Meet Danielle Hasting | Danielle Hsting, CMWEP & Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Hasting and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

My professional plan started out as a journalist working for a newspaper and I had no intention of being in the wedding industry let alone a wedding planner.  I have a social, but direct personality that has been a resource to friends who have found themselves in difficult situations and have called upon me for an assertive ally.  Normally they were asking to help them walk through what to say in an email, how to express their concerns with certain situations or a few logistical setup questions.

In one case, two guys I knew from school were putting together a ring ceremony for their close friends and family since gay marriage was not legally recognized at the time and were being blown off by a baker they paid.  Once the owner of the bakery found out that they were a homosexual couple he started changing the price of the cake, adding extra design and travel fees that weren’t discussed on the contract.  They didn’t feel comfortable working with them, but they had paid several hundred dollars toward the ever-rising balance and didn’t want to lose their investment.

They called me devastated and heartbroken after the owner of the bakery left a voicemail with bigoted slurs and stated that even though they booked almost a year out, he was going to keep the money they have paid so far and not make their cake.  I was appalled that a business would treat another person this way and felt that every couple had the right to celebrate their union with supportive vendors.  I put on my best suit, grabbed a briefcase, and headed off to the bakery to speak with the owner in person and find out what was going on.  When I first started talking with him the owner was pleasant and cordial until he found out I was the “planner” for this couple, then he became rude and vulgar.  I told him that my clients have complied with every request and have been understanding up until the point that he left a recording of him verbally harassing them and admitting to stealing their money after the bakery decided to break their contract without cause. I let him know that I will make it a point to advise all of my current and future clients about his unethical business practices as well as the community about what type of business he runs. It’s his right to have an opinion and choose not to offer service, but the deceptive business practices and taking their money knowing he wasn’t going to fulfill the contract was wrong.

That moment was when I knew my calling was to be a wedding advocate for my clients. To give them and their families a safe place to find the services they need and to discuss questions or concerns they have.  That has been the mission statement that has driven this company and the primary reason for every move we have made in the event industry.

Please tell us more about your business. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way? What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

From the creation of our company, I was realistic with my expectations of what I alone could do.  With the understanding that I could not be everywhere, I knew a team needed to be created to be my eyes and hands when I could not be there.  That meant translating the detailed moving pieces that I knew about any event stored in my mind into information my “helping hands” could follow along with and execute without constant direction.  It started with the layout of our client folders and culminated in the 3D styled timeline that we make for each of our full-service and wedding management clients showing what every vendor is doing.  It helped in creating peace-of-mind with the clients to have a full understanding of how the day would go and what they should expect.

Everyone knows that weddings are full of emotions, whether good, bad or ugly, and they can arrive somewhat unexpectedly when confronted with different situations.  Many people in and out of the industry refer to this “ugly” phenomenon as the client being a bridezilla, regardless of gender. Recently people have started copying the moniker by naming people groomzilla, momzilla etc. as a comparison to an out-of-control monster causing destruction in its wake.  Part of my business philosophy is that we do not believe in “bridezillas”.  In this situation, it is a person who has run out of time, money or resources and does not know what to do, so they lash out at their safe place which tends to be the wedding party, fiancé, or close family members.  So, we created our Wedding Boot Camp seminar to be an education resource for couples and contributing members of the spending plan to gather information for realistic expectations on how to approach this celebration.  This has become an integral part of the booking process for our clients.

The next step in our event planning process with our full-service clients is our priority assessment card game to help us discern where potential conflicts between the couple may occur, what the most important priorities of the event are and how to keep them as the focus.  We have developed this mental technique to give us better insight to what each of the couples are thinking individually and how their views will be represented as partners. By understanding the mental and emotional components of a couple, it makes it easier to provide realistic vendor options that align with their spending plan to create the wedding day they envisioned.

We want to advocate for our clients and treat them with the same compassion and respect that we expect as professionals in the wedding industry. We understand better than most the stress and worries that our couples have, so we can walk them through these elevated feelings to create a positive planning experience as they approach the celebration of their upcoming nuptials.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of my favorite restaurants to visit with my girlfriends is Edith’s French Bistro. Their lunch menu is great, but what we really love is dressing up in our finest outfits complete with fancy hats to enjoy their high tea experience. I’m a sucker for beautifully presented tiny food and fancy tea cups.

If we aren’t dolled up for afternoon tea, we are super casual packing our folding chairs and coolers filled with Shiner to camp out on the sidelines of Thunderbird Roller Rink to enjoy roller derby bouts on Saturday nights that we don’t have events. We love supporting our Assassination City Roller Derby league and it is always an exciting night cheering on our ladies.

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love, and encouragement of others. So, is there a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?

I wouldn’t have my strength of character or compassionate heart without the love and guidance from my parents.  They managed the fiery spirit of my youth without diminishing the determination of my mind and encouraged the drive to create something of my own in the world. They have taught me that in pursuit of my dreams I will be met with obstacles, but not to give in to what may seem impossible.  Just take a moment to breathe, regroup and then start again.  After one of our movie nights we decided on our family motto that encompassed the spirit of those words. Never Give Up. Never Surrender.

My perseverance is balanced by the kindness that I seek to surround myself with and I found that in my amazing and supportive husband.  Being a life partner to an entrepreneur is not a smooth journey, but he has created a peaceful and loving space for me to land.  It is that safe place that I strive to create for my clients to experience and what helps to set us apart from other businesses. This man fills my soul with love, and I could not imagine anything better than the life we share with our two kids.

Having the support of my professional peers is just as important as the personal support from my loved ones.  It is a privilege to be working alongside my business partner Catherine to create the uplifting and unique boutique store front of Flowers & Events. Her creativity inspires us all to think outside the box to design inspirational events for our clients.  I tell people that she speaks “flower” in a way that the client can relate to and translates what they are imagining into a description of their wedding vision. Getting to work with the energy Catherine brings to the shop every day brings a joy to my heart, and I am grateful for the friendship and partnership we share.

Website: www.onefinedaytx.com

Instagram: @onefinedaytx

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onefineday/

Twitter: @onefinedaytx

Facebook: @onefinedaytx

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/one-fine-day-plano

Youtube: One Fine Day LLC

Other: TikTok; @onefinedaytx

Image Credits
ripped pants.jpg – Rusted Stone Photography Dani Fix It.JPG – OFD Media Danielle Head Shot 1.jpg – Rusted Stone Photography DulinWright-463.jpg – One Love Photography Hanhing Lights.JPG – OFD Media IMG_1803.JPG – OFD Media IMG_4696.JPG- OFD Media IMG_6301.jpg – AR Photography ONEFINEDAY-24.jpg One Love Photography