We recently connected with Shannon Tarrant and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I believe that couples planning their wedding should have both access to know ALL of the options for wedding venues and the ability to sort through that list to find the event space that meets their criteria. In my industry, almost every model limited this information only to the companies and businesses willing to invest a large portion of their budget in digital advertising. This has created resources that aren’t full-encompassing and limits the choices sometimes to only the most expensive venues. At Wedding Venue Map, we built a resource open to all event venues!

Shannon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After a 12-year Central Florida wedding industry career in catering and venue management, I saw an amazing opportunity to help newly engaged couples plan their wedding in a different way.

I believe in the power of knowing your options when it comes to planning a wedding. While Pinterest, social media, and national directories can be great resources, they don’t always focus on the local details. Central Florida is not only a prominent destination wedding location but many locals host their celebrations right here in the area.

After years of talking to couples and learning what they were looking for in a wedding venue, we created a resource inclusive of all ceremony and reception spaces called Wedding Venue Map. In partnership with Derek and Gail Berge, we elevated the print map and added a digital wedding venue search component on our website.

What’s most unique about Wedding Venue Map is that we feature every venue in our area, regardless of their level of investment. This has created a one-of-a-kind resource where people looking for a venue can sort through over 40 different criteria to match the exact venues to their needs for a wedding.

We are passionate about helping our couples connect to the perfect venue and then hire an amazing trusted vendor team of quality wedding pros with a proven track record. Our wedding vendor companies are each vetted and verified through a strict list of criteria to make sure our couples are booking the best of the best.

I’ve been blessed to be able to share my knowledge and expertise on helping engaged couples around the country speaking at conferences like Wedding MBA, NACE Experience, Catersource, The Special Event, and other local associations.

A wedding is a day full of moments and memories that will never be forgotten and I feel lucky that my company can be a guiding light through the planning process.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building connections has been the backbone of my career. I prioritize not only attending networking events every month but consistently showing up as often as I can.

Through quality connections over the last 20 years, I’ve had the privilege to get to know amazing people in our community. While mange of them are in the wedding industry with me, I always take the time to attend events outside of my regular groups to open new doors.

I’m also really eager to help learn how I can help be of service to the people I meet, either by sharing my expertise or introducing them to others.

My reputation of being a connector helped me at every step of my career both while working with others and the ability to successfully launch my business to six figures in less than a year.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I love sharing resources that helped me along my journey to both launching a business, growing my team and creating exceptional customer experiences. Three of my favorite books I think everyone should read:

The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

– This book changed the way I lead my team with a stronger focus on getting time back for me to do rather than spend so much time managing.

Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Benjamin Hardy

– For every idea or project, learn to focus on finding the best WHO to make it happen.

The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary by Mark Sanborn

– Anyone that is looking to provide a better customer experience can learn how to become more like Fred! Great for your whole team to read.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://weddingvenuemap.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weddingvenuemap/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weddingvenuemap
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannontarrant/
• Other: Central Florida Wedding Venue Search: https://weddingvenuemap.com/venue-search/

Image Credits
Lazzat Photography Bumby Photography