Meet Angela Christoforo

We recently connected with Angela Christoforo and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I have always been a very motivated person and determined to excel at any task I have to complete. My parents were a great influence on my work ethic. I remember my mother had bought me this kid’s typewriter when I was in elementary school and I loved to use it to do my school work. My third grade teacher once told my mom I was the only student who would type up my homework. I wanted my homework to be the best work and in the years that followed that was pretty much the same for everything I set out to do. I have always worked hard inside and outside of the classroom.

My mother was a bit of perfectionist and always kept things very neat and orderly around our house. She also worked very hard at everything she did as a creative. She was very artistic and would do small art projects for friends. When I was in college, my mom started a cleaning business which was very hard work. My father came from a large Italian family and his father and some of his siblings were entrepreneurs. As a child growing up in a poor family, my father had to work at a very young age and learn more hands on. He started working on cars at the age of 12 and as I was growing up he always worked for himself. I watched him over the years work so hard and be so committed to his work and the people he worked for. As a teenager, my parents encouraged me to get a job and earn my own money for the things I wanted. I was always told as child by my parents if I wanted something I had to work hard for it and earn it.

As I got older and worked for other employers, I watched how dedicated they were to their businesses and learned from them. I worked in a law office right out of college and I remember this one attorney who would always be the first person into the office at 7am and the last person to leave at night. He even would come in on weekends to work. I was inspired by how hard he worked. He was a very smart man and always impressed me with his work ethic. I believe our families and the people we work with are the ones that shape our work ethic.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My focus on weddings has always been focused around the couple and their story and making the day feel unique to them. As my business grew and evolved a bit, I listened to what my couples wanted more of. On of those desires was hosting events at non-traditional venues. Focusing on bringing non-traditional elements to their events has been something our clients have always asked for. That carries over into what we do as a business as well. We embrace the old traditions that are important to our clients and mix that with new traditions they want to create. As my brand and company evolved more into what it is today, I wanted to it to be a reflection of the couples we enjoy working with the most. Our strength is really in taking a very raw, non-traditional space and creating something that feels and represents the couple and feels comfortable for the diverse group of guests they are sharing the day with.

My company focuses on creative, smooth and stress-free planning process for couples getting married at very non-traditional venues. The client and guest experience is a very important part of our brand. When I started my business in 2012, I knew right away that I didn’t want to create cookie-cutter events in traditional banquet halls and that still stand true for the company today. Our services typically start with venue scouting, helping the couple to find the perfect venue in whatever destination they love. After we have helped them find the perfect venue, we are at their side from start to finish in planning every detail. Our clients typically choose to host multi-day wedding weekends.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I worked as a paralegal at the time I was starting my business and I think the skills I developed as a paralegal really were an asset to my business and planning weddings. I also worked in a diversity of industries prior to my career as a paralegal and those job brought skills to my business as well. Some of those jobs were in sales, banking, insurance and hospitality. I also completed a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management which gave me great insight into running a business and every aspect of hospitality from restaurant and catering to hotels and event management. I am always learning. I would recommend to anyone just starting out the journey to learn as much as they can and shadow someone experienced so they can set themselves up for success. Take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way even if you think it’s not related to your industry. I found great information learning from business owners outside my industry as well.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz about 6 years ago and that really changed things financially in my business. It was life changing for my business and personal finances. At the time I read it, I had just left my full-time job and moved into being full-time with my business so making sure my finances were in order was top priority. I recommend it to anyone just starting out in business or business owners who are not great at handling the financial side of their business. Mike Michalowicz has written several business books which have been impactful on my business. I also recommend his book Clockwork. After I read Clockwork, I took the Run Like Clockwork program which is a spinoff of what they talk about in the book. It really transformed the way I work in my business with systems and process and allowed me to expand my team quickly and efficiently. It also allowed me to set my business up to be able to take time off from the business and it run itself. Both Profit First and Clockwork are my top recommendations for books to read for all business owners at any level of business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christoforaevents.com
• Instagram: @christoforaevents
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christoforaevents

Image Credits

Image 1 and 2 – Katie Osgood Photography
Image 3 – Herenorth photography
Image 4 – Brian David Weddings
Image 5 – JP Elario
Tent photos (image 6 and 8) – Elena Wolfe Photography
Image 9 – Monika Eisenbart