Expect The Unexpected…Wendy Wortham And Cindy Daniel “Work It Out”
When most people think of weddings, the extravagant floral designs, stunning gowns and beauty of an over the top event come to mind.
An elegant venue and caterers, the perfect cake and smooth sailing from one photo opportunity to the next are what most people expect. 
A small percentage of our events actually are as “perfectly orchestrated” as you might imagine but, for those clients who can’t afford the venue, the caterers, the flowers, the photographers and all of the other “extras,” our event locations are as unexpected as our clients.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the variety and I’m fairly certain that I would be bored if Cindy and I were dancing from one perfectly orchestrated event into the next.
For this Twin Team of Event Coordinators based in Fort Worth, Texas, “over the top affairs” aren’t routine because they are rare. Why? Because we are open minded and don’t price ourselves into a box.
Why do one wedding a week when you can do 5 or more? We don’t limit ourselves and “only do” over the top events because they are too time consuming. Coordinating takes months while Officiating takes less than an hour. I never coordinate more than three weddings a year due to the time involved.
Cindy and I also refurbish trades and create custom floral arrangements and Brooch bouquets so when we aren’t on location or meeting clients or performing Prison Weddings or other events, we are either driving to our next destination or in the workroom. Texas Twins Treasures Inventory is compromised of trades taken through The Pawning Planners. Most items have been refurbished while others were listed as is.
By being willing to bend, rather than breaking, we’ve expanded and rebranded twice in the past four years to address every creative request you could imagine.
I answer a lot of questions because let’s face it, my dive into the events industry wasn’t to get rich. My goal was to give anyone an opportunity for a Dream Event regardless of how different that Dream might be.
People and Places are so wildly unpredictable that I wrote a blog to give you a better idea of what we weren’t expecting on location– Who’s Wedding Is This?
Prison Weddings shock people who can’t believe that one day I’m at a beautiful venue and the next, behind bars. My schedule is literally as unpredictable as our clients.
I once had a Prison Bride who spent her honeymoon in jail. Although it’s unusual for me to know what happens after the wedding, the Bride had lost her Beto Unit Photos when her car was impounded and she couldn’t afford to pay the fees to get the car back or, her photos. A month after her wedding, she emailed me to ask for copies while explaining that she had been arrested for drunk driving.
All of my Clients from Texas Twins Events and The Pawning Planners almost always meet with Cindy and I prior to their event. For my TDCJ Texas Prison Wedding Clients, the only contact we have prior to their event is email, phone calls or text messages.
I have no idea what TDCJ Clients look like or how they are going to act until meeting them in a Prison Parking lot a half hour prior to their scheduled wedding. Because of this, I’ve been surprised myself on more than one occasion.
Trying to explain the importance of not having your phone turned off on the day of your wedding, arriving late or what to wear or even what not to do isn’t an easy conversation.
However, after too many surprises at Texas Prison Weddings, I’ve learned to go over what to wear, what time to arrive and not to drink heavily prior to walking into a Prison.
A few weeks ago, Cindy and I were talking with Michael Yorba who actually understands how we have managed to turn the event industry upside down by doing everything differently. If you missed the interview, here’s the link– Talking To The Twins- Wendy Wortham And Cindy Daniel.
Cindy spent years in the county working a dairy farm while I spent years in the city modeling high end clothes and selling or promoting brands. Because of this, Cindy is “in tune” with country living and hillbillies while I have no idea about roping or anything else about farm life.
Cindy is funny and I’m serious. We are Compensating Personality Twins. We hate to dress alike but do when we are asked. We don’t talk alike either. My twin sister hates to dress up and I love it. Our differences actually blend together to make us the perfect team.
From the clients to the locations to even Bartering Event Services, my family and I have managed to successfully market to any income level and in many cases, a few creative requests including Prison Weddings.
Cindy thinks it’s hilarious when something goes wrong or unexpected. Why? Because I’m shooting for perfect execution in an imperfect world.
From the wedding guest who left her panties at home to the Broken Tooth Bouncing Check Writing Bride to the Banjo Playing Boyfriend or even learning how to create floral designs or fix anything that goes wrong on location, years of unexpected “incidents” have given us an opportunity to learn something new everyday. We no longer accept checks on the day of an event either.
In 2009, I decided to start flipping on eBay. Over the years, I’ve bought and sold so many things that Cindy and I developed a background of “picking.” This product knowledge would come in handy years later when we decided to expand Texas Twins Events by adding a barter option for event services with The Pawning Planners.
Since I knew how to refurbish and reupholster antiques and furniture, I look for large items on location. Cindy specializes in jewelry and smaller quick flips that can be listed immediately without an investment. Appraisal Appointments with my sister are hilarious. Cindy can get along with anyone and since I’m the check writer, we are a “good cop bad cop” team. Everyone loves Cindy but, I’m the one that often says no to a few of our crazier propositions. Because of this, I’m the bad cop. I offer alternatives to barter propositions that won’t work for me.
Cindy never says no because she often tells clients “I just work here.” This explanation makes her far more easy going and light hearted. “Ask Wendy about that” often has me standing open mouthed at a proposal Cindy knows that I’m going to say no to.
A few years ago, someone wanted an Officiant and Photographer Package at a nudist colony. Reviewing the request with Cindy, my sister asked “are they saying we are naked or they are naked? I don’t understand what’s going on here.” Well, digging deeper, they wanted everyone naked! We declined.
Barfing Brides and other On Location “incidents” are always a surprise. We’ve had a few.
My blogs are a mix of perfectly executed events, surprises, flips, flops and funny stories because they are a diary of my life spent with three generations of my family from a wild mix of clients and customers from Texas Twins Events, Texas Twins Treasures, The Pawning Planners AND Texas Prison Weddings.
Whether Cindy and I are learning how to dance on location or creating fabulous floral designs or even finding the perfect cake or decorating a venue, we meet the most interesting folks in the world. No one has a more diverse client base than we do.
I didn’t exactly “set out” to be this diverse. My initial concept was to offer event services far below our competitors in order to reach the low to middle class consumer who couldn’t afford traditional pricing. Texas Twins Events was the first low cost wedding and event service business.
Pricing was intentionally far below others because the clients I wanted to help were the clients no one else wanted to help.
After a few years, I realized that 10-20% of our prospects couldn’t afford any money at all and we created The Pawning Planners to address their needs too.
Inventory for Texas Twins Treasures actually comes from trades taken from The Pawning Planners. Whether these bartered items need to be refurbished or simply listed for sale, flipping items is how we recover Event expenses.
The hodgepodge of items listed at Texas Twins Treasures gives you a better idea of how wildly different a few of our trade actually are. When you take trades, you need an outlet to sell them.
Photography is handled by two separate teams. Event Photography prices start at $75 an hour and include a complimentary CD of photos. Yes, I know this pricing is FAR below our competition but, my goal is to give anyone a beautiful event.
Two years ago, a creative Request for an Officiant at a Prison brought a completely different expansion to Texas Twins Events.
I became a TDCJ Texas Department Of Criminal Justice Approved Officiant and, the rest is history. Texas Prison Weddings With Wendy Wortham keeps me busy during the week with Prison Bookings across Texas.
Moving from a chapel to a venue to a park, karate studio, airplane and even a Prison is a regular occurrence for me. Prison Weddings are scheduled Monday-Friday from 8AM-5PM. Because of this, my weekdays are spent driving across Texas with my copilot, Cindy or meeting Clients.
By 2016, what had started out as only Cindy and I working together at events as an Officiant and photographer changed to include three generations of my family working at Texas Twins Events, The Pawning Planners, Texas Twins Treasures and Texas Prison Weddings.
I could never have expected to barter services years ago. I could never have expected to be performing ceremonies in Prisons either but, I’m open minded and along with my sister, we worked it out…