didi russell

Didi Russell

Didi Russell began her event management career more than two decades ago with the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Her initial task involved managing an event expected to draw 8,000 attendees, requiring 250 volunteers, members of the press, military dignitaries, 2 locations miles apart and a committee of local business leaders. It was somewhat terrifying yet thrilling, serving as an intensive crash course in event management, communication, and organization.

Since then, she has turned her career focus to the wedding industry with a dedication to wedding venue business strategies for success. Didi has visited close to 1,000 wedding venues in 27 states to understand what drives their success, the common challenges owners encounter, and to create educational programs & business solutions that empower and unite venue owners & managers.

She is a passionate advocate for wedding venue owners who are relentlessly targeted by marketing & advertising scams and often feel isolated and cut off from communication and effective business solutions. The less a business owner knows about SEO, Website & Social Media Marketing, the less revenue a business will generate and the more likely they will be to sign up for low quality, unethical and ineffective marketing scams. As the founder of the Wedding Venue Owners & Management Community Group on Facebook, she provides free education and business development instruction weekly to over 7200 active members of this community.

In 2021, She initiated Wedding Venue Owners Working Vacations to empower venue owners and management teams to connect and build lasting alliances, strengthening their businesses for the long term. Today, Didi Russell continues to champion communication programs that equip wedding industry small business owners with effective strategies to grow and thrive in their markets.

As a speaker at various wedding industry conferences, she has shared her insights on marketing, sales, and customer service strategies specifically tailored for wedding venue management. Through these speaking engagements, she has been able to connect with many venue owners and learn from their experiences as well.

Didi is thrilled to be speaking at the upcoming Tennessee Agritourism Conference. Let's work together to create more opportunities for small business wedding venue owners!