your weddings. Uh, what what were some other things like early on that you learned as like a new business, a new wedding venue?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Oh my goodness. You have to always stay one step ahead. And that is it's so vague, but like you can't just be comfortable with like, okay, we're getting through these weddings, we're making it, everyone's happy, everything's great. You have to also always be thinking about what is next to challenge yourself and also stay interested and excited in what you're doing so things don't get stale when you do the same wedding, you know, you're in the same venue doing the same, you know, every wedding is unique, every couple is different, but just how can you challenge yourself to keep it exciting? But also to grow with the industry and what people actually need. And that has changed a lot over the last five years. And if we, when I look back and think about how we did things year one and we had amazing couples and families, and everybody's reviews are fantastic, like we are still friends with those couples. We call them our OG Hazelwood fam. Like we still love those people. But when I think about the experience we had then compared to now, it was organized and streamlined and it was always personalized. But now it's like two times a hundred, right? Like when I think about the initial proposals we sent to couples, like compared to what we do now. And it's just it's there's so much growth, but you have to do that. That doesn't just happen, right? So when people are stuck or things aren't, you know, progressing in their business, I'm like, well, how much have you changed from that first year? Right. Because if you're still doing everything that same way, then things are gonna like things aren't gonna change, right?

Evolving Systems And Experience

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yeah, and it's even just like the monotony of like every weekend, you know, in your case, maybe you're having a couple weddings here. Um and it's it sounds like it'd be fun as a business owner, even just to like take that and run with it. Like, what can I do in my business to keep things fresh, to keep them exciting, so that it's not like, oh, here's another wedding? Um, because I think when it gets busy, it can feel that way. It's like, oh gosh, you know, I have another wedding film to edit. But it's like you want to make it special and and unique for each couple. Um, what ways do you feel like Hazelwood um like is unique for couples or families, or for the way that they can like customize the space or use it in different ways?

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Yeah, I love that question. I I think what draws a lot of couples in is the look. Like that's how they find us because they're looking for something that is different, that is modern, not a barn. And we love barns, barns are fantastic, but we wanted to do something else. And that's what initially brings people to the space. And we love that. But it's so much more than just the look. When people come here and they come for a venue tour, or even before a venue tour, I'm sometimes talking to couples for a month through text or DM about their wedding, right? And then they come in and then they're like, this just feels right. Like, this is not the level of attention that I'm getting when I talk to other venues or when I inquire with other places. So we always say on tours, I'm like, I want you to love the venue, but I want you to love the experience we have because that is what What really sets us apart. It's not just through the partnership with a wedding coordinator or having like an awesome list of caterers to make your life easier. It's just how we design the whole process here from even before you come in for the tour, right? Our communication, how we personalize things, checking in with you, not like, hey, are you ghosting me? Did you forget about me? Which is just so silly. It's more like, what value and what resources can I give you before you even come into your tour that makes you like, wow, this is a venue who really gets it. They understand I'm busy. I don't know what I'm doing. Yeah. And they're trying to be helpful before I even get in there for my tour.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yeah. And that's that's before they're gonna give you any amount of money. Yeah. Too. So there's not money tied to this idea of like providing tons of value to couples. I think if you're a vendor that's listening, like find a way that you can do that in your category, however that looks. I always tell couples on the call, I'm like, if you don't book me, it's fine. I want you to leave the call knowing more about video, understanding more about what it is, what it isn't, or even just like what they want from their videographer. It could be really, really helpful to just take that mindset. And also then you're not like you don't have like a oh, I I hope they book, I really need them to book. And then when you're in that spot, you generally it's not a good spot to be in. Um so when you're having your weddings, you're obviously working with a ton of vendors. I mean, you have like vendors from every category, and if you do, you know, 50, 60, 70 weddings, that is a ton of vendors. What are you noticing with um like how how is the vendor teams, how have they shifted from when you first started to the teams that you've noticed this year? With like in general, like photography, beauty, florist, like trends, or even just like the people that you're seeing coming in and out?

What Makes Hazelwood Different

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah. Wow, that's a really good question. I think there are a lot of tried and true, like a lot of vendors that are repeat, that are trusted, that are names, that are well known in our industry. They have the reviews, they have the reputation. But we also see a lot of couples taking a chance, maybe on newer businesses, newer vendors. Um, that's something that's really fun, seeing so many new faces in here. Like there was a florist here a couple of weeks ago, and she's really young, and I think she just started her business. I don't remember her name right now, but I'm like, that's really cool. Imagine, like in a couple years, like this was one of her first weddings. Imagine a couple years, like how much she's going to grow. I think couples are hiring the experienced vendors, but they're also hiring newer faces, people that are putting themselves out there differently online and making connections with couples. And I hope that makes sense. Like just getting some, I don't know, there's a lot of variety.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

Yeah, I just I feel like there's so many people that you run into as a venue owner that like I might run into like photographers mostly. Sometimes I interact with makeup artists. I mean, I do a little bit more now because of the podcast, but just on a wedding day, um, there's there's only like these small little moments. But I feel like um as a venue owner, I've always had this mindset of like, if there's a bad DJ, obviously people are gonna be like it was a bad DJ, but they're gonna remember the bad DJ at Hazelwood.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Or any like insert any other category of vendor. They're gonna be like, oh, do you remember that terrible DJ at Hazelwood? How do you manage like you want the right people? You don't maybe want to control every decision that a couple is gonna make. Um, but a lot of times like you have this onus on you, like it's gonna come back to you guys as the venue owner of like this bad vendor was at Hazelwood.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Yeah, it's such a good question. And it's this is so important because when guests come in here, they are just think they're looping everything together with Hazelwood.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

And you could have nothing, nothing to do with any of the other vendors, like nothing.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yep, which is why they get looped in. Yes, that's why it's so important. My hot take is like hiring professional wedding vendors. Hire whether they are super experienced or newer in the industry, a person who is an actual wedding vendor, a business, right? Your DJ, your photographer, your makeup artist, it's going to make your wedding experience easier and more smooth, but it's also going to make your guest experience better. When I talk to couples after their wedding, and if I ever hear that they were like disappointed or unhappy in anything, you know what it was? It was their DJ or their photographer because they tried to save money and go with someone that I don't know, their uncle recommended or they found in like a Facebook group or something. And I'm like, that's what couples regret after the wedding, not having that solid vendor. And of course, going from a recommended list that like your venue provides or your wedding coordinator provides, that's where you're gonna have that trust because these people are on that list because we know the experience they provide on the wedding day, but we also know their communication before the wedding. We know what their backup options are, we know all of this stuff. And one way that we can kind of like steer this is with catering. And that has been something huge for us having like a short list of caterers versus, you know, going to year one, it was a free-for-all. You could have any caterer you want, they could serve anything you want, any type of food service. Well, we learned a lot over those first couple of years of like what works and what doesn't work with catering. And catering sets the tone for everything again, because when your guests come in, they make no distinction between that caterer and hazel what's like a restaurant. It's it's a restaurant, right? And we get reviews sometimes and people are like, venue was great, food was great. I'm like, thank you. If we didn't do the food, but thanks. Um, so having that list of vetted caterers that are curated, right? They've already know all of our policies, they know our venue inside and out, they know how to staff this venue, they know how to do everything here. So we know that whoever you pick from that list is going to have a great presence, good food, right? Yeah. And like just set set the bar high on your wedding day. And we hope that couples hire vendors that are professional vendors and people that they trust, you know. So much of who you hire for your wedding is the person behind the business. And that is something we can get into that too. Like, you know, you're booking a wedding vendor for their product or their service, but you're really booking them, right? So much of the wedding industry, our fellow vendors, like it's us behind the business. And your couples are connecting with you.

Vendor Quality And Vetted Lists

SPEAKER_01 27:03

They want you to show up on their and that's almost that's almost advice for vendors as much as it is for couples. Yeah. Like, because if you're a vendor listening, like we want that personality. Couples want to see that personality come through in your business. Um, but I'm curious because you have all this experience with other vendors, you've probably seen it go well, you've probably seen it not go well. Um, hopefully more going well than not going well. But uh couples have this like really weird spot that they're in where they might like the person's work or they may have seen a good review about this vendor. But how do they what what are the red flags? Like, how do they stay away from or just even like figure out like this person's gonna be a good fit on our wedding day?

SPEAKER_00 27:51

Such a good question. I I think other than vibes and like actually talking to the person, if it's your DJ, getting them on a Zoom, if it's your photographer, talking to them on the phone, right? Hearing their voice, hearing their personality, making sure you're a match, like you can have that gut check. I say that's number one. But online presence is so important. Your website, your social media presence, not your amount of followers and anything fancy. It's just how do you show up? How do you present yourself on your website? I see so many websites when I go on and I'm like, where's your email? How do I, how do I contact this person, right? The email is not listed here. And um just how easy are you making it for couples to talk to you? How easy it are you making it for couples to work with you? Um, red flag would be like waiting a long time for responses. That is my personal pet peeve because I'm a fast, like I'm I want everything right now, right? So I I judge vendors that way. Like, did I email you on Monday and I didn't hear back until Thursday? Um, we we talk on DMs every day, but you can't send respond to my email for four days. Like, what was what what about a client? Like, how are you responding to your clients? So to me, that's my red flag. Like, how are how is the vendor's communication throughout the process? It's probably a good indication of how your experience is gonna be after they have your money and after you start working together.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Yeah, I it is a funny thing because it seems like it would be straightforward, like be quick to communicate or or I mean that's vendor-to-vendor or vendor to couple, but it's just gonna, it's gonna be a bad look if you're waiting a day, two days, three days, four days, even if it's just like a venue reaching out, like, hey, we need this paperwork, or hey, just so you know, this is our stuff, like you just gotta respond quickly.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

Yes, and they're gonna go somewhere else, right? If you are taking days to respond to an inquiry or answer someone's questions, well, they might go and find another venue or another person in that time that it's taking you to answer their questions, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Yeah. Is there so when we're when couples are trying to find the venue that works best for them? Um, obviously you'd want them to pick hazel. I'd totally get that. But if you could give them just like advice, like like what should they be looking for? Um, what would be like sort of the green flag, so to speak, of like, hey, this would be a good spot because it's customizable, or like it obviously they like the the uh the view, like it's pretty, but like what else could they be looking for when they're trying to find the best venue for them?

Red Flags And Fast Communication

SPEAKER_00 30:33

I love that. I find myself talking so much about flow on my venue tours, not just talking about what do you want the day to look like, how you want the day to feel, what's important to you, but the flow of the day and how your guests actually move through the venue and experience different parts of the day. Coming into your ceremony, transitioning to cocktail hour, going to your reception space. What does that flow look like? And our venue, we have 18 acres, we have a lot of privacy, it's very peaceful and serene countryside, it's beautiful. But everything at our venue happens very close together. It's very logical, right? Like we were designed for weddings. So we're a new venue, right? So we didn't have to like retrofit our space for a wedding. So there's a parking lot out front, there's a pathway that connects from the parking lot around to the ceremony site. There's a beautiful welcome area. They have ceremony options, there's a covered ceremony location. You don't have to worry about rain. You don't have to worry about it being really hot. You have a shaded option, right? Then you have a separate area for cocktail hour that's also covered and shaded. Then your guests come inside for the reception in this beautiful, you know, modern climate-controlled reception space. And that flow of how your guests move through the venue locations is something people comment on on almost every venue tour. They're like, wow, this is really easy. This makes sense. They're like, I love this. Like, I love that we don't have to go from this building to this building and everything feels disjointed. They're like, I love how easy it is. They worry about, you know, they're elderly guests. They're like, everything's one level, there's paved pathways everywhere. It's just very accessible, which is good for everyone. And they love that each space can continue to be used throughout the evening. So, like after your cocktail hour's over, well, that beautiful open covered patio is right there. And then the fire pit's out there. Like people can go outside in the evening, they're dancing, you know, grab a drink, head out by the fire pit. Like everything is right there. And people aren't spread out so much that they're not celebrating together.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Yeah, no, I I'd have to imagine you can let me know. You would feel the flow at any venue tour, even if the venue owner or whoever's giving the tour isn't like, hey, this is the flow. You would start to see like, oh, that's really far away from this, or like, that's a lot of steps. You know, are you are you thinking that like at a venue tour, even if you're not getting told the flow, you would kind of get a sense of what it's gonna feel like?

SPEAKER_00 33:01

I yes and no. I get so much feedback from couples when they come to venue tours, they're so open with me. Sometimes it's their first tour. Sometimes they've been on three, five. I met someone last week that was on 10 venue tours. Like, so they have a lot of comparison points. And they're like, wow, like when I came to this tour, like we actually sat down and like talked about my wedding before we even looked at anything. So once we got to the point where we're gonna walk outside and I'm gonna take you through the day and how your guests would flow through the venue, they're like, wow, this is so nice. Like, we've already talked about my wedding. Now I can see how my guest, how my vision would actually come together as we go through this. Yes. And I think a lot of venue tours, from what I hear from couples, is it's more like, here's the venue, take a look around, have any questions?

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

And couples really need to be guided because, like you said, are they asking about the flow or is that something that's just they're picking up? I think they are, but I also think I ask couples, like, think about the other weddings you've been to. Have your friends gotten married recently? What did you like about those wedding days? Not in a um a negative comparison point, but just how did you experience that day as a guest? Yeah. And what do you want your guests to experience on your wedding day? Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

It's so interesting. It it just seems like uh the personality, like the personal side of it would just be like a given. And it's so cool that couples are coming and being like, this is what I've experienced, and this is this is how it's different here. Um, because I'd imagine I would think that like less couples would be like that open about it, but it's cool that they are because you get that that comparison point of like they're not being told all this stuff. Uh, is there other things that couples should be asking on their venue tours?

SPEAKER_00 34:53

So many things. We have like let's get the laundry list out. So many things. Um, it's not that couples have to come prepared with a whole list of questions. Yeah. We have venue checklists, we have all those things that can help you throughout the touring process as you're comparing venues. But I don't want couples to feel like they have to have stuff figured out and they have to know a checkpoint of questions like do you require event insurance? Do you have a rain plan? To me, those are like basic things that on any venue tour or on your website and just any of your materials should be really clear to couples, right? And when they're coming for the tour, it's more about the feel. Can you actually picture your guest celebrating here? Is this what you want in your pictures for the rest of your life? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Yeah, so that's the mindset for couples is like come into it and like put yourself on your wedding day at the venue. Does it go?

Touring Venues And Guest Flow

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Yes. Is this the backdrop you want? Because your venue is that that's your photos, right? Your venue is in the background in all of your pictures. You have the nature, the outdoor scenery, which most of our couples are prioritizing that indoor, outdoor feel. But then you have this modern reception space that looks beautiful during the day. It looks nice in the evening when the lights are dimmed down. But like But it's literally in every photo. It's in every photo. Yeah. And it's not just the look that's in every photo, it's the experience too. How calm were you on your wedding day? Was there a venue representative there helping you and your guest? Was your coordinator there to keep things timed and flowing properly? So that's why I bring it back to I want you to love the venue and the look is important for your photos, but it's also, were you able to be in the moment and experience your wedding because you could trust and just like let go and trust that everything was going to come together the way it was supposed to? Because we've worked with you months and months before your wedding. You've had your final walkthrough, you've done all these things, so you don't have to worry about it on your day, and you can truly just be present and your family too. Like we want your parents and your family and your wedding party. Everybody is supposed to be present.

SPEAKER_01 36:56

Um is there in the booking process, it sounds like you've got this like dialed in. I'm assuming it might not have been dialed in at first. Uh, was it like dialed in right from day one?

SPEAKER_00 37:10

It's it's evolved appropriately, I would say. Okay. The industry now versus five years ago is very different. And that's my only reference point, right? I only know what to compare it to when we first started. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

You don't have the like 10, 15 years.

SPEAKER_00 37:24

But just our just the resources we have built up for couples, the touch points that we have throughout inquiry and tour and follow-ups, it's so much, it's so much better because it's so much more because we are constantly trying to do the next thing and stay ahead with like, okay, I'm learning from talking to all these couples on tours. I'm getting feedback. What are couples looking for? Here's how I can add that to my follow-up process. Here's how I can just, for example, like I have like a folder in my phone with all of these like vision boards and things that I already have made. So when I'm texting with a couple and they're asking questions, I'm like, great, here is a fall mood board, or here is um a sample layout for 150 people with a band because you're worried that it might be too tight. I have this stuff ready to go. I didn't do that five years ago.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

It's almost more resources than it is like the system. The system might be sort of the same-ish.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

Yeah, like our CRM. All of that stuff is the same, but you have more.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

So many more resources, touch points, and like it sounds like you're again the speed at which you can respond back and say, Hey, here's the layout that would fit a band and 150 people. You're not like digging through your file, I'm just like picturing you like going through a file thing, like, no, that's 125 people. Oh, that's 100 people. Like, you just have it, you're ready to go. It's sent off, and then it's on to the next thing.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Yes. And adjusting, you know, when I when I'm meeting couples and we meet a lot of couples who travel here, like from Jersey, New York, like these areas that I never imagined, right? So I have now built resources that are like local travel guide. If you're wondering if the venue's too far, um, how to plan a destination wedding. Like I have all these like blogs that I've written or links that I have again shape saved in like a folder in my phone and these photos where I can say, kind of like predict any objection that a couple might have or worry. And I hope to bring it up on a tour so we can address it and kind of talk through stuff when they're here. And if they don't, and we're texting and following up afterwards, I'm like, great. Um, you know, you're not sure if the micro wedding or a full day wedding is right for you. Well, here's a blog that we just wrote, and this kind of gives you a breakdown of these two packages. Just being helpful. And I guess that's a tip I would give people instead of just like, hey, how you doing? Just checking in, like, how's your venue search going? It's more like, here's this I thought of you. I thought you might like this, or I think this would be helpful. What are you struggling with right now? And just kind of staying ahead and predicting and trying to. Always be a helper. Like that's what I I think that's what makes us different.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Yeah, no, I I'd have to imagine that couples appreciate that as well. If they don't say it, I'm sure that they're appreciate the the willingness uh to do that sort of like give, give, give, instead of just like, hey, checking in, do you still want to book here? Like, do you want to pay us money? You're like, hey, thought of you, here's this helpful resource. Let me know if you have questions or how I can help. Um, when you're when you're talking with couples, uh, does it seem like they have like a good idea of what they're looking for? Or does it feel like they know nothing and they're like, okay, please just like help me figure this out?

Clarity On Pricing And Packages

SPEAKER_00 40:45

They it's it's usually um they they don't know anything and they found us because they like the look, or they someone recommended us to them and they're like, I figured this was a good place to start. I'll start touring venues. And I tell couples when they come in, I'm like, I want to give you so much information on this tour. Don't worry about writing anything down. I'm gonna send you all this afterwards. I don't want you to feel overwhelmed because this can be a very overwhelming process because it's so much information, right? But we're gonna take it one step at a time and kind of like guide them through it because we don't expect them to have any of this stuff figured out. You don't even, a budget is another thing. Couples, they don't understand what weddings cost, they don't understand how venue plays into that all-in cost and what they want to put into catering and then all their other vendors.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Like, yeah, I mean, it could be as simple as like a venue saying it cost$10,000 to have your wedding here, and that could be just the venue, like nothing else. Another venue could say 10, and it could be, well, there's some flowers in there, and there's a coordinator, and there's this and there's that. So it's like you really got to peel back the layers um and figure out what's included.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Yes. And that is something that has remained a part of our like business model from wedding number one. Everything was very transparent and easy. One price for everything, right? Our pricing changes based on, you know, the day of the week or the season and what kind of wedding package, if it's a micro or full-day wedding, but it is that one price broken up. There's no add-ons, there's no taxes, there's no surprises. And couples really appreciate that because they can actually then plan. They're like, okay, I know exactly what my venue is going to cost, then I'm gonna go and do my next vendor and the next thing and the next thing. Right.

SPEAKER_01 42:27

Could you explain to me? Because we were talking before, I have like a little inside scoop, but could you explain to me and the and the people that are listening and watching, like, what are the different different kinds of weddings that that couples can have here at Hazelwood?

SPEAKER_00 42:40

I love this because this has been another thing that has changed over the years. Like when we first started, it was full-day weddings. You get the venue for 14 hours, here's all the furniture, here's all the locations, here's the services you get. Then we added elotements and micro weddings because that was something that we knew people needed. And that's not what we initially thought we were going to do, but that's what people wanted. And you have to be willing to adjust, you know, and provide an option that solves a problem. Couples wanted a venue where they could have a beautiful venue and location, but not do something crazy and over the top. There's the microwedding, right? So we do elopements, which are very simple. You come in for a ceremony and then you have time for photos. You hire a photographer, you have someone that's officiates your wedding, and then you maybe have some flowers and that's it, right? Then you go to like a local restaurant to celebrate instead of having catering and that whole thing here keeps it very cost effective and easy to plan. We can plan those in one week, right? We have couples that book them three months out or a week out. It doesn't matter. Micro weddings are for couples that still want a wedding. Like they want a reception, they want food, they want drinks, but they don't want it to be this like full night party. They don't want it to be a hundred people or 150 people. There are smaller packages. So, and then full day weddings are, of course, what most couples book, but being able to have those options to meet couples where they are, whether they know they want something smaller, or maybe they really want to get married at Hazelwood and they're like, it's not in our budget or our plans to do a full day wedding. So we'll do a micro wedding, yeah. Right. And we'll do something more intimate and still have the same photos, the same venue, the same experience. It's just a little smaller, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:27

If you guys are listening and you know me, I'm a one package kind of guy. And we talked about this, and you're like really shifting my perspective on more so the concept of having options. Not necessarily that there can't be one package and some add-ons if you're a one package kind of person, or if you're a three-package with some add-ons, or just straight up three packages. But um, it seems like maybe it's this the shift in what's happening now in weddings is like couples are looking for more options.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

Different, yes, different collections, different things.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

Yes. And we, who knows next year, right? This is the part that I really enjoy about this business and this job is being creative and thinking like, how can we, what's the next thing? How can we meet the next need or demand? And how can we tweak what we're already offering and doing well to meet that? So who knows what we'll be here next year. Every year, oh my gosh, I we joke, Adam and I were like, no more, because every year we've done like a big project or a big upgrade. Last year we added this like huge covered ceremony site. So we have this all-weather outdoor ceremony option. And I'm like, okay, that's enough for now.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

So we did a pause.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Small projects from now. But now we have this, we have more things in store. And this is, you know, secret. We have just more things happening down the line.

Elopements, Micros, And Flexibility

SPEAKER_01 45:47

So if you see the like cranes and all the big like digging stuff, like some cool stuff is happening. Yes. Um, can you tell me like one of the more creative ways that you've seen a couple use? I mean, maybe it's this space or like the ceremony spaces.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

Oh, I love this. Just anytime couples incorporate things that are unique to their interests and personalities. Like we had a wedding where the couple they had their first date at an arcade. So they rented retro pinball machines and turned our parlor, like the mural wall room. They had um arcade games in there. And that was so fun for guests. Um, one of our weddings last year, the couple loved golf. They had a golf simulator here. Like that was parked out front of the venue for cocktail hour where guests could like grab a drink at the bar, do golf for a little bit. Things like that that are statement. I guess that's a tip for couples too. Like, what are fun things that you can do in your wedding that reflect who you are? Because that's really what it's all about. And you don't have to do this stuff, but it's like, if you want to, I say go for it.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

Yeah. How do you balance this idea of like you're being hospitable, but you're also being professional? Like you have this like duality of like you want to be helpful and like do all the stuff for everyone, but you can only do so much, and you still want to, you know, you still want to be the trusted professional in all of this.

SPEAKER_00 47:12

Yeah, we have a team. I mean, Adam and I are so intricately tied in the day-to-day operations of the venue. We have a venue staff that's here on wedding days, though. So that really frees up our mental time, our physical time, right? We have an amazing team of four venue reps that are here on the 14-hour wedding days, you know, working alongside the coordinator, working here with all the vendors, making sure everything runs smoothly. And having that trusted team has really given us, imagine, like we have 70 plus events this year. That's 70 plus events that I don't have to physically be up there for the whole day any longer, right? So, I mean, does that answer the question? Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:54

For sure. It's so fun to see the ways that couples like can infuse their personality into their wedding day. And I think like as a videographer, I kind of get to see a little bit in a different way of like capturing some of their story, but like seeing some of their story in a way, if that makes sense. Um, so I have to imagine it'd be fun to see like couples come in and just like take these like white walls, not that we're painting them a different color, but take them and just like make it their own and and use the space in different ways that maybe you didn't even didn't even think about. Um, which it sounds like some couples have have done that, which is so fun. Um curious, as we're kind of like wrapping this up, uh, where do you see the wedding industry going in like the next five or even maybe 10 years?

unknown 48:40

Oh wow.

Personalizing The Space Creatively

SPEAKER_00 48:42

I really think couples are going to look for more customization, like kind of going back to what we were saying, it used to work with just having the one package. Here's the full day, here's it. I think couples are just looking for more options. They're taking longer to make decisions, they're thinking about budget. Um, and just what businesses are able to adapt to that and aren't afraid to switch things up and tweak their offerings and their packages and then go back if something doesn't work, right? But I think that couples are going to want to see more options. Um, I think they really value businesses that are just open and transparent. It's such a buzzword, but like just transparent and just are authentically them. Like couples can really see through that and they know when someone is treating them like a human versus just another sales or another number. And that's something our couples really value. Like you go and you look at any of our reviews, they talk about the beautiful venue, but they talk about us. They talk about our team, they talk about their experience. And I don't think that is ever going to change. I think couples always are going to prioritize working with people who they can trust. Yeah, right. And they have a connection with. But yeah, I really see more micro weddings. Um, we're even like playing with our micro wedding packages and making tweaks just to give even more options because why not, right? We were talking about this earlier. Like if a couple was never going to book us for an$8,000 wedding package, just as an example, right? Why not create new options for couples to meet them where they are? That still makes sense for our business, right? But if couples were never going to book us for an eight or nine thousand dollar venue full day package, then why not have another option that still gives them the chance to have a wedding at Hazelwood? It might not be on a peak season Saturday, right? But it we do weddings any day of the week. We have Thursday weddings, we have Monday weddings, you know, we can do them 365 days of the year. It's that flexibility that allows more couples to come in here.

SPEAKER_01 50:53

Yeah. One last tip. What's your best like budget? I know we could get into it and we could probably have a whole episode on how to budget and what all the numbers, how they work, but what's your best budgeting advice, money advice for couples that are like in the midst of planning?

SPEAKER_00 51:10

You have to actually talk about it. And if you don't know what things cost finding vendors, finding a venue or a coordinator that can help you talk through this to give you some perspective because it is a big wake-up call when couples come in here and they're like, I'd like to have my whole wedding for 20K. And I'm like, it's just not possible when you book your venue and you're catering and all your other vendors and you have 150 people, right? So just educating couples. Um, my tip is talk about budget. Don't just Google, you know, what is a wedding budget supposed to be. You have to actually look in your market, right? Um, and know who is who is in this wedding game, right? A lot of our couples are paying for the wedding themselves. A lot of our couples have families that are contributing. But unless you know who is doing what, it's really hard for you to make the next step and figure out what's realistic with your venue budget and your catering budget. So that's my tip, just talking about budget, learning about what things cost.

SPEAKER_01 52:17

Yeah, you have to have the conversation. You just have to have it. And then also know too any vendor category could be any wide, wide, wide range from$200 because they just started out or free because they have never done a wedding before. To I know videographers that are charging like$20,000. I'm like, that like there's just such a wide range. So if you have the conversation first, you know like you know what you're trying to do with what amount.

unknown 52:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 52:51

You're gonna, you're gonna end up in a better spot, I feel like.

Team, Staffing, And Scale

SPEAKER_00 52:54

Having that conversation. And then also, what are your priorities? Because some people prioritize having a venue that is more expensive because then they have to do less with other things. Some couples prioritize having the best photographer and they're gonna go super premium on their photographer and then save money on florals or on their DJ or whatever else, right?

SPEAKER_01 53:15

Or not have a videographer, or not have a videographer.

SPEAKER_00 53:17

Some couples do that, yeah. Exactly. So just talking about what actually matters to you because you don't need to have everything. Your wedding is what you want it to be. But it also goes back to my tip earlier: like you have to hire professionals. Like you want professional vendors, but like you said, there is such a range in every category, right? So just talking with your partner, honestly, like, well, what do we want for this? Where are we willing to splurge? What is our big ticket? What is our must-have? And then where can we kind of tweak from there?

SPEAKER_01 53:46

Yeah, no, I love that. Kate, thank you so much for being on. I enjoyed our conversation so much. And I hope everyone listening did as well. Uh, where can people find and and follow along with everything that Hazelwood is doing?

SPEAKER_00 53:58

Yes, this was so fun. Thank you. I um I love keeping up with all of our couples, current couples, new couples, Instagram, Hazelwood Weddings. We have TikTok, our website, Facebook, all the normal things. But yeah, follow us. I'm always open in the DMs, ask me your questions, look at our behind-the-scenes videos. We got it all.

SPEAKER_01 54:17

I love that. And all that stuff will be linked down in the description below. Um, I hope you guys have enjoyed listening in to Kate. He talk all about Hazelwood weddings and the stuff that has gone on here and will go on here. Um, it's such a cool space. And I appreciate you specifically for allowing us to be here and film here. And uh, you guys can't see this, but Taryn from Blake of Access, she's right back here behind the camera and is another person who kind of like connected all the dots for us to be here today and tomorrow. Um, so I appreciate you guys both. And uh, if you guys are listening or watching, make sure you're sharing this episode with all of your friends because it was so good. Uh, and uh subscribe, like the show, leave us a review, let us know how you're liking the preferred list, and we'll catch you next time.