Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bridget/Marcela Murphy/Gomez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Bridget/Marcela, thanks for 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?
who we are, the area we live in what we are selling. We had talked about naming it after items we planned on renting (like “servilleta”) and had also talked about very direct names that spelled out exactly what we were doing because of SEO. That latter approach really seemed to make sense but didn’t sit right because we wanted our company to feel like we would be a part of the celebrations we were supporting.
We are based in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico and Marcela is completely bi-lingual, as are many people in this area, and I (Bridget)… am working on it! One of the most beautiful parts of Mexican culture is that there never needs to be a reason to celebrate. Every lunch or dinner is an opportunity to sit down, laugh, enjoy amazing food and catch up with the people around you.
We began searching for words in Spanish that encompassed that feeling and after reaching out to a few other friends we decided th
Bridget/Marcela, 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?
MARCELA
Me and my partner have worked for several years in the service industry; we both have different areas but always in a very personal interactions with our customers. It is very important to us to do the “extra” and personalize their experience to make sure we are accomplishing their expectations. We have worked in events for many years, from doing the dream hair and make up to making flower arrangements, setting up tables, assisting the coordination of the event, hosting, managing food and beverage, and many more!
Combining our love for design, vintage items and the excitement to create a unique memory for any kind of celebration we jumped on the boat of this adventure called CEREMONIA. Offering selected rental pieces to set the aspired mood of the event. Our goal is to make our customers feel relaxed about the effort that they make when setting up the celebration while they’re also included in the vision of it.
BRIDGET
My journey into the wedding industry actually began with my hairstylist journey. I went to hair school when I was 19 and have been doing hair ever since. I have had a few pauses and detours but the one thing that has remained the same is my work with clients.
In 2019 I decided I had had enough of Nashville and I was going to move to Mexico City. I got a job at a beautiful salon and I never moved there. Before the move to Mexico City I took a house sitting job in Todos Santos and I haven’t been able to leave.
Todos Santos is a very seasonal tourist town but also a beautiful wedding destination and the weddings were a part of my salon offerings, so I met many planners through my salon work.
Over the last 10 years I have threatened to quit doing hair countless times. Not because I don’t love my clients or the amazing connections I have made, I have just always known there was more going on in my head.
I have tried working in operations in salons, worked as a sales representative for a hair care company and have even tried my hand at being a florist.
None of those options were quite right.
I live here in Mexico full time but I still return to the States for salon work because I love my clients there and I also need to supplement my income with my American pricing. It is a true luxury that I am able to do that but I have been in Mexico for the better part of the last 6 years and I would love to end these work trips.
This is where Marcela comes in! I had an idea for another business and I asked her if she would meet with me because she is one of the smartest people and hardest workers I have ever come across and I wanted her on board with me.
Our conversation turned into talking about our love of linens and textiles and Mexico is world famous for that, so we started with an idea for custom linens. We began brainstorming on that and then had a request for a small wedding and it included other rentals and we thought “we can do that!” So we bought the requested items and then never booked the job!
Turns out the client decided to buy much cheaper versions of our offerings and to use them in her rental houses. Totally fair! Just not what we had banked on.
But it was the impetus for all of Ceremonia! Marcela reached out to her friend who makes stunning ceramics and we are now the only rental company with Makario ceramics.
The partnership with Makario really felt like something special because we were offering something that others didn’t have right from the start.
We both also have a love for mid-century modern and vintage offerings and we are so proud to include some of these one-of-kind products in our catalog.
There are many rental companies in Baja Sur and they all have beautiful things but we are taking enormous pride in working with local carpenters and designers and seamstresses to bring super unique offerings that feel unique to the area and even to each clients event.
Marclea has worked in hospitality for much of her life and in some amazing, world renowned places like Jazamango and Hotel San Cristobal and during these times she has not only honed her empathetic, fair and commanding management style, but she has created some amazing relationships with former employees who make it possible for us to do what we do! The way the people we work with get just as excited about setting the tables and pillows as we do brings us so much joy!
What I think we would love for our potential clients to know is that we are just as excited about your party as we are! We love sending the proposals and searching for the perfect version of whatever you are looking for. If it seems like what we have isn’t quite right, we want to hear it. We will keep hunting until it’s right and then the care and attention to detail from quoting to the event strike will hopefully be something you can feel.
Have you ever had to pivot?
BRIDGET
My whole life is a pivot! I have always been very grounded with hairstyling as my main career, I often say it’s the smartest thing I ever did, but trying to come up with the next step has been nothing but pivots.
After my move from Nashville in 2019 I have been mostly in Mexico but have also been back to Nashville, tried my hand in NYC at the height of COVID precautions, back to Tucson, where I am from to help care for my grandma and figure out what I wanted, and then finally back to Baja.
NYC was a pivot that I hated but I really look at as the most informative move of my life. I was depressed and it was winter and I had to be tested before every job I booked so that made going out a very serious decision because I had to choose fun over making money. And I had NO money.
I moved there because I felt it was the only part of my hairstyling career I hadn’t explored. I wanted to try working in the famous studios I had read about in Vogue since I was a kid. I wanted to walk to work from the subway with my headphones in and my theme song blasting. I got a job in a beautiful, cool salon and it lasted a few weeks because it wasn’t a fit but I learned more from that salon owner, as far as technical skills than I have from any other person in my career. We didn’t totally jive but I am forever grateful to her.
When I had had enough there (didn’t take long, it was only 5 months) I returned to Tucson to collect my thoughts and to be with my grandma. I was there about 11 months working in a salon and even driving for Lyft for a bit and at the end of that time I decided I needed to return to Todos Santos.
I started doing hair again and I decided I wanted to be a florist too. Doing flowers is about one of the most difficult jobs because Todos Santos is a desert on the beach! The airport is 1.5 hours away and that’s where the shipments come in. And you can’t take on big events without a team and I didn’t have the motivation to build a florist team because I didn’t feel I really knew what I was doing.
I tried being an online travel agent for a few months. Pretty fun but not lighting me up.
And then Ceremonia started and it really feels like it’s going to be the thing to stick! When I start thinking ahead to what we need to continue to scale, it makes my head spin but it never feels like too much. It feels like an exciting challenge that we can figure out.
Pivoting is terrifying and, at least for me, is pretty synonymous with failure. But failing is truly part of the process and where I feel like most learning is done, if you’re willing to reflect after each pivot.
MARCELA
Since I began working at call centers to when I was a waitress I realized I really wanted to work in industries were I was able to connect with people and provide a solution to their needs. It might be very cheesy but something so simple as making someone smile by being efficient or flexible at your job it always made my day. After college set my goal and I made it to the medical tourism industry, I felt as I kept advancing greater things were coming, financially and the chance for more opportunities. It was a stressful job since the health of people is in some way on the line, but still the interaction with the people and coordinating the complete interaction between patient and medical team was very much interesting and fulfilling.
I noticed that the city I was living in was so fast, I never had the time to enjoy the actual experience of life and nature. From that moment, I was only thinking about moving away to somewhere else that felt more like a long-term destination to call “home”, a smaller community and greater quality of life. So, after a year of wishing an opportunity in the restaurant world came up and I didn’t hesitate to take it. Even though I was getting paid less and restaurant business wasn’t my expertise, the excitement of trying a new life made me go all the way.
I moved to Todos Santos, México, and I was completely satisfied about what the location could offer in terms of tranquility and nature. The professional part wasn’t easy at all, after everyday challenges and super long working shifts as manager I once again reaffirmed my interest in serving people, solving problems, putting a little grain into to creating a memorable day for others, and understanding details that means the world to others. After a couple of years of managing food and beverage business I felt that I needed to do my own, as pleasant as my job was, something felt off when I saw others in the industry doing the same for a long time. I needed to be more flexible and creative; I wanted to find my own audience and use my own style of “doing”…I decided to take a break to recalibrate, since then a huge door of constant random projects opened up. Project management and events were always my favorite, I could use all learned skills while expanding my creative side, which was more limited while working for others.
Starting “Ceremonia” was not on my radar. I just stayed still admiring and “craving” the idea of having a business like that… Well, be careful what you which for because life will send you “Bridget” that will encourage you to get it! This year my life is now pivoting once again, this time with more experienced and accuracy in what feels genuinely good about working and providing a service that both ways enjoy through the whole process.
Adapting and changing our path every time is necessary it’s a huge learning experience that will also get you closer to knowing yourself and your purpose in life, even when most of the time it doesn’t feel part of the plan going off the script could result more fulfilling than imagined.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
MARCELA
It might sound like a cliché but honestly being authentic and loyal to yourself is one of the best things you can do to attract your own audience. Theres a lot of intangible value to putting yourself out there with the best of intentions and providing a service that matches your style of “doing stuff”, plus being consistent with your personal values and strong work ethic.
It’s very important to be open to failure, feedback and new ideas along the way; making people feel understood and satisfied in the same spectrum of our own possibilities.
Here in Todos Santos and other locations we both have had the opportunity to participate in plenty of events that certainly have opened our social network with other vendors in the industry. We are strong believers of collaboration; there’s always open space to unite ideas and efforts to make your clients’ dreams come true!
Whether it is a personal decision or just life playing its tricks, pivoting every couple of years has been a lifestyle to me… Born and raised in north of Mexico with mixed cultures and diversity I understood the high possibilities of creating yourself a life that you have always dream of! However, choosing the “right” path to getting it is a complete story.
BRIDGET
I think that we both have a very well known and respected work ethic that has led many of our clients to keep calling.
We have worked on many different sides of wedding production and in many other work environments that have helped us develop all the skills needed to run a creative business.
We can continue acquiring items and processes that don’t only make our life easier but potentially everyone from the wedding planners to the caterers and the production assistants because we have been where they are.
Maybe most importantly, we have very intimate connections with our clients and we live in a small town. Marcela and her team at La Comuna may be the first or only interactions of the day and they always make you feel seen and celebrated. Not to mention caffeinated.
I am spending time with people one-on-one and we all know our stylists are like our therapists. I thrive in the solo time I get with my clients and feel like I am constantly blown away by what I hear from them.
We are both very curious and engaged and, I must say, pretty hilarious. Being able to break the ice with humor is a very under discussed business skill that usually has people coming back for more.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ceremoniabaja
Image Credits
Photos of Bridget & Marcela – Maria Emilia
Event Setup Staff – Sasha Golyanova
Finsihed Table Shots – Lauren Pippin