Dream Event’s And The Art of the Barter- Meet The Pawning Planners of Texas Twins Events…

Finding something of value is often not as easy as you might think.  The truth is that my saucy sidekick twin sister, Cindy Daniel and myself enjoy “digging through the junk to find a treasure.”  Today we are going to go over how flipping items works when families don’t have money to cover the expenses and also when I choose to cover expenses out of my own pocket for a “Dream Event.”

When you are being filmed- private conversations are no longer private.  We’ve learned to not discuss “a few things” after filming the events leading up to the Williams Wedding.  My twin sister and I often talk about anything and everything when we are together.

Meet the Pawning Planners Wendy Wortham & Cindy Daniel documents the Dream Event of Lisa and Terry Williams while showing you the work involved to refurbish items in order to sell them and recover our expenses.

You see, when Lisa came to me and told me her Dream Event I realized it would be an expensive endeavor that would most likely cost me money and decided to stretch myself in order to give her the gift of her grandfather walking her down the aisle because I understood her plight.

Who else would do this for her?  No one.  That’s right ask any wedding vendor to cover the cost of two cakes, flowers (bridal bouquets, boutenniers, centerpieces, etc) , renting the tables and chairs and your going to be hard pressed to find anyone that would move Heaven and Earth to make your request a reality with NO MONEY changing hands.  I often “look serious” when interviewing clients because I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to “get the party started” and what I can find to flip- I’m always thinking and  try to have a Plan B in place.  Texas weather is often unpredictable and no one wants to change their wedding date which is why my home doubles as a wedding venue occasionally.  My goal is to one day afford a building to prevent weather from ruining an event.

While I covered the expenses that included 4 poodle skirts for the flower girls along with the ring pillow, flower baskets and rental of items that I didn’t have in my Texas Twins Treasures Inventory, Kim Pope Volunteered her
services as photographer for this event and my entire team “pitched in” with all of us transforming a donated venue from Rudy Smedley and transformed a karate studio into a wedding venue with Rudy and his Double Eagle band volunteering their services.

 

The bouquets, bouteniers and center pieces were Texas Twins Treasures inventory “on loan” to ensure beautiful photos.  Creating an inventory to provide loaned items wasn’t inexpensive or quick, I’ve spent years establishing my inventory for families who could not afford to purchase these items on their own.  I’ve learned how to make everything myself in order to loan items for events.

Sometimes, it really does “take a village!”  But, my team with Kim Pope and my own photographers, Robert and Stephanie Hafele provided the photography and the darling Little Pawners, Maryssa and Makenna Mahaney acted as the flower girls. You see, my ENTIRE family work with me to pull off a Dream Event.

 

 

 

Understanding the definition of a “Dream Event” takes a certain degree of imagination.  First, you have to comprehend that while many consumers believe that they can “name their own price” in the service industry- the truth is that weddings and event services are often non negotiable especially during “wedding season.”

Often, traditional price structures can have hard working Americans at a loss of where to go if you don’t have $500 an hour for a photographer just to show up and that doesn’t include the photos or a wedding officiant that charges up to $600 for the regearsal
and the ceremony.  This is before the cake before the wedding dress and before the flowers so you can get a better “grip” on the issues facing families who would love to have a beautiful wedding but simply can’t afford it hence the term “Dream Event.”

Committing to giving families an alternative that didn’t exist prior to my creating a low cost wedding and events service that included loaned floral designs, photography, and ceremonies wasn’t easy- it required a lot of sacrifice financially and hard work and most of all, it involved my family “jumping in” to help me and creating a team of folks who realized how many people needed our help.
Hundreds of families later, we continue to make dreams come true for these families because we believe in giving back to our community.  The filming for the Pawning Planners has it “appear” that Cindy and I make a profit even though we don’t because today everyone wants to see
somebody makes money on a flip but, the truth is that life isn’t always so cut and dried.  Finding a flip almost always involves a refurbishing process that involves work and often an additional investment of fabric and labor when furniture is involved.

My sister and I are normally laughing and in good spirits but, by the time Lisa and Terry made it to the venue I looked haggard &

shopworn on our  for a very good reason- I was exhausted.  From the time it took to “transform” the karate studio and everything tat went wrong in between with my team “on the clock” the stress of trying to get everything perfect had finally gotten to me which is why I don’t appear to be joyous at pulling off the event.  Normally after a wedding I’m ecstatic that we have made something so special happen. Sadly, the toll of trying to get everuthing perfect and not eating all day shows on my face when in truth I was very happy that everuthing came together and my family helped me accomplish the event.

I’m a very driven individual and I’m OCD about everything being perfect.  My twin sister isn’t and she usually keeps me laughing but we were both so worn out that by the time the ceremony started I was horrified that something else might go wrong!  What you didn’t see was a table collapsing or my son and his wife arguing (they call it communicating I call it arguing) or the cake melting and the topper almost falling off my once beautiful wedding cake because the air conditioning wasn’t working or the seat covers not fitting the chairs because my twin wanted to “save me money” by renting garden chairs!  Yes, all of that was going on as the clock continued to tick on and there simply wasn’t any time to stop and even catch my breath.  Meanwhile, my twin was starving and shoving cupcakes in her mouth and I’m sorry that I didn’t join her because the sugar would’ve given me more energy. Next time, I’m grabbing a few of those cupcakes myself!

Cindy is pretty “saucy” sometimes and when she isn’t whipping out one of her iconic Cindyisms, she’s exhausted!  With my dear friends Virginia Malone and Ann Rowe Alexander pitching in to help Cindy, Robert, Stephanie and myself along with Cindy’s husband, Steve Daniel and our Little Pawners- everyone was working as fast as they could to get everything “show ready!” We are a family and we do occasionally bicker at each other when under pressure.

You see, normally we have a minute or two to sit back and enjoy the event which is always my favorite part of the production in knowing that things turned out beautifully.

When Cindy and I trudge through items offered in trade, the critical element is that we know what we are looking for.  Cindy has a background in jewelry and carries a loop and magnet everywhere we go while I have a background in high end items such as furs, quality furniture and cars.  We each know the value of whatever we find and we are also keenly aware of what it will take to get the items ready for sale.  I can “eyeball” any piece of furniture and know how much material it will require as well as the stain and expense of labor. Texas Twins Treasures are quality pieces that I’ve painstakingly brought back to life.  We don’t sell anything we wouldn’t buy ourselves and we are discerning consumers who buy quality items and aren’t afraid to test the structure, fabric or durability of anything we purchase. Knowing what you’re buying is key to having longevity in your investment.

Whether we are sifting through farm.equipment or jewelry- we work as a team whenever we evaluate a trade.  Cindy and I often discuss what will be involved in order to get something “shop ready” and the couple wanting the Dream Evenr are often amazed at our knowledge of products.  The “pawning process” is an adventure but when it’s giving something to someone that means so much, its an adventure that I enjoy sharing with my family and look forward to our next road trip for the travels of two sets of Texas Twins!

Our adventures and escapades in the wedding and events business while giving anyone, regardless of their income will be coming to Amazon Kindle soon Twinning & Winning The Wedding Warriors
I’m changing the wedding and events industry one family at a time from Fort Worth, Texas with my multigenerational team of family members to give anyone regardless of their income the opportunity to enjoy a Life Event because I believe that income shouldn’t prevent anyone from having a beautiful event.

 

Wendy Wortham Texas Twins Events