I’ve often said that learning from your mistakes is a necessary in order to become successful. After all, no one succeeds without failing first and my story mimicks a journey of interesting and funny clients, along with my multigenerational family “throwing their two cents in” with a few squabbles among the compensating personality crew aka my Texas Twins Events Team.
Every business is started for a reason and Texas Twins Events was started after my son married. The wedding was such a stressful disaster that I decided there must be other folks who like me weren’t rich and had to deal with inlaws and outlaws too.There were no “budget friendly” vendors offering to help with my son’s wedding. At the time, I was struggling with thyroid cancer and determined to “make this wedding a success” before seeking treatment. I “threw everything I had” into the wedding and often stayed up so late at night working on the floral designs that my husband wound up sleeping alone.
Don’t get me wrong- I love my son dearly and, I’ve adapted (over the years) to my daughter in law who can (on occasion) get on my last nerve! But, we can’t choose who our children marry and must “adapt” to their differences from our family and theirs.
My son and I have always been very close but his wedding was by far the most stressful “event” I’ve ever attended. Was it Stephanie’s relatives or my ex husband and his? Perhaps the combination of both and trying to save money by making all of the floral designs for the wedding party and Centerpieces myself while listening to “suggestions” from the outlaws who did nothing to contribute. Either way- if you have ever tried to plan a wedding on your own AND on a budget, you have a better idea of the craziness weddings can bring.
It was after my thyroid surgery that I decided to start my own low cost wedding and events business. Telling my husband that I was sick of taking care of a 5 bedroom 3 bath home with an acre of land and a swimming pool to take care of- we sold our home and I used my portion of the proceeds to start a website and begin “branding” for Texas Twins Events.
My website designer suggested blogging in lieu of advertising so I studied what to write about and found that writing about my experiences gave me the creative content to rise on the Internet search engines.
Within a month, my new business venture “took off” and the rest is history!
My son and his wife often argue and advise my sister and I that they aren’t arguing, “they are communicating.” While it’s true that my son and his wife are in love and although their marriage doesn’t mimick my own, Stephanie is an excellent photographer and I can’t blame her for the outrageous behavior her “family” are often guilty of.I want my son to be happy and try to “help” my daughter in law with house cleaning and cooking suggestions while often dropping off meals since they live around the corner. Since my son has finally stopped trying to compare Stephanie with me, the arguments have “died down” a bit over at the HafeleHouse. With three dogs and chaos aplenty, I may be butting in more than I should but, he’s my only child and I’m OCD. I just want what’s best for them but occasionally, overstep my bounds ya all which is why I’m sometimes called “the meddling mother” or, “the captain.”
This “captain” is in charge on location and occasionally trying to save every problem which is why I need a team when the arbor keeps falling down or the father of the bride shows up drunk. Many of these “incidents” could never be anticipated but knowing how to resolve problems on location often “falls in our laps.”
One dream event rehearsal went really well (I thought) aside from a mother in law wanting to be in charge. However, rain the following day along with learning the father had been arrested for drunk driving the eve of the wedding created quite a bit of chaos for us. You see, when you deal with people you don’t know- you have no idea how they will act when they are under pressure! We figured it out and the mother gave the bride away.
I don’t “approve” of tattoos or piercings but since their wedding- both my son and his wife have continued to get both. My nagging and pleading to stop this continue to fall on deaf ears. However, when it comes to events- I require appropriate attire and skin colored guages to hide gaping piercings. How this “guaging” trend along with tattoos got started continues to confuse me.When it became clear that families coming to me for help with a wedding, funeral, baptism, pawning party, baby shower and more couldn’t afford the low cost alternatives offered at Texas Twins Events, I started taking trades and refurbishing them prior to putting them up for sale at Visit My Treasure Chest- Texas Twins Treasures! To give families an opportunity to send photos of an item offered for trade in exchange for services, a new website was developed- We Take Trades! No Money? No Problem- The Pawning Planners.
Along the way, I would realize that a few of these families didn’t have money or a trade, to overcome the issue I started Pawning Planners Apparel and other items to generate income and sponsor families with nothing to offer in exchange for services.
The items sold at Texas Twins Treasures are often taken in trade through The Pawning Planners and refurbished to recover expenses. Everyone in my family models items and “ham it up” for the camera. Our latest Little Pawner, Madyson is an Instagram brand rep for numerous companies and is so animated that I decided to feature her on greeting cards. My twin sister, Cindy Daniel often uses photos of Madyson for her ever popular #Cindyism Quotes. Since there are a lot of folks who don’t understand my “Pawning Process” I’m going to take a moment to explain that we do not pay people who come to us for help (wedding officiant, funeral clergy, minister, party planning, estate liquidation, photography, videography & etc.) we take items in trade and sell them to recover the costs associated with what is necessary to grant them a Dream Event.
From loaned floral designs to toasting flutes and everything in between- I’ve created an inventory to give anyone a Dream Event regardless of their income! Having everything on hand that is needed saves families money.
Items offered at Texas Twins Treasures are very different due to the items we consider in trade. From cemetery plots to a 1934 Detroit Tigers Souvenier Bat to antiques, jewelry & furs, boats, cars and everything in between- we will consider any trade!Meet The Pawning Planners- A TwinTeam is a video that gives you “a better idea” of how we make everything work.
My family often bring their own skill sets to our events Meet My Team. The Little Pawners are often flower girls, ring bearers or ushers Maryssa & Makenna Mahaney- The Little Pawners.
Although everyone on my team don’t always see eye to eye- we aren’t on location to get along, we are on location to help our clients who come from all walks of life. From hillbillies to business people and everything in between- our clients are often as funny and unique as my team! Leigh Ann Blais, Stephaney Hafele & Stephaney Mahaney- My Nieces & Daughter In Law occasionally argue with each other but, pull together to make every event beautiful.Estate Liquidations always require an Appraisal Appointment in order to evaluate what needs to be sold or donated- The Pawning Planners & Little Pawners On Location gives you a better idea of what we are looking for when planning a liquidation event.
Next month I will be going to Texas Real Estate Classes in order to “cover every base” by taking trades or assisting in the sale of real estate after an inquiry regarding flipping a house last year- The Pawning Planners Evaluate A House Flip.
While we can’t always #Cindyism “Hit A Lick!” Trades, Liquidations, Flips & Fumbles often bring a fairly interesting element to our journey.
As I continue to try and finish The Pawning Planners- Travels Of The Texas Twins memoirs and decide whether to self publish or hire a literary agent to share our unique story, the funniest and most unexpected moments on location come to mind and remind me how my team and I overcame every unexpected “incident” because faikure was never an option!
From the Bee Sting Bridesmaid to The Bounced Check/Broken Tooth Bride to The Banjo Playing Boyfriend and everything in between, my Texas Twins Events Team put our differences and opinions aside to focus on the task at hand because we had no choice.
What we learned along the way was that our clients had no one else to help them- we were the only ones and because of that knowledge, we banded together and marched on…
Wendy M Wortham Low Cost Wedding & Event Services- Family Owned & Operated
Comments by Wendy Wortham