Meet Jasmyn Richardson | Founder, CEO, and Lead Officiant

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

Hi Jasmyn, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
The great thing about Joined By Jasmyn is that we will marry everyone. We have taken huge strides in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially with the creation of our non-profit called Queerly Beloved. We have also taken a strong stance ensuring that we make all couples feel loved and valid so that they can have the wedding day that they desire. We are a growing name in the local Hispanic community. We perform weddings in Spanish as well and that has been huge for my business. It also makes sure that Hispanic couples that do not want to get married in the Catholic church with a priest know what their options are. Being a black owned, woman owned, LGBTQIA+ owned business that performs weddings in English and Spanish opens the doors to care for a large range of communities and to make sure that love always wins.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Joined By Jasmyn was created to help couples have the wedding day of their dreams. The scripts for their ceremony are individually crafted to their desires. They are presented with a script before the ceremony so that they can make sure that it is exactly what they want. I have been told that all officiants do not do this, however, I think it is an extremely important step in making sure that the ceremony goes as planned. We also provide bilingual ceremonies in both English and Spanish which has been major in growing my business. We want to take care of all people, so whether you are religious or pagan, in a same-sex or other queer relationship, you speak English or Spanish, or anything else, we want to officiate your ceremony!

I am most proud of the way that my business has grown in such a short span of time. Since 2020 we have performed 350-400 weddings and we have many more on the books. I am also super proud of our non-profit Queerly Beloved as 2022 was the inaugural year. I can’t even contain my excitement about the associate officiants that I have hired, Mesia Davis and Sarah Garcia. I can’t wait to see where Joined By Jasmyn will go from here!

Getting to this point has been so hard and so tiring. I have sacrificed a lot of time with the important people in my life, so I am working really hard to make the struggle worth it. The only way that I have been able to overcome obstacles is to face them head on. Even more importantly, I have been able to depend on amazing family and friends that help by picking up the slack.

Through this process, I have learned so much about myself and my will. I have stepped out into situations where I felt entirely out of place and blow the ceremony out of the water. A few important lessons are to always have good sound and sometimes I will make a mistake, and that’s ok! Most of the time, people don’t really notice anyways, so I try not to let small hiccups throw me off my game. One of the biggest and most impactful lessons was that everyone is not meant to be my client. I have seen over and over how I have avoided negative people and situations when I allow difficult customers to move on and find the officiant that is right for them. I know now that that person is not always me.

I want the world to see a Black, queer, woman out here making big moves in the wedding industry. I want to be who you call on when you wanted to have the ceremony that you imagined. I want the world to see me embracing everyone, especially people just like me. Maybe if I spread some love, then others will pay it forward. I want the world to watch us because we are here and we are getting bigger and better! We have some big things happening at Joined By Jasmyn so don’t take your eyes off of us! It’s only up from here!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
What a tough question! There is anything and everything to do in the DFW. I’m in Fort Worth, so I would definitely spend some time on 7th Street and in Sundance Square. I absolutely love the margaritas at Velvet Taco, so a stop there is a must! Spa time at King Spa and downtown Dallas dining sounds fab. We could go out on a boat on Lake Lewisville or to Grandscape in The Colony. A gondola ride on Lake Carolyn in Las Colinas is so relaxing and beautiful. If they want some high end shopping, we could head to Clearfork or North Park. There is no shortage of food or fun in the metroplex!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would definitely have to give huge shots out to my absolute biggest supporter who is my husband Timothy Richardson. He has been by my side at all of the weddings, bridal shows, open houses, styled shoots, and any other event that I drag him to with me. He is always willing to get out there and promote my business and he is usually talking my skills up to anyone who will listen. I’m also grateful to my mom Terri Alfred and my sister Ashleigh Stallings for making sure that my kids are well cared for while I am at weddings. I have truly come across so many wonderful people in this industry and many of them have become close friends. I look forward to building strong, lasting relationships as I navigate the wedding industry.

Website: www.joinedbyjasmyn.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/joinedbyjasmyn

Facebook: www.facebook.com/joinedbyjasmyn

Image Credits
The Burrow: Wedding and Portrait Photography Michelle Ray Photography Chevy Chey Photo and Video JCi Creatives ZLuna Photography by Nadia Pink Light Weddings/Pink Light Images Weirdo Weddings Enrique Pizarro Photography and Video Nevels Media