E26: If Weddings had an Easy Button: Professional Event Planning with Tonya

What makes Tonya Edinger with Weddings of Pittsburgh a good neighbor?  

Ever wonder what happens when a DJ business transforms into a wedding planning powerhouse? Tonya Edinger's journey from helping her husband's weekend DJ gigs to building Weddings of Pittsburgh reveals the power of identifying needs and creating solutions in the events industry.

Tonya shares how a modest $14,000 investment against their 401k in 1999 grew into multiple businesses including Weddings of Pittsburgh, Events of Pittsburgh, and Event Rentals of Pittsburgh. Her story demonstrates remarkable business acumen and adaptation, particularly during COVID when she pivoted to larger venues and complimentary rentals to keep celebrations alive while maintaining safety protocols.

What sets Tonya's approach apart is her design-focused, highly communicative planning style. She conducts detailed consultations that pinpoint exact preferences, creates venue mockups to visualize concepts, and maintains monthly check-ins throughout the planning process. "When people are telling you no, we're finding a way to say yes," she explains, highlighting her commitment to advocacy for her clients. Drawing on psychology and sociology training, she skillfully navigates complex family dynamics that often emerge during wedding planning, gently reminding parents that "it's not a redo for them" while honoring their desire to contribute.

For couples considering the DIY route, Tonya offers valuable perspective: "Yes, you can DIY, but then at the end, who are you going to give this baby that you've been nurturing to?" Her insight underscores the importance of having trusted professionals handle the culmination of months of planning, even for budget-conscious couples. Ready to explore stress-free wedding planning? Connect with Tonya through Instagram @PittsburghWeddingPlanner or at weddingsofpittsburgh.com for a consultation that could transform your special day.

To learn more about Weddings of Pittsburgh go to: 

www.weddingsofpittsburgh.com

Weddings of Pittsburgh

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a weddingand event planning company?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Tanya Ettinger, with Weddings ofPittsburgh, Tanya how's it
going?
Fantastical.
How about with you, lila?
Very well, thanks so much.

(00:35):
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business, so
tell us about Well in 1999, myhusband worked for a tech
company and I was a stay at homemom.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
And he came home from work one day golfing with his
buddy, who was a DJ, and he said, hon, I think we want to, I
think I'm going to be a DJ.
And I was like, oh, you'regoing to keep your other job,
though, right.
And he said, yes, I'll work onthe weekends and stuff.
So him and his friend went andstarted DJing in Catanning and

(01:14):
different clubs and stuff likethat, and he was learning the
ropes.
And we took a small investmentloan of $14,000, which made me
nervous because I was like, ohmy goodness, like we borrowed
against our 401k and I was justreally like not loving that.
But it really turned out likemy husband knew the tech and the

(01:36):
electrical and his buddy wasalready a DJ, so he knew that
part of it, and so the two ofthem made a perfect puzzle and
they fit together great.
They learned from each otherand helped each other and his
friend had so much overflow thatSean was my husband was able to
take over and DJ Sean birthedultimate entertaining and so we

(02:01):
started with that.
We started with that and grewfrom there.
I was like, how can I add morevalue?
And that's really kind of likealways my question that I go
back to how can I add more valuefor this client?
And when we started DJing I waslike, okay, could I?

(02:21):
You know, this was in the 1990s, early 2000s most fire hall.
We were doing fire hallweddings then and I would go in
and turn on the lights and openthe cheese trays and set that
out and light the candles andthat kind of things like that.
Just prepare the place where,like now, they have venue

(02:46):
coordinators.
But back then you would go tothe fire hall and that's what
would happen.
So I added value, like that,and called myself Tanya's
reception planning services.
And so then after a while, um,I met a coach at the uh chamber
of commerce and in uh Cranberryand she said we need to get you

(03:07):
a real name.
And I was like, okay, and sothus was birthed Weddings of
Pittsburgh.
Because I thought, well, I willkeep it simple and I want
people to know what I do.
And then, shortly after that, Iwanted to appeal more to
corporate and social.
So we have another website,events of Pittsburgh, and that

(03:29):
is where a sister company ofours does corporate events and
anything social like birthdayparties, quinceaneras, mitzvahs,
anything that you would needsocially or corporate.
During COVID we had to still doweddings but be compliant.

(03:53):
But then so much more wasneeded and so how we were able
to service our clients, we tookthem to big barns and bigger
areas in Mercer and WestVirginia and Ohio so we could
spread out, still have theevents.
But then we needed all therentals so I gifted those to my
clients just to say like, hey,if you're willing to still have

(04:15):
your wedding, then we'll do yourrentals complimentary.
So that's how Event Rentals ofPittsburgh was born, seeing a
pattern here.
I love creating businesses andfulfilling needs that clients
have, and I'm a master draper,my son does floral design,
trevor and our family all workstogether.

(04:38):
We're a family-owned business.
We love the decor and rentalsand I love designing and it
brings me very much joy to be apart of your special day and
just make sure it happenswithout a hitch.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh, spectacular.
What are some myths ormisconceptions in the wedding
industry?

Speaker 3 (04:59):
A lot.
So one myth is yes, you can DIY,but then at the end, who are
you going to give this baby thatyou've been nurturing and now
the baby is the way you want itand you have to pass it off to
somebody?
Why not be somebody that youtrust, Someone that is well

(05:20):
known in the industry that canliterally help you?
Yes, it's great to DIY and youcan possibly save money if you
do it properly.
I would suggest a consultation,because then we can talk things
out and I can guide you in theway to go if you're going to DIY
.
But you definitely still needsomebody in the end, whether

(05:42):
it's a month of planner orsomeone that you're really going
to delegate not your maid ofhonor, because the maid of honor
is there to help you throughthe day and make sure that
everything's good, not to makesure your vendors show up on
time and things like that.
This would, if you're going todo, if you a month of planner is

(06:02):
not in the budget, then I woulddelegate a very good friend
that you don't have in thewedding party.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
That's a good thought .
So whenever you're thinkingabout who you want to sit down
with and consult, who are yourtarget customers and how do you
attract them to the business, soone of my favorite things that
lights me up is design.

Speaker 3 (06:26):
So when I'm looking for a client, I want somebody
that wants to walk with me handin hand and share their design
of what they want.
But they're not a DIYer, theywant everything done for them,
they want everything pampered.
This is where, like, ourconcierge part comes in and the
consultation would be.
We sit down, you tell me allyour desires and wants and wish

(06:49):
lists, much like a realtor.
You're telling them what kindof house.
I need a garage door, I need aman door, I need to grow a stall
garage, I need three bathrooms,like, however that is.
So you tell me I like thesecolors.
What color of blue?
Blue is so variant, every coloris so variant.

(07:11):
So we get really specific and Ispend an hour with you designing
what it's going to look likeand then we can add on a mock-up
where we go take pictures ofthe venue that you're going to
have your event in and then weput all your ideas in there and
it kind of brings it to life oflike what it's going to look
like.
And then we get to do theJoanna Gaines reveal on the day

(07:34):
of your wedding, and I don'tknow.
It just lights me up.
It makes me so happy that I wasable to produce what the client
was looking for, and I reallytry to stay in communication
with our clients.
The other thing that really setsus apart is we have monthly
calls with monthly check-ins.
You can reach us, you know, ifthere's an emergency or if

(07:56):
you're worried about something.
You just want to have ananxiety call or get something
off your chest, of course, butwe do have monthly check-ins
where we're making sure, likehere's the Tanya way, here's the
process, the way we do things.
Have you done this?
And if not, that's okay.
We understand you're workingand you're busy.
We can walk you through that onour check-in.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
I can tell that you really love what you do and that
you have so much information toshare.
Since we know that marketing isthe heart of the business, have
you ever thought aboutcommunicating your heart's work
through a podcast?

Speaker 3 (08:33):
No, not until you reached out to me a podcast.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
No, not until you reached out to me.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
Excellent.
Well, outside of work, what doyou do for fun?
For fun, I love to work.
I do like to read and I crochet.
I just I love woobles.
They're these little people orlike animals that you can
crochet and they have likepenguins and pumpkins and hats
and funny little things.
But I also like to crochet bigpieces, like.

(09:04):
I crocheted this lap blankethere that sits on my lap
sometimes, and then I've doneblankets.
I did a starfish for my baby,but I love my grandbaby.
I love just, I don't knowrelaxing and not thinking and
just zipping away with mycrochet.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
Very fun.
I love to crochet also.
So please tell our listenersone thing that they should
remember remember about Weddingsin Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
One thing is that one call to me and the rest is easy
.
Like again, what sets us apartis the communication.
If you want somebody that willmake sure that you get what you
want, I will be your advocate.
My team and I work very hard to.
When people are telling you no,we're finding a way to say yes

(09:58):
to you because I don't like no.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
It's very good.
And how can our listeners learnmore about Weddings in
Pittsburgh?

Speaker 3 (10:09):
You can find us on Instagram at Pittsburgh Wedding
Planner and you can go to ourwebsite.
And you can go to our website,weddings of Pittsburgh dot com,
and I am very transparent andcommunicative, so my phone
number and my email will be atthe top of the website.

(10:30):
But it's Tanya at Weddings ofPittsburgh.
You want to email me and learnmore or have a chat?
We also do consultations whereI can just talk to you about
your wedding.
Maybe you don't need my fullservices or maybe I can't help
you in that way, but you can geton a consultation call and we

(10:51):
can talk through what immediateproblem is bothering you at this
moment.
Maybe you just need to vent andyou just need to talk to a
trusted advisor that can guideyou on how to do this.
I actually took some collegecourses on psychology and
sociology and that hastremendously helped me, because
the dynamics when you have awedding can get volatile.

(11:15):
Everybody wants things theirway and you just have to
remember like this is your day.
Yes, your parents might bepaying, and that's again where
it helps to have a weddingplanner, because they can
advocate for you and help yourparents to remember that it's
your wedding and also to it'snot a redo for them, and also to

(11:37):
help them understand that ofcourse they want the best for
you, but they're getting,they're getting out in the weeds
worrying about, like, is thisthe way I want it to look?
But it's not really supposed tobe about that.
And so we can gently be themedian person telling them like
hey, remember, this is aboutyour kid, this is, you know,

(11:58):
making their day as special asyour day was, and so that kind
of puts a little different look,look on things.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
Right.
Whenever people want an easybutton for their wedding day,
they just call you Tanya huh,yes.
Well, Tanya, I reallyappreciate your time today and
having you as a guest on ourshow.
We wish you and your businessesthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
Thank you, I receive that.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPPittsburghcom.
That's GNPPittsburghcom, orcall 412-561-9956.