The most intriguing aspect about acting on a unique idea is that it brings together creative minds together to initiate a change that can disrupt the industry’s landscape for the better. To connect the newly engaged couples to several local boutique vendors to form a connection before investing towards their special day under one big roof was the core idea that birthed The Big Fake Wedding.
Jennifer Ammons leads The Big Fake Wedding as the CEO and Owner, steering her experience to expand worldwide. Embarking on the mission of TBFW, Jennifer promotes small businesses, inspires couples, and encourages solid marriages, creating a platform where brands can showcase their best, resulting in a network of like-minded business owners with future clients at their fingertips.
An Arbitrary Beginning
Having very little interest in becoming involved in the wedding industry to becoming the CEO of an experiential marketing company in the niche has been an exhilarating ride for Jennifer. She didn’t plan her elaborate wedding, having a small dinner table of eight, before stepping into becoming the owner of The Big Fake Wedding, realizing that the industry is filled and served by small businesses chasing their dreams, no marketing support. Thus, Jennifer understood that the small business is the heart of the wedding industry. She is honored to work with 800 supporting the business annually. Jennifer welcomes 2022 to bounce back from the unprecedented times with newly rejuvenated nationwide awareness and support small businesses.
Thinking Out-of-the-Box
Jennifer expresses that the TBFW business model works because it cares about supporting business vendors, setting them apart from an average “boxed event.” Every Big Fake Wedding vendor is individually connected to in-house Production Managers, with their cheerleaders guiding them to succeed at an event. She asserts, “We personally know each and every business we work with, and we know what they need. It also works because, unlike the majority of the wedding industry media, we are not in it to propel the unnecessary stress and competition of wedding planning and instead exist to encourage solid, committed marriages of all types.” TBFW doesn’t join on the hand wagons and intentionally chooses to market uniquely and genuinely.
Jennifer states that engaged couples come to the TBFW events entrusting that the brand only supports fair, quality, and authentic local businesses. Couples visit the events to carry out real conversations and view the relationships between the clients and vendors without any pressure. TBFW provides a reminiscing experience that couples can witness personally rather than viewing from a zoom call. The event includes a REAL vow renewal, 15 minutes where the mingling stops to remind why marriages are so great in the first place. “Without this, we’d be just another wedding show,” mentions Jennifer.
Heads Up Move Forward
In the relentless pursuit of being the best, in 2022, Jennifer hopes to propel the industry’s disruption by changing how GenZ can book vendors and organize and serve clients while also seamlessly growing its business. The methodologies that engaged couples can utilize to find quality vendors are antiquated and entirely driven by large conglomerate companies that follow an advertise-based business model. Although, The Big Fake Wedding has impactful imprints, having a personal conversation with the clients and vendors knowing the need for change.
Jennifer notes, “Clients want easier ways to book vendors instantly, vendors want easier ways to track and follow up with leads, and easier ways to create residual quality bookings under the secureness of a brand they trust is rooting for them. The Big Fake Wedding is striving to be this solution in 2022.” The experiential platform that TBFW provides is expanding by strategically partnering with a new company in the tech industry, Wedy. The company will continue to serve the industry needs as engaged couples look for better ways to spend their budget; Wedy and The Big Fake Wedding will be the first trusted choice.
Thriving Connection
Jennifer welcomes the changes in the wedding and marketing industry but hopes that people never lose sight of human connection. “Owning a business BASED on the human connection during a pandemic that forbids it was, to say the least, hard. But we continued to be supported by the network we had created because human connection is desirable, and we had created not just a network but a family,” expresses Jennifer. She is hopeful to embrace the innovative technology platforms to support the business model to serve everyone better but also knows that the human part of people will never cease to exist and wants organizations to continue seeing value in that.
The Blooming Bud
Jennifer witnessed several businesses fail and flail, and new opportunities and ideas came into existence, primarily woman-owned. As women continue to seek meaningful purpose outside their responsibilities in the home, more small businesses will blossom. In her concluding thoughts, Jennifer advises, “When the woes of business ownership hit, which they undoubtedly will remember why you started. Was it to create or fuel a passion that could serve your family or lifestyle? Then honor that. Quit or scale back if you have to, but never waiver and continue to create those same benefits and safe spaces for other women to be employed.”