Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Delgado. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Stephanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I was a paralegal before owning my business. I had a bit of corporate event planning skills, but for weddings –I learned how to do this on the spot. Don’t do that, I did it the wrong way. My very first wedding I did, I drove home crying. I left that day feeling depleted and wondering how this is really supposed to be done, the professional way.

I took the time to learn what the day needed from me, what clients, venues, vendors, and family needed from me. I got certified but that didn’t help me at all. It was my skills as a paralegal that helped a ton, but this wedding planning business is a hands-on job. No two weddings are exactly the same, so we’re constantly on our toes. I had to learn how to walk a different walk, talk a different talk, and tippy toe myself into stressful situations. Now I mentor the newbies because that’s not a great path to go down alone.

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.

My name is Stephanie Delgado, I own Sweet Gardenia Weddings – a wedding planning & design firm based in San Antonio, Texas that is about to reach it’s 7th year. We offer wedding planning, coordination, linens, florals, and wedding content creation. We service the busy professionals, students, and entrepreneurs who are planning a wedding and need guidance during these busy life events. We are most proud of our hands on, white glove service approach to wedding planning. We take the time to learn about what makes our clients tick, where our clients grew up, where they met, their favorite things, and their special places to incorporate their love story into their wedding story. We don’t let our couples forget about the true meaning of this day, as we take on a celebratory approach to weddings. We’d love for clients to see us as story tellers, love obsessed, and with big hearts–connecting their wedding story into a one of a kind day for two deserving people. If I could look at them and say “8 billion people in the world.. and you two found each other! Now *that’s* something to celebrate.”

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My side hustle definitely turned into my full time hustle. I went to school for Paralegal studies at San Antonio College and continued to get my Psychology degree from Texas A&M San Antonio. I was fully prepared to enter the corporate world and embrace the paralegal office life. But once I got there, I wasn’t doing the things I thought I would be doing. I was a glorified secretary, planning corporate parties, calling clients, scheduling things, and drafting contracts. After planning corporate parties, somebody asked me if I did weddings. That sounded fun! I realized that I was doing the same things that wedding planners did, I decided to give it a shot. It snowballed after telling everyone I know and putting out a few social media ads – we grew our team and I finally left my paralegal career for good. My husband gave me the confidence to take a leap, I wouldn’t be here without his support.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My most rewarding aspect is the opportunities that I have, the people that I get to meet, and the blessings I can give a small business when I recommend someone. I get to meet and fall in love with my clients and their love stories – and join in on that story by planning their weddings. I get to meet and work with some of the greatest event professionals I know, and get to make so many people happy by just recommending a stellar vendor and blessing them with our business. The places I find myself are so spectacular – I pinch myself when I get invited to plan or visit a beautiful venue and get to meet the faces behind the idea. So much of our jobs are visionary, I am honored to be able to work and visit the creatives that made it all happen. It’s always rewarding to do what I do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mysanantoniowedding.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanantonioweddingplanner
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanantonioweddingplanners

Image Credits

Photos are by Allison Jeffers Photography, Angie Just Shoot Me, and Julia Davis Co.