Travels Of The Texas Twins- My Multigenerational Wedding & Event Business…

Does anyone really know what they want to be when they grow up?  I didn’t either and my childhood would be derailed by taking several jobs at a time with my twin sister, Cindy Daniel in order to get by.  We left home at 15 years old and lied about our ages in order to find jobs. Earning a living was (at the time) far more important than our educations.  We both went to college in our 20’s and successfully completed associate degrees with a 3.8 average while working two jobs each to pay for tuition and our books.  When I ask our little twins what they want to be when they grow up, they both quickly say they want to do weddings at work at Texas Twins Treasures with their families.  Maryssa and Makenna both are in the honor rolls at Austin Elementary and we are blessed that they enjoy keeping their grades high.  Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been unable to complete the injection portion of my nurses training class so many years ago but, I believe in fate and play the cards that life has dealt to me alongside my sister.  I just wasn’t cut out to be a nurse and this dissapointed my grandmother to no end.

Being a twin was perhaps the luckiest “break” we had.  Struggling to survive, our first jobs were at restaurants to keep from starving because we had no one to rely on other than each other.  We had no mother or father to call when we needed rent money or the car broke down.   

Our journey has many adventures and several of them were not funny at the time, but we laugh at the joys we’ve shared and the tragedies we’ve overcome.
Between us, we have three adult children.  My son Robert Hafele married and now I have a daughter in law, Stephanie Hafele.  Cindy had two daughters, Leigh Ann and Stephanie who were singlehandedly raised by both of us without the benefit of child support.  
Stephanie became pregnant with twins at 15 years old with the Little Pawners, Maryssa and Makenna Mahaney and has raised them without child support for 11 years.  We have worked various jobs throughout our lives and were the most successful at sales jobs.  We’ve never been rich or affluent, we were destined to instead be survivors and adept at “working it out.”  Together, we helped each other through lean times and times of unemployment for both of our husbands who are much older than us.

 Involving our children in the business was never pre-planned.  Instead, they watched how we worked to create floral designs and buy camera equipment and after meeting these families and hearing their stories, decided to “jump in” and help with what evolved into a family business.

  

Leigh Ann married Alex and they were recently blessed with latest Little Pawner, Madyson Elizabeth Blais. 

 My son and his wife don’t have children and have decided to wait and start a family.  Robert and Stephanie work hard at getting beautiful photos for families whether they can afford to pay them- or not.  When families don’t have money to pay low cost A La Cart options at Texas Twins Events, we have a sister site that takes trades We take trades- submit your story and trade today!

  Maryssa and Makenna Mahaney have been a part of numerous weddings acting as flower girls, ring bearers and ushers- they too saw how important what we do is and wanted to be a part of it. 

When I’m asked if I planned starting a business based on people over profit, my answer is more complex since I never dreamed of owning and operating a wedding business.    
The truth is that my son’s wedding required me doing many things myself including all of the bouquets and centerpieces in order to save money and after accomplishing that task, I decided that there must be other families facing the same struggles. The hundreds of families that I’ve helped with my family by giving the gift of a Dream Event prove that what started out as an idea found a market for many families who had nowhere to turn.

  

  

  

So, while I never intended to be a Minister, Floral Designer, Event Coordinator or refurbishing specialist- thyroid cancer took my life in another direction and gave me a window to spend more time with my family while helping others along the way. Many of you question why I wear poncho styled vestments rather than a suit to officiate at religious ceremonies and the answer is due to my thyroid medications that bounce my weight around as well as the incision across my neck.  I couldn’t wear a collar due to the incision site.  My suits were often too big or too small based on my bouncing medication doses and this is why I wear vestments- they ALWAYS fit!         

Many of my vestments are from Europe and some are trades from my Ebay store Texas Twins Treasures- Something for everyone!   My religious clothing is often based on the colors of the wedding and my wardrobe of choice because they are comfortable and work well for my ceremonies. 

   
While I might have never imagined the possibility of doing what I do for others as a child- my life is an adventure of sorts finding a flip, refurbishing it and selling the item still involves a “selling process” and I’m very good at selling quality items while adding to the inventory to have “something for everyone.”   

At the end of the day you could say that my initial plan of being a nurse didn’t pan out because I didn’t have time to go to school because my sister and I were too busy working and paying the bills but, together we have overcome many things and we’ve learned that our struggle was a struggle shared by many others who, just like us, struggled to pay for a wedding for their kids.  Don’t ask us why- ask yourself why not!

Many families simply can’t afford 10-20k for a wedding or other important event.  Helping these families has been an honor not only for me but also for my family.  Teaching our children compassion is perhaps the greatest “fringe benefit” of operating a family business.  As I look over all the photos of the past four years and my smiling Texas Twins Events Team- I realize that our journey is one that the older children will enjoy telling their grandchildren one day when they ask them “what they want to be when they grow up?”

Wendy M Wortham Low Cost Wedding & Event Services