We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jasmyn Richardson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jasmyn below.

Jasmyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

My first client was actually given to me by the officiant that I was partnered with at the time. It was a couple that she had already booked and she allowed me to take over and officiate their wedding. This was about 6-7 months before I branches off and I was officially Joined By Jasmyn, LLC. At that point, I already had booked weddings under the previous company name, so they just carried over to the new business.

The day that I went to officiate my first wedding, there were a range of emotions. I was so extremely excited and so extremely nervous. I tried not to let it show on my face. The couple was unaware that they were my first and they spoke to me as though I had been doing it forever and I didn’t correct them.

When it was over, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The couple came to me afterwards and were singing my praises. I couldn’t believe it! I was happy, and more importantly, the couple was happy. That fueled my fire and helped me to believe that I could actually do this job.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a wife and mother of 8 in Fort Worth, TX. I spent almost 20 years being a diagnostic medical sonographer and I was sure that I would retire from that role. One day, a friend that was an officiant at the time, have me the opportunity to shadow her at an elopement. To my surprise, she allowed me to read the script and officiate the wedding. I was hooked after that. It felt like the perfect thing to do for fun on the side. This was at the height of the pandemic and so many weddings had been canceled or postponed. Because of this, people started having small weddings at home or the park and they needed an officiant. Business boomed from there. Officiants were in high demand, so what I thought would be a fun hobby, quickly transformed into a thriving business.

The things that I think really at my business apart are our dedication to inclusivity and ability to offer Spanish language ceremonies. I’m so thankful to have been able to create a safe space for all people regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or beliefs and religious preferences. Doing this, led me to create a nonprofit called Queerly Beloved. The goal of Queerly Beloved is to provide weddings for a marginalized community, especially here in TX. We are able to take a day and just love on these couples and I am so proud of that!

The Spanish language aspect of my business is HUGE. The majority of my ceremonies are now in Spanish or English and Spanish. Through the Spanish language, I have been able to increase the reach of the company and care for a group of people who don’t know what their options are outside of the church. We have also now opened up to performing Quinceañera blessings for families that are not having a mass. My favorite thing is when the parents or grandparents of my couples come up and hug me and tell me how special it was for them that I spoke Spanish during the ceremony. It warms my heart.

I want potential customers/followers/fans to know that I am here for all people and I want to make you feel loved on your special day. I am also open to all types of alternative ceremonies, so bring me all the weird and unique ideas!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Sure! When I started out in this business, I was brought in by the person who introduced me to being an officiant. She quickly asked me to be a partner in her company rather than just an associate and I gladly accepted. After several months, she became unhappy with our partnership, and without notice, she shut the business down completely. The website and all of the social media sites were deleted without warning. At that point, I had to decide whether I was going to start from scratch and rebuild or let it all go. I already had clients booked under the previous company name and I was committed to showing up for them, so I decided to go ahead and push forward. That is when Joined By Jasmyn, LLC was born. I put in the time an effort to build from the ground up and the company has already become bigger and better than I could’ve imagined in just under 3 years. I am so glad that I decided to keep moving forward.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I have had several moments when I have had to pivot in life, but my most recent one was letting go of my almost 20 year career as a diagnostic medical sonographer. Due to a workplace injury, I am no longer able to physically perform the job of a sonographer. After 2 years being off the job and enduring a workers compensation case, I was finally let go from the company 2 months ago. This was a blessing in disguise because all the time at home gave me the opportunity to be more available for the business and to help it grow. I don’t know if that would have been possible otherwise. Joined By Jasmyn, LLC is now my full-time venture and I am working hard to continue to develop the company into something great, as well as something very profitable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joinedbyjasmyn.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/joinedbyjasmyn
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/joinedbyjasmyn
• Other: www.tiktok.com/joinedbyjasmyn

Image Credits
Jen Sulak – Weirdo Weddings – @weirdoweddings Curt Hazlett – Curt Hazlett Photography – @curthazlettphotography Kyrsten Kano-Solana – Kyrsten Ashlay Photography – @kyrstenashlay.photography Taylor Cook – Taylor Cook Photography – @tayl0rcookphotography