Jessica Hannon Photography LLC

As a young professional in the wedding industry it can be intimidating putting yourself out there trying to gain traction as a wedding vendor in such a saturated market. It can be especially intimidating as a photographer we are two of thousands in the Twin Cities. In September of 2011 I had seen a post from a photographer I follow on Facebook that introduced the Twin Cities Wedding Professionals networking group to me. I worked up the courage to attend the meeting that month and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy for me to do. Here I was going to a networking event by myself with no idea of what to expect. That meeting was held in Columbia Heights at the John P. Murzyn Hall. I still remember walking in, writing my name on the red sticker as it was my first visit and finding the table name I had drawn out of the bucket. As I looked around the room I saw people hugging, laughing and having a great time; it seemed like everyone already knew each other which didn’t help with my nerves. It wasn’t until Erin from We’ve Got It Covered came over and introduced herself to me that I started to feel settled in a bit. We had a great conversation and others quickly started joining our table washing my nerves away completely. The remainder of the meeting went very smooth and I was excited to go back the following month.

It’s been over a year and a half since I joined TCWP attending the meetings when I can and I am so thankful I worked up the guts to attend that first meeting. Since then, I’ve volunteered a few times and met so many wonderful people, some of which we’ve hired for our own wedding this June! I feel so full after every event and always have coffee with someone new creating relationships to help one another out and support each others’ businesses.

Michelle from Delight Photography, Matt Sherry from Complete Music and Elizabeth Hinke from Mintahoe formed TCWP four years ago next month. The monthly meeting are put together by many volunteers. A typical event will have time in the beginning for people to mingle and connect with others. One of the three founders of the group will then start introductions. A microphone is passed around the room allowing everyone to stand, introduce themselves, their business and their tagline, giving everyone a quick introduction to the group. Following the introductions there is typically an activity to encourage interaction and brainstorming. The meeting ends with announcements and details about next month’s meeting. The meetings are held every second Wednesday of the month; more details on can be found on the TCWP website: http://www.tcweddingpros.com.

March’s meeting was held at the Historic Concord Exchange. Below are some images of just a few of the beautiful rooms they have available for weddings and events. If you are a wedding professional and want to get connected with TCWP don’t miss next month’s meeting; it’s the forth anniversary party and is bound to be a smashingly good time!

 

 

To see other events, click here!

 

Check out the upcoming events and come get connected at the next  Twin Cities Wedding Professionals event!

 

We recently joined Lisa’s Catering as they prepared for a beautiful wedding reception at Semple Mansion. Their people were wonderful and their food was beautiful {and delicious}. They provide catering services for events of all sizes. We highly recommend that you contact them out next time you’re in the market for a good meal service. For now, you’ll just have to enjoy their beautiful images.

 

To see more events, please click here!

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