We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ranell Manigo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ranell, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I came up with The Garden Party Atlanta name by combining some of the things I love most. Which includes flowers, nature, family & friends. We love creating beauful picnics at parks, backyards, homes, and venues. There’s nothing more perfect then unplugging and connecting with family, friends, and nature.

Ranell, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a wife and a mother of 4. I’m from St Louis Missouri but Atlanta has been my home for the last 16 years. I worked in the hospitality industry for the last 16 years. I lost my corporate postion due to covid. At that time I became a stay at home mom. I had a broad knowlege of event planning from my years in the hospitality industry. I used the knowledge I had to create a business that I absolutely love doing everyday. I came up with pop up picnics. Well so I thought lol. I was unaware that pop up picnics already existed. It was a new concept and there wasn’t too many companies in the Atlanta area. I use my experience to provide a luxury picnic experience. I set myself apart from other companies by providing luxurious picnics with excellent customer service. We take care of everything from setup to cleanup. Leaving a stress free client that can just focus on enjoying their special day. We offer add ons that you won’t find with any other company such as volley ball setup, bonfires, movie night setups, and many more. I am most proud to have such positive feedback from my clients. We take pride in providing a luxury experience.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Majority of our picnics are based outdoors. I had to become creative to generate income durning the colder months since our peak season is Spring/Summer. I thought outside the box and now offer Flower Bars. Our flower bars have been a great hit since we launched them. Our flower bars are DIY. We provide an array of flowers and fillers for our clients to make beautiful bouquets. This service is popular for birthdays, bridal showers, and baby showers. Adding this service allowed us to generate income all year around. We have also added Slumber Parties & Charcuterie boards.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Instagram has been my main source of business. I recall sliding in my IG friends DM’s asking to do a picnic for them just to get exposure. No luck with that. But I didnt shy away from sliding in people’s DM’s. Sliding in DM’s was a great way to get my name out. I have a love hate relationship with instagram lol. Some times the algorithm shows me love and sometime it doesn’t. My advice is don’t focus on the likes and views. Just be constant with posting and interacting. Going Viral doesn’t mean profit for your business. I thought if one of my picnics could go viral that my business would blow up. Not the case I actually didnt gain not one piece of business.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.thegardenpartyatlanta.com
• Instagram: Garden_Party_Atlanta