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

Jusmine, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Though the aesthetics vary, newly engaged couples are only ever presented extremes. There’s sleek hotels and estates, or destination celebrations, or $150k tented parties disguised “backyard” weddings. For those who cannot (or will not) spend a house deposit on their wedding, well then the options are the courthouse or Vegas, baby!

Dearly Studio was always about taking the ease of courthouse weddings and elevating it. Couples can book their Dearly Studio wedding online in the time it would take to book a haircut. Our marriers benefit from bespoke ceremonies, sweet personal favors, and the ability to bring their dog along. People can select their own music. There’s time for cake cutting or a Champagne toast. We’ve partnered with other small, independent businesses to provide a trusted vendor network for everything from florals to large reception spaces. We even build out partner packages so that you can book your full micro wedding – ceremony and reception – right through us.

So many Dearly couples have been together for the better part of a decade, and some have been engaged for 3+ years. One marrier told me, “I kept thinking it wasn’t the right time, but really there wasn’t the right option.” Another said they might never have gotten married if Dearly didn’t exist. I think I said “oh wow, thanks” and then cried about it a little in my car later.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a creative marketing professional, Justice of the Peace, and owner of Dearly Studio, a micro wedding chapel in the Boston area.

My path here is a little circuitous, actually. My first job out of college was a freelance graphic design role. It was remote, which was novel for the time, and they said I could “work from anywhere.” I moved to Wellington, New Zealand, where I met my now husband, Blair.

By the time my visa was up, we were in love but I’d just turned 23 and marrying someone just to date him in the US didn’t seem ideal. We moved to Australia together instead, where we could both live and work. There I continued to work a mix of marketing jobs alongside hospitality and event management roles. I struggle to put into words what this time was like for me –
I’ve never felt so inspired, fulfilled, or at ease in a place quite like I did in Melbourne. Maybe that’s just what your 20’s are like no matter where you are, who knows.

Turns out I was gathering all the experiences, big and small, that led me directly to creating Dearly. We got married in Australia in 2018 at our favorite bar. The planning process was brief by design and full of personal touches.

When we relocated to the US, I went back to freelance marketing work and also bartended at a small wine bar in Somerville. In 2021, while planning events for the bar, I pitched a Vegas wedding chapel pop up for Pride where couples could get legally married. Three couples got married, each for vastly different reasons, and I realized this concept had viability. It also had a natural home, in the same small business market the wine bar was located in.

I’m skipping over some really hard brand- and business-building work here, but by the time Dearly Studio opened I had such a clear vision for the service I wanted to provide. I’m lucky that it’s been received just as I intended it. Our couples book a Dearly Studio wedding knowing they are going to receive an experience tailor made for them.

Since you asked about what makes me proud…
I’m so proud of the way this business exists within our local community and within the New England wedding industry. It’s hard to enter such a large industry as such a small venue, but I’ve forged some really great friendships. My proudest moment came in January, when I was part of a small team to put on “Queerly Beloved,” a free LGBTQ+ wedding event in response to the incoming administration’s harmful policy proposals. All vendors gifted their services, and 7 queer couples received their own free, private micro weddings, complete with florals, photography, videography, and cake. We then held a communal “reception” with live music, drag performances, and DJ sets. The public party drew roughly 350 attendees and raised over $4k for the Trevor Project.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I think a certain amount of naiveté is needed in entrepreneurship – it allows us to think beyond what we’re immediately capable of. My entrepreneurial mentality (“other people do this, why can’t I?”) came with some serious blinders, like the reality of capital lending processes.

I’d lived in Australia for most of my 20’s, returned to the US at 31, and was trying to build out this business model at 32 – at which point my limited US credit history made it look like I was a toddler trying to get a loan. Funding options were few, so I took out a pretty predatory $20K loan and DIY’d as much of the fit out as possible.

Dearly opened in late June 2023, and I held 17 weddings over the subsequent 6 months. By January of 2024 I was at a crossroads. I’d secured my lease on 1 + 1 terms, meaning I had to decide if I wanted to renew by March 1. I was working a full time day job and was continually exhausted. I’d squirreled away some cash, but I wasn’t bringing in enough to keep the business afloat, and I couldn’t fathom being able to pay myself out of it. I thought about turning the concept into a pop up to cut out overheads. Or trying to secure a second dicey loan. But mostly I thought about cutting my losses. I told a friend this business might end up “this really cool thing I did for a year.”

The reality was that Dearly’s marketing budget was zero. I’d sent out press releases when we opened to no avail. I tried putting our website out there on as many Reddit or Facebook community groups as possible. I held what felt like 1000 open houses. Realistically, I needed some real PR – so I got super gimmicky!

In mid January, I launched our “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” package, where Dearly gave away 6 free weddings on Valentine’s Day. The ceremonies were Vegas-style with each time slot only 20 minutes. I went back to my press release, but this time with a hook. I finished it at 2 am and scheduled the emails to send at 8 am. A Boston Globe reporter had replied by the time I woke up.

She ended up interviewing past couples and writing a full profile, mentioning the free weddings. That article got picked up by a radio station, which then got picked up by a local TV station who covered the weddings on the day. Dearly was then featured by Chronicle, a long running news magazine program on our Boston ABC affiliate channel.

My marketing ploy started as a last-ditch effort, and ended up serving as proof of concept for the whole business model. I re-signed our lease within weeks of the Valentine’s Day weddings and haven’t looked back since.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’m really blown away by our community. People aren’t just fans of the brand, they’re fervent about it. Recently, I partnered with a tattoo artist to bring a Dearly Studio flash sheet to life and past couples have been going to get tattoos! That in itself is wonderful, but I’ve been really moved by non-couples who messaged to tell me they were booking the flash, including nearby neighbors, friends, and vendors.

I think part of this is because I’ve made sure we have wider roots. Dearly Studio is a wedding chapel first and foremost, but I’ve been realistic about our growth. We were always going to have some downtime, so might as well fill it with fun. In our two years open we’ve hosted many pop ups, workshops, and parties. We’ve taken part in our city’s community events such as an annual vintage market, Fluff Festival (yes, as in marshmallow fluff), and Dios de los Muertos celebrations. I try to make sure that Dearly Studio shows up authentically with twists on events that align with our brand. And, because this is largely a business of one, I’m usually the one behind the bar at these things.

Some people simply know Dearly as a pop up spot, and that’s fine, too. When our reputation and community engagement line up to give us a Dearly wedding, though – that’s magic!

A few examples:
One couple attended a Book Fair where we hosted a romance novel pop up and decided to book their wedding right there.

Another couple, who booked a Quickie package mid week, has become one of our most vocal advertisers! The bride even gifted her friend the same package – quite literally gave her a wedding as a wedding present (this was the moment I probably should have realized I needed to raise my prices, but hey).

Yet another couple got engaged at Dearly Studio. It was so special to them that they booked a wedding photo session in the space, then had me officiate their larger hotel wedding. They’ve even hosted parties in the space. Quite a few couples are local, so the idea that they can get married in a community spot they’ll continue to visit goes a long way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dearly.studio
• Instagram: @dearly.studio
• Facebook: @dearly.studio
• Other: TikTok: @dearly.studio

Image Credits

Header: Rhode Tripper Photography
1. Carlie Febo Photography
2. Castillo Holliday Photo and Film
3. Lensy Michelle Photography
4. Castillo Holliday Photo and Film
5.Castillo Holliday Photo and Film
6. Castillo Holliday Photo and Film
7. Gabby Torres Photography