Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadine Todd.
Hi Nadine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started in the service industry as a bartender at age 18 in Texas, learning to make all my favorite cocktails. Once I honed my skills, I started working at a restaurant where I bartended and waited tables at a high-end seafood restaurant from the Ship Channel in Houston. After serving and bartending there for 6 months, they moved me up to catering and private events, where my planning and event journey began. I learned so much running the private parties and helping handle the catering side of weddings, retirement parties, quinceaneras, etc. By age 22, I was well-rounded in the industry and genuinely loved my work. I ended up working in the event side of things for 5 years. Steve, my business partner and dad, found a venue space in Leroy, Oh, and purchased the property in 2016. The property and building had been vacant for years, so many updates were made over the following years. While the updates were underway, we started formulating a plan for a venue that had an all-inclusive option in our area. I was set to begin running the venue in 2020, as we all know the best year to try and start my planning business within the venue. I looked at COVID-19 to get many ideas in motion while awaiting the 2021 season.
I had about 8 weddings in 2020, where I was a one-person team and did everything. It was so fun, but a lot of work. I brought on my first employee, Cailin, and together, we rocked out quite a few weddings in 2021. I was so grateful to start seeing the fruit of all the hard work we had put in. In 2022, we had 42 weddings in the books, so I hired another team member, Avire, who was the perfect addition to our trio. With my dad and these two girls by my side, we steadily grew our business in 2022 and 2023. I feel so lucky to have found such an excellent core team. This is where we were really beginning to scale our wedding business, and now, for 2024, I have a team of 6 coordinators who work with me and all of our amazing couples! We are fully booked every weekend of the wedding season here in Ohio for 2024, and we love it! We are excited about all the new updates and changes implemented in 2025 as our business and team continue to grow! I did start at the bottom and climbed to the top. I have had some fantastic help along the way to create a luxury, all-inclusive wedding experience for our amazing bridal couples!
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been relatively smooth so far?
Not a smooth road at all, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way! It helped me grow as a wedding planner and venue owner. Starting such a big-picture idea out with such a small team had its trials, but I am grateful for all we learned. I used every stepping stone as a building block for our foundation, and we have a beautiful, smooth sailing ship now with the team we have grown!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Sugar Lake Weddings?
We are an intimate luxury wedding venue and love tailor-making every wedding we hold. The venue can hold up to 120 guests with beautiful lakeside views, an enchanted forest ceremony space, a gorgeous courtyard, and an upscale industrial building perfect for garden party-styled weddings! We have indoor and outdoor options for every aspect of the wedding day. We are set apart in the industry by providing an all-inclusive custom wedding experience, where we handle everything so our couples can be fully present with friends and family on their wedding day. We are so proud of the space, team, and vendors we collaborate with. We have worked diligently to provide our couples with the best level of service and access to the best vendors and options in the Northeast Ohio area. If you can dream it, we can make it happen!
What matters most to you? Why?
We hope that our couples have the most fantastic day and that we continue to grow, making beautiful connections and collaborating along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sugarlakeweddings.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarlakeweddings/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sugarlakeweddings
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/sugarlakeweddings/
Image Credits
J. Lynne Photography, Tyler James Photography, Emily Rose Photography
