The Avenue to Venue Referrals with Wedding Venue Map – Fall 2023

on September 18, 2023
in Wedding Pro Events

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Our monthly wedding pro event in August 2023 was The Avenue to Venue Referrals, after we received amazing feedback last fall from our first-ever Avenue to Venue Referrals we decided we had to do it again. This time with different venue experts on our panel sharing all their inside tips and tricks to build relationships with venues!

Brian Fine (Celebration Gardens), David Marini (The Wedding Barn), Leslie Ochoa (The BEV), Angela Palacio (Lake Nona Wave Hotel), Carmen Humphrey (Casani Estates)

We couldn’t have done it without our amazing panel of venue experts and we hope their knowledge was able to expand the way our local wedding industry builds better relationships with their venue partners working together to create the most spectacular events while respecting each other and the spaces we work in. Thanks to the amazing team at House of Sheen Glam Team, our speakers all received beautiful hair and makeup touch-ups before stepping on stage to make sure they felt like the superstars they were!

central florida zoo event space buildingr

This was the first time I did it one of these events with Wedding Venue Map. The experience and networking between vendors was excellent. The moderating panel did a good job on explaining how to be a part of their venues and what they expect from us. – Joseph Blackwell with JB’s Cinematic Creations & Photography

planner adjusted place setting on wedding reception table

This event was the perfect time to show off the renovated event space of the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens elevated with the design and coordination of our amazing planning partner Rebecca with L3 Events!

While we had an amazing team put together it was decided we would have the space set up for a ceremony and wedding reception to get all of our vendors some amazing content.

Featured in the ceremony space was a unique rounded gold arch provided by Longwood Events & Rentals with accents of beautiful floral from the Country Club Flower Shop who provided all of the amazing floral touches for the event and finished with the stunning gold chameleon chairs also from Longwood Events.

indoor room set up with tables and chairs for wedding reception

I am so glad I got to attend this event. It was well worth the price of admission. I got to connect with several people that I’m excited to build working relationships with. I connected straight away with Khalil and he did an amazing job introducing me around and we also had some great business chats. I’m looking forward to more connections in the future. – Brandon Parrish with Kineo Coffee Mobile Espresso Bar

The indoor reception space focused heavily on the wildly in love theme from Rebecca and was absolutely stunning! Featuring even more rentals from Longwood Events including the gold chameleon chairs, rectangular gold diamond arches, hunter green velvet love seat, gold serpentine table, gold eclipse chargers, and gold o barstools.

Thank you all who made this such a wonderful experience. As a seasoned wedding professional, it was great to see old friends, meet new friends and the panel discussion was a great refresher course. We sometimes become complacent in our day to day routines and the panel opened my eyes to several things that I don’t do that could make a difference in servicing our clients; whether individual or venues. – Darlene Walker with CDC Floral

Thank you for such an informative and enjoyable event! I decided to attend because I wanted to learn from venue managers. Now, when I reach out to a venue, I have a much clearer idea of what to include in my introduction. The best part was the entire panel discussion! I was able to speak with every panelist, see some familiar faces, and sit next to a new vendor friend! – Jennie Landau with Freebird Ceremonies

Our tables came together with beautiful white linen from Connie Duglin Linen, floral centerpieces from Country Club Flower Shop, gold flatware and water goblets from A Chair Affair, and menus from Bowtie & Brush!

I listened to a podcast that featured Shannon and was blown away by her insight and knowledge. From listening to that podcast, I found out about Wedding Venue Map and The Wedding Sassholes and decided Petal & Vine had to attend a networking event.

We are so glad that we invested the time and money into attending this event. The panel discussion was amazing. We walked away with a clearer understanding of how to successfully build and keep relationships with venues. We appreciated the honesty, insight and knowledge of each speaker. We truly enjoyed the energy in the room and at our table. All of the people at our table LOVE The Wedding Venue Map team. Joseph from JB’s Cinematic Creations & Photography shared how much he felt supported by Shannon personally and your team. He said it has been the best decision he has made in marketing his business.

As first time attendees, we were able to make quite a few connections and had conversations with Carmen, David and Brian from the panel. We also connected with Katie Collins (she loves Shannon and team), Danison from Bowtie and Brush, and Sara from Lily’s Flower Shop. We were welcomed immediately by your team and we both got to meet Shannon which was high on our priority list. Thank you for welcoming us and making us feel comfortable and supported – Stephanie Brown & Debbie Walker from Petal & Vine Event Planning

After we got all the content of the space set for a wedding we made the flip to transform the space for our Avenue to Venue Referrals event. Where the sweetheart table became the stage for our speakers, our beautiful rental table was turned into the dessert table, barstools were added to the stage for speakers and TVs for the questions to be presented on, and the couch repurposed in cocktail hour with the ceremony arch for a cute seating area.

Of course, the event or venue panel wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing team at RJM Entertainment who provided us all the sound, microphones, and TV screens for our Avenue to Venue Referrals. Not to mention every last detail captured by our incredible sponsors, Dreamscape Photography & Videography who captured all the photos and the video recording of the panel for our attendees!

It was an absolute pleasure to attend “The Avenue to the Venue Referrals”. Although it was not our first experience, we genuinely enjoyed this one. Yesterday I felt grateful to be part of such a dynamic community that’s dedicated to the growth of the wedding industry in our region, and your energy and enthusiasm is always contagious and inspiring.

The best part was two awesome things coming together. First, Shannon was totally on point with the questions she asked. And second, the panelists were just amazing. They gave straight-up answers and had real, honest feedback for us as vendors. Each one of them had their own way of being super open and friendly, and “Honesty” is something we always appreciate, and they delivered it in spades.

I had the pleasure to see again some peers I haven’t seen in a while, such as Mrs. Pat from Cake Designers, the Dreamscape team, San from the Flower Studio, and got a chance to meet (personally) Ann Taylor from A Chair Affair, Jennie Landau from Free Bird Ceremonies and David Marini from the Wedding Barn.

Once again, thank you for your dedication to the Central Florida wedding industry and for creating this platform where professionals like us can thrive. I look forward to future events and continuing to be a part of this fantastic community. – Ana & Maria with Impekable Flowers & Event Designs

Guests were greeted by some extra special sponsors from the Zoo that led them right to the outdoor patio area where they enjoyed cocktail hour and mingling with fellow wedding pros!

I attended the WVM event which was hosted at the Central Fl Zoo & Botanical Garden because:

Shannon knows everyone good in the “business”

I always meet new people and rekindle relationships with people I haven’t seen in a while

I always learn so much from attending

I also go because Shannon and her team make me feel welcome and appreciated

The best part was the new experience at the venue and the chance to get to meet the panel and learn from them, plus all of the above mentioned. – Kari Larson with About Face Design Team

The in-house catering team for the Central Florida Zoo, the SSA Group, didn’t let our guests go hungry and provided a tasty buffet! Which our guests could follow with a tasty treat from the beautiful dessert table and display cake from Cake & Bake.

It was such a lovely event! Tim and I enjoyed ourselves very much. Thank you, Thank you, for having us. I think your group of members is quite lovely and enjoys their time at your events. I enjoyed the panel discussion immensely.

I was most excited by your topic. I think that the relationship between Venues and the suppliers/vendors that work at those locations are key. Building those relationships and friendships is paramount to a successful night and future business. I see it often when I am working as a planner that the persons on site are not always as professional (appearances or behaviour) as they should be. If we aren’t professional and have everyone’s back, it can reflect badly upon many. This is a business of trust and of respect for all that function within it. We all have a role to execute and it can run as smoothly or as rocky as those involved make it. I think your panel discussion emphasised my core beliefs for the wedding industry and that they offered wonderful feedback.

I am very excited by the opportunity that sits in front of me and am thrilled to become more fully involved in Central Florida’s Wedding Industry. – Kym Grabman with Cruises Plus Travel

Overall our August event was a hit! We couldn’t have done any of it without the hard work of every sponsor who brought it together and we’re so grateful to have them be a part of our mission to bring more networking and education to our local Central Florida wedding industry!