#182 Venue Owner Tell's All

Dixie Bagley is owner of The Farm in Rome, Georgia, a European farm estate set in the north west Georgia mountains. The venue focuses on working with couples who want to give their guests a relaxed but thoughtful countryside weekend wedding experience. In addition to The Sweet Bar Bakery, Dixie Events, and Venue Coach with The Bridal Society. Having previously been in the wedding industry for 10 years, Dixie has experienced a lot when it comes to weddings – from the highs of seeing a surprise proposal to the lows of no-show vendors and fighting wedding parties. She can pin a boutonniere in record time, believes that the wedding planning process should be both fun and stress-free! She loves the educational aspect of wedding planning and aims to make you and your guests feel both comfortable and welcome. She is a master of multi tasking and wants to do a cartwheel every time a couple days I Do! Dixie holds a degree in exercise science from the American Council of Exercise and is Certified Wedding Planner & Venue Coach for The Bridal Society. When sheʼs not hosting weddings at The Farm she and her husband, Lee, an avid flyer, and dogs can be found flying in their plane, bouncing from Montana to Mexico. Dixie joins us today to tell us, as a wedding vendor, what she wishes couples knew. Big Takeaways Remember your vendors are running a business. Just because you are there for only a weekend doesnʼt mean you can ignore the space you are staying in. Leave it cleaner than you found it. Read your contracts! There is fine print and itʼs super important to understand before signing on the line. Good wedding planners make a big difference! They know how to communicate and work with venues and vendors in a skilled and helpful way. Every single wedding professional needs a certificate of insurance! It may even be required through the venue. This is important to sort through, and figure out way before day of. Pick vendors who are actually insured. Children need to be with an adult at all times. In general, keep an eye on all kids, the rules might not be as clear to them as it is to you. When the crew is setting up, having the wedding party is raiding the bar itʼs super disruptive. Bring a bottle of champagne or something like that, and then wait until the partyʼs started before doing that. Dixie has a clause in her contracts about being respectful. Her property, her work are very important to her. She wants your day to be special. And in order for that to happen, both sides must respect the boundaries and rules and the day will be wonderful. In a venue contract, before itʼs signed, there is some flexibility. All you have to do is ask, worst case scenario they just say no. Also iʼs important to read your contract about things like emergencies, contact times, etc. communicate, ask questions, clarify. Links We Referenced thefarmromega.com The Big Wedding Planning Podcast is... Hosted and produced by Michelle Martinez. Edited by Veronica Gruba Music by Steph Altman of Mophonics On Instagram @thebigweddingplanningpodcast and be sure to use #planthatwedding when posting, so you can get our attention! Inviting you to become part of our Facebook Group! Join us and our amazing members. Just search for The Big Wedding Planning Podcast Community on Facebook. Easy to get in touch with. Email us at [email protected] or Call and leave a message at 415-723-1625 and you might hear your voice on an episode On Patreon. Become a member and with as little as $6.99 per month, you get 2 exclusive, ad-free episodes, + Zoom Happy Hour with Michelle and fellow patrons every month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices