Epic Elopements sees success, soon to rebrand
Published by: Star Beacon
By Christopher Gillett
Original article found here
Amber Massey sits at the intersection of weddings, hospitality, local tourism and the Grand River Valley wine industry through her business Epic Elopements.
Living in Madison, Massey plans many small weddings in Ashtabula and Lake counties and other locations throughout Ohio.
“We are essentially like the wedding client, and we are hosting the event for our couple,” she said. “We’re literally bringing the flowers. We’re bringing the cake. We’re officiating the wedding. We take care of the music and stuff or the ceremony.”
Massey started planning her business in 2019.
She said many tourists told her at the time there was no way to plan a small wedding in the area.
“If you wanted to plan a big wedding, there’s tons of places,” Massey said. “You just Google it, and you find a place.”
Massey said she initially thought the venture would be a side business. Epic Elopements hosted its first weddings in 2021.
“When we first started, I was just going to do elopements, and we were going to do pop-up weddings, which were popular at the time,” she said.
The business started small, Massey said.
“I just thought that it would be a great asset to be able to offer something like that here,” she said.
Massey said her experience in the hospitality industry prepared her for important aspects of wedding planning.
“It’s not just the financial investment and the logistics that go into it,” she said. “You’re dealing with a lot of emotion, and a lot of emotional investment, and not just from the couple, but from all the family members.”
The wedding industry can be a gig economy, Massey said.
“We see people float in and out of it, who maybe aren’t professionals, per se,” she said. “It makes it a more competitive market, because some couples want something super low-budget, and some want something super high-up.”
Massey said her business focuses on smaller weddings, and the logistics of making the experience special and memorable.
“Our clients are normally people who are very mindful,” she said. “They want an intimate event. They want to be able to connect with their people, see all of their guests, and they want it to be nice, but they don’t want to spend frivolously.”
Massey had networked with many local venues through her time in the hospitality industry, she said.
A long-time business partner of hers is South River Vineyard owner Gene Sigel, she said.
Massey said South River had stopped offering weddings, because they felt it did not fit their business. But she convinced Sigel to let her run her smaller weddings while letting him keep up his winery.
“It really has been a wonderful working relationship,” she said.
Massey said her business’ smaller weddings have proven more convenient for local wineries.
Epic Elopements has connected with other local wineries, including Debonné Vineyards, Buccia Vineyards, Cask 307 and Baci Winery, she said.
Massey said her network allows her to provide many options for clients, while understanding local challenges.
While many of Massey’s weddings take place in Ashtabula and Lake counties, she said most clients come from outside the area looking for a scenic and romantic venue.
“People, they know of this area because of the wineries, and then of course Geneva-on-the-Lake, and all of the marketing that’s been done and the tourism,” she said.
Massey said her work occasionally takes her to other parts of the state.
“We’re in Columbus a couple times a year, Youngstown [and] Akron,” she said. “I have a wedding coming up in February in Dayton.”
Since Epic Elopement’s start, Massey said she has expanded her work.
“Last year ... we ventured out and we started doing larger events, which was never my goal,” she said.
Many people recommended Massey to others, expanding her work. She has hosted some larger events.
“The biggest event we’ve done so far has been 300,” she said.
The growth of the business has provided some challenges, Massey said.
“Other than that, we really haven’t had any major challenges,” she said. “It’s been really great. The people have been really wonderful.
“Our couples are amazing, and this past year, we started to bring on a full-time staff. It wasn’t anything I ever thought I was going to do.”
Still Epic Elopements focuses on smaller weddings, which can number around 20-30 people, Massey said.
With the expansion, Massey said her business is preparing to rebrand as Epic Elopements and Events.
“We’re partnering with Holden Arboretum and taking over all the events there starting this year,” she said.
Massey said she initially worked with many older couples, and people on their second, third or fourth marriages.
“The oldest couple I had was in their mid-70s, which was really sweet,” she said. “They’d been together forever.”
As her business has evolved, Massey said her client’s age demographics have skewed younger.
“It’s been really cool to see the shift in that,” she said.
Smaller weddings have become more popular recently, Massey said.
“People are really struggling, and they’re having to make some really hard decisions of ‘What do we really want?’ and ‘What can we do without?’” she said.
Massey said she focuses on finding out what costs couples can cut on their wedding day by asking them what they would find most memorable.
“You only get that one moment,” she said.
Rising costs and inflation has been a major factor in the interest in smaller weddings, Massey said.
“People will figure out how to afford the thing they want,” she said. “There is nobody more resourceful than a bride. If we let brides be in control of the economy, we’d probably all be doing really well, because they will figure out how to stretch a penny.”
Massey said many older couples she worked with on their second or third marriage notice weddings now are much more expensive.
“That’s why we’re seeing trends of pizza at weddings, barbecue at weddings, because it’s a lot less expensive than a formal dinner,” she said.
Many parents cannot afford to pitch in as much as they used to for their children’s weddings, Massey said.
“A lot of couples are really on their own,” she said. “They don’t really have help from family members.”
Larger wedding planners are shifting and providing plans for micro-weddings, Massey said.
“Because of the economy, venues are starting to mimic what we’ve been doing the whole time,” she said.
People can reach out to Epic Elopements through its website epicallyelope.com, or through its Facebook and Instagram pages.