Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin and Chris Moody.
Erin and Chris, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2015 I, a self proclaimed furniture hoarding RN, and a very talented contractor, Chris, got hitched. We moved to a small farm in Ramona, CA. Initially, we had opened our property up as a vacation rental on Airbnb in late 2016 to earn some extra side money. As time went on more of our guests requested to use our property for weddings and events. As a new family, Chris and I were up for anything that helped pay the bills. I’ve always loved weddings. Weddings are happy occasions and bring out the best in people, which is the complete opposite of life in the hospital. So in 2017, we agreed to host weddings.
One couple that rented our property was on a very tight budget and asked me if I had any decorative things laying around that she could use for her wedding. I was initially embarrassed to admit that my entire 2 car garage and 1/2 of my barn was stuffed like a clown car full of furniture, decor, and antiques. I reluctantly told her that she was welcome to look around to see if anything I had was what she had in mind. Hesitantly, I opened my garage, I heard a gasp from behind me. Feeling exposed as a hoarder, I winced and stated: “I know it’s bad right?!”. The bride stood their hands clasped and shaking her head. She burst out that it was amazing. While climbing through the piles of pillows she muttered that I should rent this stuff out. It was like a light switched on for me. Maybe she was on to something. That night Chris and I talked about starting a business. Over the next couple of months, we had couples asking if we had farm tables. Chris being the amazing builder, said he’d make a couple of tables.
In the spring of 2018, Chris’s sister passed our information to a friend of hers that was needing farm tables for a styled photoshoot she was doing at a local golf course. With two farm tables and eight benches, we participated in our first wedding photoshoot. We received professional photographs of our tables and benches beautifully decorated that we uploaded to our social media and our new website. That month we went and filed for a business name, opened a bank account and went live. Within 30 days we were booked out for the entire summer, fall and most of the winter.
Chris and I continued to work full time as we grew the business, I was a nurse and him as a contractor. We ended up booking so many weddings and events for 2019 and 2020 that Farm & Field Events, our side business stated to become our primary source of income. Over this past summer, I left my job at the hospital to focus on Farm & Field Events. It has been a whirlwind and we are continually amazed by how fun our business is for us and how much we love what we do.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s been completely a smooth road. There have been a few potholes along the way. Working full time and being available 100% to couples was hard. I would have to schedule phone conferences with clients while I was on break at work. Bedside nurses are notorious for not being able to take breaks on time or not taking breaks at all, so I’d have to sneak off to the “bathroom” to call people back. Working as a husband and wife team can be challenging, mostly in a good way. Working with Chris has improved our communication and teamwork. We laugh a lot which makes it fun.
Please tell us about your business.
Farm & Field Events specializes in farm tables, arches, lounge rentals and rustic decor. We are known for our custom built furniture and arches that couples rent out to give their weddings a unique warm vibe. Along with our beautiful furniture we are known for our speedy customer service and willingness to help out. I can’t begin to tell you how many times we hear “thank you for the quick response!” and “thank you for helping create a perfect wedding!”. We are most proud of our relationships we’ve built within the wedding community, how fast we’ve grown, and all of the publications that have featured our work. Our positive attitude, follow through, and willingness to bring dream weddings to life sets us apart.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We define success by how we are feeling. If what we are doing makes us happy then that is a success. We believe in the law of attraction, positive thoughts bring about positive outcomes and attract positive people who want to work with you and want to do business with you. I know that sounds over simplified but it works for us. We started our business out of nothing and here we are almost two years later, happy, not in debt, and creating gorgeous weddings. I’d say that is a success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.farmandfieldevents.com
- Phone: 619-916-7873
- Email: hello@farmandfieldevents.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/farmandfieldevents
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/farmandfieldevents
- Other: @farmandfieldevents
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