If you see someone at the Castle that looks like she may have personal stylist, it’s almost sure that you’re looking at Dani. Not one for bold colors, Dani rocks the power neutrals with dark contrasts on a daily basis. Her personality is much like her clothing- easy going with a sharp intelligence. Danielle, or Dani for short, graduated for WMU with a Bachelor’s in Business Marketing and a minor in Art. She loves digital design and playing around in Photoshop. Originally she planned to be a graphic designer, but life and love led her in another direction.
After a short stint in Chicago after graduation, she started working in a tasting room of a winery. At the time, she couldn’t tell difference between boxed wine and nice vintage. Now a self-proclaimed wine snob, she is familiar with different varietals as well as styles of wine making. She loves a variety of wines now, and subscribes to the adage “different mood, different meal” instead of having a single favorite. She met her boyfriend Kyle while working in the tasting room. He was a marketer for the same company and they quickly became inseparable. While she enjoyed discussing marketing with him, she soon realized that it wasn’t her passion. She enjoys being more hands on as well as working collaboratively with people on projects. Enter wedding planning.
After only 3 months in the tasting room, an Event Coordinator position opened up and she was moved up. She enjoyed the job but decided after 2 years that it was time for a change of scenery and came to Castle Farms as a Venue Coordinator. When asked about her favorite part of working with weddings, she replies that she really likes whole process of planning- helping find out what the couple is looking for, thinking of, or wants for their wedding. She likes helping with specialty linen orders and suggesting different layouts that would work well for the wedding. She also likes carriage entrances and the opportunity to fluff the bride’s train. However, her favorite thing is a little more unusual. Believe it or not, she loves having an ear piece for her radio. It makes her feel “very important”, she laughingly tells me. It’s not just Dani that likes the technology- one of her brides said it made her feel like she had the secret service on her big day; the bride even wanted a code name. On a more serious note, Dani says that when she goes to the bridal suite to tell the bride that it’s time, sometimes they get nervous or emotional, and that gets her every time. It’s easy to understand though. “It’s actually happening. All their planning has led to this moment, and that can be a little overwhelming, “she explains. Dani always has a few tissues and words of encouragement ready.
Dani’s soft side is readily apparent when she talks about her pets. She gushes about her family dog “Remmie”, or Sir Remington Mullen if you want to get official. He suffered from a disease common to Springer spaniels and unfortunately lost his sight at an early age. “He gets around great!”she says, even though she admits he does occasionally run into things. She adopted her cat, Willow, who now lives with her and her boyfriend, Kyle. She’s also very close with her family and enjoys spending time on the slopes with them in the winter.
Dani admits she is a bit of a “closet nerd”. This past April, Kyle’s parents took them to Harry Potter world, but there was just one problem- Kyle hadn’t seen any of the movies or read the books. To get him up to speed, Dani and Kyle watched every single movie before going to the park, sometimes seeing 2 in a day. When they finally arrived at the famous theme park, they both bought wands and had fun waving them in front of the many buildings, making pens float or rain to sprinkle down. They even had butterbeer. This wasn’t Dani’s first time in Disney though. Tired of the typical spring break ideas, Dani and her friends went to the Magic Kingdom and tried to get all the princesses to sign their autograph books (sadly, they didn’t see a single one until the big parade). Not just a Disney fan, during her morning drives she listens to Game of Thrones on ebook and has secret hopes (sorry Dani, not so secret now) for her and Kyle to dress as Khaleesi and Khal Drogo for Halloween.
We at the Castle love Dani’s quirky mix of business professional and romantic softy. It’s a great combination to have when you’re tasked with organizing a wedding, which can be businesslike and detailed but also sweet and emotional, just like Dani.