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

Marcus, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Yes, absolutely. Take as many vacations as you can is our motto! Burnout is real and we have definitely felt it these past few years. Taking time for yourself is 100% vital.

Marcus, 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?

Welcome to Mark Aria Entertainment!

Mark Aria Entertainment is run by a real married couple, so we not only have a couples’ perspective on what goes into planning a wedding, but we also have experience in how it all works and comes together. Mark Aria Entertainment will work with you every step of the way to create the most memorable experience, but most importantly we make sure you have fun. This is one of the most important days in your life and we want to make it memorable but also take some of the pressure off so you can enjoy it.

We are known as Marcus and Maddy Fulinara, but my stage name is DJ Mark Aria- I started Dj’ing in 2011, I actually started out as a house and club DJ. My wife got me started in weddings with a few friends of ours, and we ended up falling in love with the business… and here we are now! What started with just offering DJ/MC services with some lighting options, we now have 4 DJ’s, two photos booths and we are busier than ever. Two of our DJ’s are also ordained, so we have worked several weddings as officiants first and then turned around and DJ’d the whole reception! It’s a great addition we love to share. We work with the best and most well-known planning companies in northeast Florida to help create the most amazing wedding days for our couples, at the most sought after venues. What sets us apart is we allowed the business to grow organically and we took a family approach to this business. All of our staff members are people we know personally and have professionally trained to hold our name. My wife and I run every aspect of it together and it has made us fall deeper in love, because we have met so many amazing couples and we believe what we offer makes a real difference to all of our clients.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Not every client is for you. This was a hard pill to swallow, especially in the beginning when we were grinding to help build our name. Every inquiry that came across our email needed to be a booked client in the end, in our eyes. What we learned now is the right people will find us that have the same vision and goals as us. There’s a reason our northeast Florida wedding market is so huge, there is truly enough work for everyone. So at the end of the day, if a client goes another direction, it was probably for the best, and your right client is coming up right behind them!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We are not egotistical people. As professionals, it’s easy to just say “no, what I do and know is best”, but we value our customers and their vision. I think other people pick up on when you’re being authentic, or just in it for the show.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.markariaentertainment.com/
• Instagram: @mark_aria_entertainment
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkAriaEntertainmentLLC

Image Credits
VB Photography, Josh Hallam Photography, Brittany Coleman Photography, Anastasiia Photography, Our Story Productions