Referral Trees
One Couple Refers Another, Who Refers Another…
A good way to judge if a professional is truly well-liked is to know how often they get referrals from satisfied customers. Well, here are three “trees” of referrals that I think are pretty impressive:
Gwendolyn, an aesthetician at a terrific salon, saw my website and asked me to perform her wedding to Mark. It was held on the patio at Revival Grill--gorgeous.
A few months later, one of the hair stylists at the salon, who had attended Gwennie’s and Mark’s ceremony, asked me to perform her stepdaughter Casey’s wedding to Alex at Magnolia Manor.
On Gwennie’s and Mark’s first anniversary, I performed the wedding of Carmen and Kirk.
Carmen was the salon’s Nail Technician, as well as a concert pianist! Gwennie’s and Mark’s newborn son, Mark Samuel, was one of the guests of honor! Carmen was born in China and Kirk is from North Carolina, so we had fun combining various traditions in that one, too. Their enchanting wedding was held at the Empire Room, with a stunning view of the city.
You know how I mentioned Caroline’s and McRae’s wedding in the Referral Tree above? They found me because Caroline had been the lactation nurse for both Lindsay, from Tree One, and Gwendolyn, from Tree Two—and both of them had told her that I was the only minister they should consider!
I’ve also performed Baby Welcomings and Blessings for a number of these couples, as well as House Blessings…and have just been invited to the birthday party of the mother of one of my long-ago grooms! When I tell you we become close, I mean it!
Siblings:
Hey, no jokes about North Carolina here!
I’ve performed the wedding of one couple, and then a brother or sister of the bride or groom has asked me to perform their wedding.
One example: sisters Nina & Tina, noted in Tree One above.
Here are Tina and Chad at their backyard ceremony.
Michelle Napier & then her brother Doug
First Tricia and then her sister Kerry:
This is Tricia’s son—already breaking hearts!
These are just a few examples of how referrals have always proven an integral part of my work—there are many more “trees” that have branched over the years. I like to think that having such a strong Referral clientele reflects well on how dearly I love what I do!
Heather and Patrick got married at Magnolia Manor.
One of Patrick’s groomsmen was Derek.
A year later, when Derek proposed to his longtime love Lindsay, he asked me to perform his ceremony. Lindsay & Derek were just about to open a dance club called Thirsty’s Too, & we held the ceremony at their Club.
A year after that, Nina called and introduced herself as a waitress at Thirsty’s Too. Nina, an Iranian Muslim, was marrying a local blonde-and-blue-eyed Christian man named Alex. Lindsay and Derek had told her there was only one person to call. We had a blast, including my transliterating part of the ceremony into Farsi for her family. This ceremony was held in Winston-Salem in Tanglewood Park.
Not long after, a Pakistani Muslim friend of Nina’s sister was marrying a Christian man, and referred Maryam and John to me. This ceremony was held at a Winston-Salem bed & breakfast.
The next year, a couple who dance at Thirsty’s Too every single week—Delores and Jerry, who are both grandparents—decided to tie the knot on the bandstand above the dance floor at the Club.
Not long after, I got a call from a woman named Caroline, who is a lactation nurse at the local hospital and a regular at Thirsty’s Too, who asked me to perform her wedding to McCrae, at the Club. We still email all the time—I love that.
And, just last year, Nina’s sister Tina called me to perform her wedding to the wonderful & handsome Chad Dezern. So all these referrals stem from the wedding of Heather & Patrick so many moons ago. Doesn’t that say a lot for client happiness?!
Now here’s where it really gets interesting.