We were lucky to catch up with Jody McBeath recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jody, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I would love to build a legacy of love. I would hope that people would say after I was gone that I was a hopeless romantic who fell in love with chasing fairytales. The never ending quest for “happily ever after” like some fictional character in a fable. I hope that in some small way every couple, every vendor, every venue, every friend knows how deeply I adore them and that I was always passionate about what I do.

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.

Like all good stories, mine began at a bar. I was a bright eyed, bushy-tailed event industry student at Mount Royal University and I attended an industry event sponsored by ILEA Calgary (International Live Event Association). I bumped into one of my professors at the bar, where she insisted I needed to work for her. I declined a few times, and she didn’t give up. I finally agreed, she wore me down. And I was thrust into the world of weddings. In very much a sink or swim, baptism by fire scenario. Thinking back I’m not sure if that was the best approach for a person. Since then I’ve tried to be more gentle on those new to the industry. Tried to set them up for success so they didn’t burn out instantly, but this industry is hard. We work long hours, every day, longer days on wedding days and we get a small breather before we dive back into it again and again. I am in the business of making dreams come true. Wedding dreams that is. From start to finish. I produce weddings from big to small and everything in between. I solve all their problems, and I know that sounds strange but that is what I do. And what sets me apart from others is how much I care. I fall madly in love with all my clients. I’ve spoken to them about every topic under the sun from fertility concerns, to the loss of a loved one, to strained relationships with family/friends.
I think I’m most proud of how deeply I love my clients. How much I care about them. They are all my opus of love if you will. My fairytale. To know that you were a part of someone’s forever and a day that changed them from a “me” to a “we”. Those are gifts you never take for granted.

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

I once went to Mexico for a vacation, it was during the height of the insane rush of weddings after Covid. We crammed all the Covid wedding reschedules into the same year as a regularly busy wedding season. We were doing 2-5 weddings a week and I had a small window of time to slip away for a much needed vacation. Friends of mine had already rented a house and invited me down to spend my days floating around in the pool. One day they asked if there was anything I wanted to do on the trip, I had looked up this amazing place called the “hidden beach” and it looked like something out of a dream. Or in my case what was soon to be a nightmare. We booked the trip for my last day in Mexico.

The day started out great, we took a bus to a small town, hoped on a catamaran and sailed for an hour, then transferred to a smaller boat for a 30 minute trip to get closer to the island, and then finally swam 50 feet to get to one of the beaches. From there we were supposed to wade out into the ocean and slip around a rocky outcropping to get to the other side where the “hidden beach” was. The ocean was incredibly choppy that day. A few people were knocked over by the waves, I watched three women get swept away in front of me. I felt all three of them roll up my leg, the ocean pulled them back for a moment and then they all smashed into my knee from different angles. I went down like an opponent of Muhammad Ali. Instant. I attempted to stand but this was not to be a thing, the world started to go fuzzy and my vision receded. My friends grabbed me and dragged me to shore since I was in danger of now drowning at this point. I remember looking up and asking “can you see the bone?” because it hurt that badly.

Once I was on solid ground again, we called over the tour guide who let us know the only way off the island was the same way we got onto the island. The tour guide swam me back to the smaller boat, every sweep of his arms making my knee bounce on the waves and making the pain intensify. From there the smaller boat, hit every wave as it made its journey back to the catamaran. Once on the catamaran we called the airline to let them know I would need a wheelchair upon arrival for my flight home the next day. I decided against going to a hospital since I was flying out the next day and I didn’t want anything to delay my flight.

Once I arrived in Canada, I went straight to the hospital. At the hospital I had to wait and wait to be seen, then for x-rays. Turned out I had a tibia plateau fracture, which I shrugged off saying it was a fracture so it couldn’t be that bad? Turns out this is also incorrect as I need to have surgery and have a metal plate inserted with several screws to reassemble my knee.

And during all of this I kept thinking…. I have a wedding this weekend. I need to be okay for my client. To be clear I did have a colleague that was already taking care of the wedding so I didn’t actually have to be onsite. They were in good hands, just not my hands.

I almost discharged myself from the hospital since the surgery kept getting postponed. I promised to return on Monday after my wedding if they let me go. Finally the surgery happened since the doctors didn’t like the idea of my leaving. Then I had to go through a series of maneuvers before they would discharge me. I managed to grit my teeth and climb up and down the stairs (3 times) as required, tears falling as I shuffled up and down. Finally they agreed to let me go home.

The next morning, I convinced my husband to drive me 2 hours to the venue. I hobbled through the hotel on my crutches, pausing every now and then to compose myself because it hurt so much. Then I knocked on the door and burst into tears the moment I saw my bride. She equally burst into tears and we had a good cry together.

From there I was sentenced to bed rest for 6 weeks and then began the long process of recovery. You take for granted the ability to bend your knee, walk to the bathroom, shower alone and unassisted, stand on two feet, move without pain. I was humbled in a way that was unexpected, having to rely on others was hard. But day by day, inch by inch, I made it back to me.

Strength isn’t always a visible, tangible quality in a person. Sometimes it is knowing that they had to struggle to just be. To crawl back from the broken version of themselves and emerge stronger than ever.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think being a creative is the mission or journey for me in my life. I need to create, design, dream to thrive and live. I can’t be stuck in a world that is just Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm. I tried that once and I felt a little part of me dying inside.

Wedding planning is this, there is the ebb and flow of the design process. I strive to never do the same wedding design twice. For one that isn’t fair to that other client that I dreamed and designed with. We created something that was uniquely theirs, and it was my privilege to walk that road with them. So to repeat that with another client wouldn’t be right, so for each client we dream a new dream and we reach a little further to find their vision, their voice, their love.

I love to do things that no one else in our market has previously done. I love when a client comes to me with an insane idea and says what do you think of this? Watching them walk into the room for the room reveal and burst into tears is what happens when dreams come true. I live for these moments.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jodymcbeath

Image Credits
Carey Nash Photography Corrina Walker Photography Heidrich Photography Our Lavish Guests