We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stacey Martinelli a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Stacey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
During our tours, many couples ask “does Eloise mean something?” or “where did the name come from?”.
I am delighted to share this story with you!
The idea to build a wedding venue in Southern Wisconsin started shortly after Ben and I got married. At that time, Ben and I were living in Southern California (SoCal) but since we both grew up in Wisconsin, there was no way we weren’t getting married in our home state. We said our I do’s in Madison and then jumped on a plane to head back to California. Our jobs took us to different ends of California during our first year of marriage. Ben got moved to the Northern part of Cali (NorCal) and I was stayed in SoCal enjoying the beach, sun, and eating my weight in sushi.
Normally after your wedding is done you stop wedding planning. Right?! Well that wasn’t the case for me. Ben would fly down every weekend to visit me not knowing that I spent most of my free time during the week researching and designing what is now The Eloise. I’d get home from what I thought was my dream job and sit at my computer all night researching wedding venues. I talked with vendors and couples in wedding planning groups to understand their wants and needs when selecting a wedding venue. I did about 6 months of research before I really started designing The Eloise.
I had some rough sketches done, color palette picked out , and an inspiration board created. It was around the time that I started researching the location of where this venue would hypothetically be if we were to build it that I realized I was starting a business.
It came time when I needed a name for the venue. In my mind, if I put a name to it then it was real. If it remained “no name venue”, then it was just an idea that would never leave my notebook. So I set out for the perfect name.
I took the Pacific Coast Highway to and from work everyday. It was about an hour drive both ways but the views of the beach and palm trees made the commute more tolerable. I usually spent that time dreaming about building a wedding venue and what it would look like. I’d think about my own struggles finding a wedding venue and how I’d make it different for other couples. I’d think about a modern venue, clean lines, sleek look, and white walls. I’d dream about tall ceilings, lots of windows and elegant chandeliers all the way into work. I’d listen to wedding and business podcasts and become inspired as I drove home from what I thought was my dream job.
On one particular day while driving home from work I came up with the name for the venue. I was pondering over a name for some time and nothing really stuck with me. I wanted a name that meant something. A name that when you heard it, evoked an emotion. A name that was stately and bold yet represented elegance, romance, and sophistication. On that day sitting in traffic and peering out to the ocean, it hit me like a wave crashing onto the beach. Everything that I wanted in a name, is what my grandma Eloise represented to me. From that day on, the venue was called The Eloise.
Stacey, 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?
We’re Ben and Stacey. Husband and wife and owners of The Eloise. We’re both natives of Wisconsin and love everything to do with hosting memorable events. The idea to build The Eloise started in 2016 while planning my own wedding. The venue search was a very frustrating and defeating process for Ben and I. We had a really hard time finding a venue that fit our style and vision but also allowed us to customize the experience for our guests. I can’t tell you how many times I told Ben during the venue search, “we should build a wedding venue,” but it was enough for him to just start nodding in agreement with me.
After all the wedding celebrations ended and we returned to our post-wedding lives, I couldn’t stop thinking about building a wedding and event venue. Our jobs took us to different ends of California, when Ben was gone during the week for his job, I would come home from work and research wedding venues, wedding designs, and wedding trends. The more I researched the more I realized there was a desperate need for a wedding venue like The Eloise in Southern Wisconsin.
During my research, I spoke with numerous vendors in the wedding industry to understand their needs, wants, as well as likes and dislikes within the current market. I spoke with caterers to understand what they needed in a space to optimize their work and be more efficient with preparing meals. I spoke with wedding planners to understand how the layout and flow of a venue can enhance the events of a wedding and the couple’s/guest’s experience. I spoke with photographers to understand how the lighting in a venue can influence photography and their ability to capture all those special moments in a wedding. I basically spent all my free time researching and designing this venue. I would tuck away my research and doodles when Ben flew down on the weekends and come Monday night, I’d bring it all back out and continue to research.
About six months into Ben flying back and forth, we hit our breaking point. After moving three times in six years, working high-stress jobs, and getting relocated further and further from family, we were both burnt out. We talked about what our future would look like if we had to keep moving for our jobs, and neither of us were thrilled with it. We pondered the idea of moving back to Wisconsin before this but we never had a solid plan to do it. During that discussion, I said it again, “we should build a wedding venue.” By this time I had already spent 6 months researching the market and designing the venue. I had data to back up my idea, knew what the venue would look like, and what the name would be. I lit up with excitement as I described my research, plan, and design of the venue. I spoke with so much passion and electricity about how we’d help couples just like us, how we’d work with and connect with vendors, and how we could make a positive impact in our community. Without hesitation, Ben looked at me and said “YES”.
From there, we spent the next two years continuing our research and developing the design intent for the venue. We developed the business plan and started searching for the perfect plot of land for The Eloise. It took us several months to find the perfect plot of land, but when we had our top choices narrowed down we invited our brother-in-law to come and check them out. Our brother-in-law is a wedding photographer and he helped give us a photographer’s point of view and insight when looking at land and building the venue.
After we purchased the land and had it rezoned, it was time to tell our families that we were moving back home and starting a business. SURPRISE!! Over the next 8 months, we went through the design and development of the venue and then prepared to start construction on The Eloise.
We broke ground on January 15, 2020 and got the keys to the venue on August 20, 2020. We had a whirlwind of emotions that day. There was a euphoric sense of happiness and excitement that The Eloise was here and we were finally going to be able to help so many couples celebrate their wedding days, but just on the other side of that joy was worry and fear as we opened in the middle of a global pandemic.
It has been a long winding journey for Ben and I and we went through so many unexpected challenges during our first couple of years because of the pandemic. I’m so proud of our teamwork and what we have accomplished together since opening our doors. Despite all the challenges we stayed true to ourselves and our mission to build a functionally designed wedding venue for all couples to enjoy.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One of the most significant challenges we faced at The Eloise was adapting our marketing strategies to align with the evolving preferences of our audience. Initially, we targeted the tail end of our generation, which provided us with a strong grasp of effective marketing channels. However, just five years later, we found ourselves reaching a new generation of couples who approach wedding planning differently. This shift required us to embrace a more innovative and sometimes uncomfortable approach to our marketing efforts, particularly in front of the camera and on social media. Ultimately, this experience has allowed us to authentically showcase the people and personalities behind our venue, making our marketing more relatable and engaging.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Starting a business, especially one that relied on large gatherings to succeed, during the COVID-19 pandemic was a journey that there was no way to prepare for but required never ending hard work, relentless drive and an incredible amount of resilience.
We broke ground on The Eloise in January 2020, filled with hope, excitement, and dreams of what we were about to build. But just a few months later, the world was thrown into chaos. The pandemic hit, and uncertainty hung in the air. As the wedding industry was struck by restrictions, event cancellations, and fears for the future, we too faced a reality that no one could have predicted.
The statistics are bleak for small businesses: only 50% survive the first five years. To be hit with a global pandemic, which shut us down for our first year and a half, meant sleepless nights and moments of doubt. But we refused to give up on our dream.
After the initial shock and panic of our new reality set in, we knew we had pivot—fast. We were forced to reimagine everything, adjusting our plans, rewriting our business strategy, and embracing a new vision for our future. At the time, both Ben and I were still working our corporate jobs—me in healthcare, him in commercial construction. And while we were grateful for some stability, the pandemic created its own challenges in those industries, too.
It was a surreal and taxing experience. I would go to my healthcare job during the day, filled with fear and anxiety about the chaos around me, and then spend my nights working on our business, not knowing when or if we’d ever be able to open. No one who worked in healthcare through the pandemic escaped without some sort of trauma, and I know I’m not alone in feeling the weight of that.
But in those dark, uncertain moments, we also found light. We discovered the power of community and resilience through unexpected friendships, especially with Jessica, the owner of The Tinsmith, a fellow venue owner who opened around the same time. Together, we worked to advocate for small businesses, fighting for the support we so desperately needed.
Businesses that opened in 2020 had a unique disadvantage because they didn’t qualify for any of the grant money that was being provided to help small businesses through the pandemic. The number one qualifying factor you needed was a 2019 tax return which as a business that opened in 2020, you didn’t have that. We spent every waking moment either working our 9-5 jobs, working on our business to secure clients when we were able to open or in virtual meetings with local, state, and federal officials advocating the need for a specific state/federal grant for the hard hit wedding industry. We eventually succeeded and the governor’s office issued a specific event/event vendor grant that ended up saving many of the struggling event industry businesses in Wisconsin.
Through it all, there were glimmers of hope. Couples still reached out. They still dreamed of their wedding days and of saying “I do.” Their determination to celebrate, despite the circumstances, inspired us to keep pushing forward.
Then, in April 2021, the restrictions began to ease, and we were finally able to host our first wedding post-pandemic. I will never forget the first wedding we had after the restrictions were lifted. The couple was Sarah and Hunter and as they danced their first dance as a married couple, I stood there, watching them twirl on the dance floor, tears streaming down my face, realizing that all of our hard work—through the sleepless nights and the uncertainty—had been worth it for this moment. Every wedding that we celebrated that year, we were reminded of why we had started this journey in the first place: to create a space where love could flourish, even in the most challenging times.
We’ve learned that while we can’t always control the circumstances, we can control how we respond. And when our response is rooted in passion and purpose, we can turn even the hardest of moments into something beautiful. The resilience that helped us survive those tough years is what drives us to continue creating a space where love can flourish, even in the most challenging times.
Today, The Eloise stands as a testament to that resilience. To every couple, vendor, and supporter who believed in us—even when things seemed impossible—thank you. We’ve overcome so much, and we can’t wait to continue creating unforgettable moments for you all.
Here’s to love, perseverance, and the beauty that arises from even the toughest challenges.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theeloiseevents.com/
- Instagram: @theeloiseevents
- Facebook: @theeloiseevents
Image Credits
1. Venue: Lusia Studio Photography
2. Front of Venue: Meghan Lee Harris Photography
3. Floral Ceremony: Annika Frame Photography
4. Winter Ceremony: Tiffany Bekx Photography
5. Outdoor Ceremony: James Lueken Photography
6. Reception (white linens): Valerie Halling Photography
7. Reception (black linens): Larissa Marie Photography
8: Ben and Stacey: CSB Photography