Meet Amanda Ventura

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

Hi Amanda, how does your business help the community?
While it might not be curing cancer or saving the rainforests, the part I play in this world is taking on the stress of a wedding for someone else so that their mind can be solely on the person at the end of the altar and they can find joy in, what can be, a stressful situation. I find that my help comes in the form of peace of mind: knowing that someone has your back on your wedding day and will do what it takes to make it the best day possible, without having to worry about a thing. I might ask my brides and grooms which napkin fold they like best or invite them to take a sneak peek of their space before show time, but my goal is to keep so organized that everything goes according to the plan that I’ve made while also being savvy enough to handle the problems that might inevitably arise without my clients ever knowing about them. So when a caterer comes to me right before dinner service and tells me that they won’t bus tables, or when a vendor’s vehicle dies blocking in a hotel guest five minutes before the ceremony begins; we’ve seen it before and we’ll be ready to handle it. While my name won’t go down in any history books, they’ll be in the hearts of the people that I helped create a magical day for: people that trusted me to take care of their vision and provide them with a stress-free day where they could focus on the most important thing at a wedding: each other. I’m so grateful to have found a career that gives me the opportunity to help others by doing something that also brings me so much happiness: it’s truly the gift of a lifetime.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The name of my business is Amanda Joy Coordinating! Although Amanda Joy is my legal name, it also completely represents how I want my clients to feel throughout their wedding process with me: joyful. I know that the wedding planning process can be stressful wading through a mountain of decisions, accomplishing many tasks often on a short timeline, and trying to keep everyone informed, on the same page, and happy. However, I have always been a planner and incredibly organized and therefore crafting timelines, managing vendors, and creating lists is my virgo idea of a good time. After spending eight years in a profession that I didn’t truly enjoy, I feel so lucky and blessed to have finally found the career that brings me joy everyday and I also know how special it is to be able to celebrate finding your forever life partner. So therefore, I don’t want my clients to worry about the little details like vendors showing up on time or getting their napkins folded just right: I want them to truly enjoy and celebrate the beginning of their happily ever after. That’s why when my clients book with me, I want them to feel confident that I have their timeline, their vendor communications, their wedding ceremony, reception setup and tear down, and everything little thing in between under control so that they get to focus on what’s really important; finding joy in each other on their wedding day. At the end of the day, I want my clients to have as much fun in the wedding planning process and on their wedding day as I’m having finally getting to live out my dream job.

It might sound crazy, but after teaching 11th grade U.S. History for eight years, I genuinely feel like I’m an expert in managing chaos. When I first began teaching, I hadn’t student-taught before, meaning I had essentially no classroom experience except for the things that I was taught in college, which does very little to prepare you for the real world of dealing with teenagers! Therefore, I had to learn to think on the fly and constantly adapt to meet the needs of my students; a skill that’s translated well into my wedding coordinating day-to-day as well. It might not have been the traditional way of entering the wedding industry, but my years in education gave me the instruction that I needed to prepare for my career in wedding coordinating. After almost a decade of spending my days with sixteen year olds, there’s not a lot that can scare me. IEPs and their accompanying paperwork, differentiating curriculum for different learners, and the ever-evolving rotation of new classroom technology always had me on my toes and taught me how to keep both myself and my students organized. And trying to foster relationships with 150+ different students each school year gave me the interpersonal skills needed to manage vendors, venue coordinators, and difficult family members. While teaching wasn’t a career that I knew I would commit my life to, I’m thankful for the lessons that helped me flourish when I found my calling in coordinating.

I think I’d like to tell the world that if you book with Amanda Joy Coordinating, you’re going to hear dad jokes, and some bad ones at that, and you’re probably going to see my sick dance moves as I make the rounds at your reception. But on top of that, you’re also going to get a dedicated and professional organizer who will protect your vision and your wedding like it was their own. Weddings are supposed to be fun; therefore, the wedding coordinating process with me is going to be fun too. No matter how stressful a wedding can be, you’re going to find joy on your wedding day when you book with Amanda Joy Coordinating.

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?
With so much to see and do in Houston, you really can’t go wrong in trying to show off all the amazing things this city has to offer. However, if one of my friends was coming to Houston for a whole week, I know that I’d want to show them around the Heights neighborhood that I’m so lucky to call home.

On Monday, I’d take them to lunch at the Post to check out the local vendors and current art installation before we head to Street Food Thai Market for dinner and the Houston Cider Company across the street for drinks. Tuesday we would swing by Antidote for cold brew and walk Memorial Walk or the Arboretum, eat at Pinkerton’s for lunch, and go to Be More Pacific for dinner and some karaoke! Wednesday, we would start the day eating breakfast at Ema and then head over to 19th Street for shopping, Boomtown Coffee, and then attend a show at the Heights Theater. Thursday morning we could walk the Bayou Trail to Homestead for a breakfast pancake flight, have a few cocktails at Eight Row Flint for happy hour, and then finish the day with Bingo and sour beers at Eureka Heights. Friday would be dedicated to desserts at El Bolillo, exploring the Houston Farmers Market, and seeing a show at White Oak Music Hall. Saturday morning we would head to Superica for their amazing pancakes and spend the afternoon at Saint Arnold’s Brewery before walking over to Meow Wolf. Lastly, Sunday we would grab smoothies at Mamaka before heading over to the Heights Mercantile Market and finishing the afternoon with wine and bruschetta boards at Postino.

I know that there are so many other amazing foods, sights, and things to do in Houston, but these are the places that make Houston feel like home to me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be where I am today without my friend Amanda and her husband Philip; a beautiful couple who believed in me despite my inexperience, trusted me with their wedding wholeheartedly, and unknowingly changed my life forever.

Long before I had ever considered entering the wedding industry, Amanda had asked me for help while she was planning her own wedding. Up to that point, the only wedding experience I had was planning my own wedding and being a part of, I’m not kidding, nearly 20 weddings throughout my twenties. I had learnt and seen a lot in my countless roles as bridesmaid, maid of honor, grooms-woman, and even wedding dog caretaker, but when I was asked to take on the role of wedding coordinator for her and her fiance, I was elated, but so nervous. I knew that my eight years teaching high school had given me the skills that I needed to work and thrive under pressure, but I also knew that weddings were so special and I didn’t want to be the reason that theirs wasn’t the best day ever. Despite my own hesitancy, Amanda was never bothered by my lack of experience. She trusted me with their timeline, vendor communications, wedding setup, and believed that I could and would tackle any problem that arose on the day of – and I did. I was able to provide them with the successfully-executed wedding day that they had dreamed of, and the joy of being able to be a part of their love story and give them that was a feeling that I would never forget. It was that day, their wedding day, that I realized that I had found my calling.

Without Amanda and Philip’s trust and faith in me, I’m not sure that I would have found this career that brings me so much joy. I’m forever grateful to the Ballards for the gift that they gave me when they asked me to be their wedding coordinator.

Website: https://amandajoycoordinating.my.canva.site/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandajoycoordinating/

Other: Email – amandajoycoordinating@gmail.com

Image Credits
Amanda Michelle Photo + Film
Lauren Prevatte Photography