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Bold Journey Magazine: Meet Jennifer Wilson | The Secret to our Wedding Venues Success
- Jennifer Wilson
- Jun 18
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The Secret to Our Wedding Venues Success: Passion, Leadership & the Power of a Strong Team
There are hundreds of wedding venues near me and across the state of Michigan, but the experience couples have at Celestial Farms Wedding Venue is something different—something deeper. When couples ask what makes us different, I don’t just point to our modern barn, rolling countryside, or top notch facilities. I point to what you can feel when you walk through our doors: passion, purpose, and a team of passionate professionals that bring magic to life.
Recently, I had the opportunity to share my story in Bold Journey Magazine, making it my third published interview on Celestial Farms. Check out the first two here. But this one was a little more personal and yet the heart of the interview came down to one key idea:
Success comes from leaning into your strengths—and surrounding yourself with people who support your vision.
As a wedding venue owner, mom, entrepreneur, friend and community member, I’ve learned that the best way to grow a successful business is to know what you’re good at, stay humble, and never try to do it all alone.
Here’s how I’ve built Celestial Farms Wedding Venue at 3116 E. Vienna Rd. in Clio, Michigan —focusing on what I love, leading with purpose, and building a rock-solid team of passionate professionals that turn wedding dreams into reality.
Go All In on What You’re Great At
There’s a lot of pressure in business, and especially as a female in business, to be everything to everyone. Everyone has heard it: “Be well-rounded,” “Push yourself in new areas,” “Stay competitive.” And yes, continued growth and learning matter, especially in the fast-changing wedding industry. But for me, the real turning point at Celestial Farms happened when I decided to double down on what I love and what I do best.
What is that, exactly?
✨ Giving couples a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable wedding experience.
I thrive when I’m working one-on-one with our couples during the planning phase—dreaming with them, problem-solving with them, bringing their dream wedding vision to life. From emotional venue tours and meeting the parents to last-minute timeline shifts when a problem arises, those are the moments where I light up. That energy is part of what couples and their guests feel when they visit Celestial Farms. It’s not a cookie-cutter wedding venue machine. It’s deeply personal for us.
Wedding Venues Should Feel Like Home When You Step in the Door
That’s why outsourcing the coordination aspect to what we do never quite worked for me. It lightened my mile long to-do list on wedding day, but it diluted the experience for both myself and my couples. Couples were missing the personal touch they connected with during their tour—my energy, my excitement, my investment in their day, my expertise of how this wedding venue flows best.
So I took coordination back into my own hands—and brought in more trusted team members to support the success of in house coordination in ways that preserved the Celestial Farms magic.
The Three Qualities That Have Made the Biggest Difference
People often ask: What skills do you possess to run successful wedding venues? With so much noise out there—marketing, strategy, software, and especially social media—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
But when I really reflect on it, three core qualities have shaped my success more than anything else:
1. Multitasking and Being Detail-Oriented
with the Ability to Execute
Weddings are an emotional rollercoaster wrapped in a tight timeline and topped with a million tiny details.
On any given wedding day, I’m juggling:
Vendor arrivals and communication
Adjusting layout and décor as needed
Managing staff and their roles
Monitoring guest comfort
Pivoting on timeline when needed
Coordinating final touches like sparkler send-offs
Multitasking is more than keeping a dozen balls in the air. It’s about being calm, creative, and responsive. I’m always reading the room, reading the weather, reading the mood—and making changes in real-time to ensure everything flows smoothly.
And those tiny details matter: the way the chairs are angled during golden hour, how the DJ is positioned for sound and sightlines, how long the gap should be between toasts and cake-cutting. These are the touches that make a wedding feel effortless.
2. Leadership While Staying Humble
Leading a team during 12-hour wedding days means staying cool under pressure and making quick decisions. But it also means being approachable, honest, and grounded.
My team knows I value their input. I don’t ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do myself. I don’t claim to know everything. And I own it when I make a mistake.
Humility keeps me growing. It allows me to learn from my team and from every wedding we host. Strong leadership isn’t about being the loudest in the room—it’s about setting the tone and building trust.
3. A Deep Understanding of Event Flow
This one’s hard to teach—but crucial.
A wedding isn’t just a schedule of events. It’s a love story unfolding. And if the energy dips or the transitions feel clunky, the whole mood can shift quickly.
After a few seasons of hands-on coordination, I’ve developed an instinct for event flow:
When to stretch a cocktail hour and when to speed it up
How to transition from dinner to dancing with momentum
Where to build in quiet and personal moments for the couple to breathe
When to pivot due to weather, lighting, or timing hiccups
This sixth sense for flow allows us to adjust in the moment without ever breaking the magic for our couples or guests.
The Team Behind the Magic
Even though I lead the vision, Celestial Farms wouldn’t be what it is without my team.
Each person brings their own talent to the table—and their strengths make up for the areas where I’m not as sharp.
Yolanda, my coordination assistant, is our logistics queen. She tracks inventory, inspections, add-on services, and keeps backend operations humming smoothly.
Casey, the owner of Cheers to you Bartending and Charcuterie- our exclusive bartending partner has been with us from the start. She knows our wedding venue inside and out and understands what qualities are needed for a great bartending/wedding venue partnership to work.
Angie, my preferred wedding and marketing photographer and team member, has helped us elevate the Celestial Farms brand. From photography to coordination and being a CF team member, Angie and I are very like-minded and work together beautifully.
Kylee, our daughter and UM-Flint student, is a gifted social media manager and candid content creator. Her videos, reels, and behind-the-scenes candid content have taken our digital presence to a whole new level.
ALL of our staff and preferred vendors such as DJ Fury, Forella Events, Mission BBQ, Plated with Luv, Bentley Florist, SugarHigh Bakery and more.
And of course, we've partnered with amazing creatives like Angie of Angela’s Angles Photography, whose work brings our brand’s story to life. Her images have helped elevate Celestial Farms wedding venue beyond anything I could have done alone.
So, What Sets Us Apart?
When couples are searching for wedding venues near me or exploring Michigan wedding venues, they’re overwhelmed with the amount of choices. There are barns, gardens, halls, estates—each promising a wedding venue you'll never forget.
But at Celestial Farms, we don’t just offer a wedding venue. We offer a deeply personalized, full-hearted wedding experience. One where:
The owner knows your name—and your Pinterest board.
The timeline was built with flexibility and flow in mind.
The person leading the tour is the same one overseeing your ceremony.
Every detail was considered by someone who genuinely cares.
We’ve built a space where couples don’t have to ask, “Will they really care about our day?” They can feel what we're capable of the moment they arrive.
Final Thoughts: Purpose Over Perfection
There’s a quote I love: “Don’t aim for success. Aim for purpose, and success will follow.”
Celestial Farms was never built to be the biggest, fanciest, or trendiest wedding venues in Michigan. It was built to honor family and tradition. It was born from loss, from love, and from a desire to give others a beautiful place to celebrate the most important days of their lives.
We’ve hosted weddings under the stars, tearful first looks, hilarious toasts and speeches, sparkler exits, and everything in between. And each one is a reminder as to why I’m so passionate about what I do.
If you’re searching for a venue with heart, soul, and a DREAM team that will treat your wedding like it’s the only one on earth—we’d love to welcome you to Celestial Farms.
Ready to plan your dream day?
Tour our venue, meet the team, and discover why Celestial Farms is one of the most beloved wedding venues in Michigan. Whether you’re envisioning a cozy winter wedding or a sun-drenched summer celebration, we’re here to bring it all to life—with passion, purpose, and a whole lot of heart.
We’re on a mission to celebrate and support locally owned wedding venues—and we need your help! 🌟 Want to make a real impact? It’s as easy as leaving a thoughtful Google review, following them on social media, or recommending them to friends and family. Your support means everything, and we want to give a huge shoutout to the incredible wedding venue owners across the country who pour their hearts into making dream weddings come true. 💕
Planning your big day? Explore some truly amazing locally owned venues on our wedding venue map. Let’s join forces to champion these wonderful businesses and keep the magic alive!
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