Meet Liz Staniszewski

We were lucky to catch up with Liz Staniszewski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Liz , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

Growing up was not boring to say the least! We were in a different apartment every two years. My dad was around until I was about 9 years old before he decided to leave (returning in time for me to take care of myself in my early teens). From that moment on I was raised by a single mom on welfare. At a very young age I decided that I wouldn’t raise my kids on welfare. I’m definitely not judging; my mom had to do what she had to do to provide in that moment and she did the best she could. So, I did well in school, got good grades and jumped into the work force as early as 15 years old to help my mom. Once I got the taste of making a few dollars, I knew I wasn’t going to be the typical teenage hanging out with friends, going to parties and getting into trouble. Instead, I was looking for extra hours at work, looking to see where I could potentially fit another job in. It was school, work, and home. Although my dad didn’t come back into the picture until later, I did respect his work ethic and his ability to manage his finances. My mother gave me drive and motivation and my father provided the fuel to better myself through continued education, finally earning my bachelors degree at the age of 45.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

How it all started! Pretty simply really. I was at my kitchen table, contemplating how I wanted to retire. Did I want to retire doing my 9-5 as an office manager? I’m such a workaholic, will I ever retire? And if I didn’t retire any time soon, what could I pick up that I would be happy doing? Should I find a side hustle? Then it came to me: I officiated my sister’s wedding 2 years prior and remembered how much fun it was and how putting that ceremony together made me feel. And so, Eureka! Why not start a business as an officiant? Here we are 5 years later and still loving it. I’ve since have brought on 5 officiants, have added on coordination services along with 6 assistant coordinators. I’m so excited for the direction we are headed, offering elopement packages, micro wedding packages, partial and full wedding planning services. It’s certainly exciting, challenging and a continual learning experience. I dive into each service with both feet, providing what we call, “going beyond the contract.” We actually stumbled upon that saying. Our first job as day-of coordinators was quite the challenge as the bride’s decor person was a no-show, and so I just could not see her day fall short of spectacular. So, myself and my assistant rolled up our sleeves and dug in. We created a beautiful event, building an arch, centerpieces, waiting tables; served wine, folded chairs, and cleaned-up…all things outside our wheelhouse. We were exhausted but felt good because we did a good thing. Unfortunately, the bride failed to pay us for our normal services, let alone any additional fees for becoming her decorator, wait and cleaning staff. But that’s OK, it was just another learning experience on this journey of the business. Our process is simple: let’s sit, discuss and answer any questions. Your day belongs to you. Tell us how you envision your day and we’ll be there to execute and manage your event. In an effort to continue to grow, offer new experiences, and set us apart from others, we are always brainstorming ideas- looking to partner with other vendors. And so, we are in the midst of bringing a customizable elopement event this May 2025 with our new partner in Philadelphia, PA.: K’Mich Weddings. We are super excited as we wrap up the final details and can’t wait to start spreading the news! So keep an eye out for those news releases, social media posts, and of course, check out our website and maybe we’ll see you, At-The-Altar!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Networking, I would say is THE most important. They say knowledge is key and boy were they right! Looking back, I would’ve taken more time to talk to others in the field for advice and sense of direction. But I am just impatient, I set my mind to do something and I just jump in. Not a good way to start a business. So, I suggest, going to a few trade shows/expos, see how others are doing it, reach out to other vendors in the industry and pick their brain on what they’ve experienced and then see how you can do it better or different. Next, find your niche and build on that. Do the research before offering a service you’ve never done before. Survey your clients and vendors after, to see what your doing right and what areas you can improve on. Never stop networking within the industry, join social media groups and associations, do be shy to ask questions, you’ll be surprised how many other vendors want to share. This industry is like a revolving door and you always want to stay on top of new and upcoming trends. One other thing, this is a business, so you need to review and research the legalities of what that means, Incorporation, Limited Liability Company, etc. Where do you want to categorize your business? So, educate yourself, network with other vendors in your field, and never stop learning.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

My number one obstacle is advertising and marketing! This can be such a drain on your finances, so trying to find a way to control these expenses while trying to be creative in your social posts, ads, etc. is in itself a full time job. So, what I’m doing to try to combat these expenses or at least keep them at bay is not to hire outside help but to find ways to use what I already know. To put knowledge out there in my posts that would create interest in what else I have to either say or offer. Right now I’m building and scheduling stories and posts for social media, with the help of my very talented editor daughter. I’ve also stopped subscribing to magazines and lead generators that aren’t productive to lower cost, but of course this also means more time building marketing materials yourself. I am committing to creating and scheduling material once a week for the week and hope that it works. It doesn’t always work to stay on schedule, but you have to keep trying and not be afraid to try different things until you find something that is comfortable, works, then make it better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.at-the-altar.com
• Instagram: atthealtar_llc
• Other: TikTok: @atthealtar_llc
  Snapchat: atthe_altar

Image Credits

Brittany Qualls-Molleda Photography, LLC
Kerry Darlene Photography