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What is Wed Society?
Kami Huddleston and Ashley Bowen Murphy started Wed Society in 2007 on the heels of planning their own weddings. They both married their college sweethearts two weeks apart from one another and were in each other’s weddings. During that time of planning, Kami and Ashley recognized a huge void in the market. Both were frustrated that there wasn’t a trusted resource that showcased inspirational weddings or wedding vendors that were available in the local marketplace; they set out to fix that problem.
On set for our first headshots in 2007
We were determined to create a helpful resource where you could source everything you see locally.
Unlike many new business owners, Kami and Ashley managed to break even their first year in business. They sold enough advertising and gained enough support to cover the cost of printing the book of weddings, and all the expenses associated with launching a business.
As young 20 somethings, they jokingly talk about how they must have thought magazines just magically appeared on shelves. While they did a ton of research, nothing could quite prepare them for what it really took to make Wed Society come to life. But when the first book rolled off the printing press and was released into the wild, the phone started to ring off the hook.
Vendors desperately wanted to be a part of it!!! Couples wanted to have their weddings featured in it. The tables had turned, and now the community was connecting with them to be a part of what they had created. The book represented the marketplace and the industry so well and vendors were proud to have their work featured.
Community is at the core of Wed Society, and it has been since day one. Bringing a community of talented wedding vendors and venue owners and operators together to celebrate their hard work, while also offering tremendous networking and business learning opportunities, is why Wed Society is known as the heartbeat of the wedding community.
What started in Oklahoma quickly grew. Ashley, a full-time, practicing attorney, and Kami, a design and marketing professional, quit their day jobs upon the release of Wed Society Oklahoma, and they committed themselves fully to growing the brand into other marketplaces. They knew they were on to something BIG and had a legitimate company on their hands and were excited to grow the brand into new marketplaces. Their next step was a much bigger city, however… Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
As young 20 somethings, they jokingly talk about how they must have thought magazines just magically appeared on shelves. While they did a ton of research, nothing could quite prepare them for what it really took to make Wed Society come to life. But when the first book rolled off the printing press and was released into the wild, the phone started to ring off the hook.
Vendors desperately wanted to be a part of it!!! Couples wanted to have their weddings featured in it. The tables had turned, and now the community was connecting with them to be a part of what they had created. The book represented the marketplace and the industry so well and vendors were proud to have their work featured.
Community is at the core of Wed Society, and it has been since day one. Bringing a community of talented wedding vendors and venue owners and operators together to celebrate their hard work, while also offering tremendous networking and business learning opportunities, is why Wed Society is known as the heartbeat of the wedding community.
What started in Oklahoma quickly grew. Ashley, a full-time, practicing attorney, and Kami, a design and marketing professional, quit their day jobs upon the release of Wed Society Oklahoma, and they committed themselves fully to growing the brand into other marketplaces. They knew they were on to something BIG and had a legitimate company on their hands and were excited to grow the brand into new marketplaces. Their next step was a much bigger city, however… Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
Ashley, Kami & Alli
2nd Employee Alli Vaughan
A few months later, Kami and Ashley hired their second key person. Alli Vaughan, who is now the chief operating officer of the founder-owned markets of Wed Society. Ali has also been with the company since day one and was the first “unofficial intern“. She worked for free while she was finishing college at Oklahoma State University for Kami and Ashley in the thick of it as they put out the first issue of Wed Society. Alli has a journalism background and was a key resource for the company in the early days and remains a vital and tremendously valuable resource today, intimately familiar with every facet of the company operation.
Ashley and Kami recall fondly a story about Alli‘s first day on the job. Thousands of copies of Wed Society had been delivered to a climate controlled storage facility in a very inconvenient area of town. Aside from holding the fort down while Ashley was on the road to Dallas helping launch the North Texas market, Alli was certainly doing more than answering the phone. One of her first tasks was to figure out a way to get thousands upon thousands of copies of the magazine from the inconvenient storage location in downtown Oklahoma City to a more convenient climate control facility near their office. Alli jokingly talks about asking Ashley “how do I do that“? And Ashley responded…I have no idea!
Ashley and Kami recall fondly a story about Alli‘s first day on the job. Thousands of copies of Wed Society had been delivered to a climate controlled storage facility in a very inconvenient area of town. Aside from holding the fort down while Ashley was on the road to Dallas helping launch the North Texas market, Alli was certainly doing more than answering the phone. One of her first tasks was to figure out a way to get thousands upon thousands of copies of the magazine from the inconvenient storage location in downtown Oklahoma City to a more convenient climate control facility near their office. Alli jokingly talks about asking Ashley “how do I do that“? And Ashley responded…I have no idea!
Austin Launch Party
Ashley even had a Wedding Planner that helped her navigate through the planning process, yet there were only a limited number of vendors presented to her as options. She knew that there had to be more, talented and amazing wedding vendors in the city where she lived beyond the couple of options her planner presented to her for approval.
Kami also sadly made some vendor decisions that she regretted. She doesn’t own a single photo from her wedding that she would ever care to share.
Kami and Ashley started the company with just $8,000 and set out on a mission to change the way vendors could be discovered and how couples could be inspired through seeing other local weddings that happened in their market. They were determined to create a helpful resource where you could source everything you see locally.
Those limited dollars certainly flew out the door. They launched a basic website, printed media kits and business cards, treated potential advertisers to coffee, and were quickly out of money. Then, left only to their own will to sell enough advertising to be able to produce the solution that they had envisioned, they had their work cut out for them. They were young with no connection whatsoever to the wedding industry and no real publishing experience. Yet, their vision was one that many believed in from the outset without a product to even show. The vision was a book of weddings that reflected the beautiful, rich tapestry of weddings that happened in the market and that turned the spotlight on the vendors that made those days come to life.
Kami also sadly made some vendor decisions that she regretted. She doesn’t own a single photo from her wedding that she would ever care to share.
Kami and Ashley started the company with just $8,000 and set out on a mission to change the way vendors could be discovered and how couples could be inspired through seeing other local weddings that happened in their market. They were determined to create a helpful resource where you could source everything you see locally.
Those limited dollars certainly flew out the door. They launched a basic website, printed media kits and business cards, treated potential advertisers to coffee, and were quickly out of money. Then, left only to their own will to sell enough advertising to be able to produce the solution that they had envisioned, they had their work cut out for them. They were young with no connection whatsoever to the wedding industry and no real publishing experience. Yet, their vision was one that many believed in from the outset without a product to even show. The vision was a book of weddings that reflected the beautiful, rich tapestry of weddings that happened in the market and that turned the spotlight on the vendors that made those days come to life.
10th Anniversary Party
There were many competitors in the DFW market as Ashley recalls. Some were quite notable names like D Magazine, and Modern Luxury. Yet, both didn’t match the positioning of Wed Society. “Weddings and the industry at large were an afterthought for these brands,” says Kami. Wed Society served this focused audience with exclusive attention on the wedding industry, and Wed Society’s unique model of showcasing weddings across their thriving now multimedia platform, rallied the wedding community together and was a model that resonated across the industry. What started as a beautiful, annual Book of Weddings had now grown into a multimedia brand with a powerful website and popular social channels. Wed Society quickly won the support of the DFW wedding community and validated that the success of Wed Society can be replicated in diverse markets..
Ashley, Meagan & Ashley
1st Employee Meagan Jones
The point person in DFW is a long-term valued employee, Meagan Jones, who remains with the company today. Meagan was hired by Ashley and Kami when they entered the market. Meagan, was also a young 20 something and her only real sales experience had been selling makeup at the Estée Lauder counter in the mall. Yet, there was something very special about Meagan and they knew that she would be tremendously successful and that she embodied all the core values of what was important to the company: a client – centric focus and a fearless work ethic.
They became abundantly aware of the importance of identifying extremely driven and ambitious individuals to spearhead the growth of a new marketplace. Meagan Jones was exactly that and understood the market dynamics, culture and community of the city she called home.
They became abundantly aware of the importance of identifying extremely driven and ambitious individuals to spearhead the growth of a new marketplace. Meagan Jones was exactly that and understood the market dynamics, culture and community of the city she called home.
10th Anniversary North Texas with our daughters
The focus, resourcefulness, and the I’m going to figure it out one way or another attitude and work ethic has served the company well over time.
Neither Kami nor Ashley had any publishing experience when they set out to produce the first Book of Weddings and have since day one charted their own course to success. They make decisions based on what they see as needs, holes, voids in the market, and then quickly figure out exactly how to bridge those gaps. They embrace new technology, are constantly innovating and evolving, and that is what has set their modern media brand apart from any competitors.
Complacency isn’t an option in the modern digital world, says Ashley. Change is crucial and being comfortable with adapting and evolving is absolutely necessary. It’s what leads to success!
The company has certainly grown tremendously and evolved over time into a powerful and influential media brand complete with digital social and print products. What started as a fun project at a dining room table in Oklahoma has now grown into the leading wedding franchise across America. Kami and Ashley’s foresight and intense focus on innovation are the catalyst behind the company’s continued success.
The duo has weathered economic ups and downs, periods in the life of the business where markets were impacted by natural disasters, pandemics, and more, yet they have proven through it all that their business is solid and sustainable for the long-term.
Complacency isn’t an option in the modern digital world, says Ashley. Change is crucial and being comfortable with adapting and evolving is absolutely necessary. It’s what leads to success!
The company has certainly grown tremendously and evolved over time into a powerful and influential media brand complete with digital social and print products. What started as a fun project at a dining room table in Oklahoma has now grown into the leading wedding franchise across America. Kami and Ashley’s foresight and intense focus on innovation are the catalyst behind the company’s continued success.
The duo has weathered economic ups and downs, periods in the life of the business where markets were impacted by natural disasters, pandemics, and more, yet they have proven through it all that their business is solid and sustainable for the long-term.
On set for our first headshots in 2007
We were determined to create a helpful resource where you could source everything you see locally.
Ashley even had a Wedding Planner that helped her navigate through the planning process, yet there were only a limited number of vendors presented to her as options. She knew that there had to be more, talented and amazing wedding vendors in the city where she lived beyond the couple of options her planner presented to her for approval.
Kami also sadly made some vendor decisions that she regretted. She doesn’t own a single photo from her wedding that she would ever care to share.
Kami and Ashley started the company with just $8,000 and set out on a mission to change the way vendors could be discovered and how couples could be inspired through seeing other local weddings that happened in their market. They were determined to create a helpful resource where you could source everything you see locally.
Those limited dollars certainly flew out the door. They launched a basic website, printed media kits and business cards, treated potential advertisers to coffee, and were quickly out of money. Then, left only to their own will to sell enough advertising to be able to produce the solution that they had envisioned, they had their work cut out for them. They were young with no connection whatsoever to the wedding industry and no real publishing experience. Yet, their vision was one that many believed in from the outset without a product to even show. The vision was a book of weddings that reflected the beautiful, rich tapestry of weddings that happened in the market and that turned the spotlight on the vendors that made those days come to life.
Kami also sadly made some vendor decisions that she regretted. She doesn’t own a single photo from her wedding that she would ever care to share.
Kami and Ashley started the company with just $8,000 and set out on a mission to change the way vendors could be discovered and how couples could be inspired through seeing other local weddings that happened in their market. They were determined to create a helpful resource where you could source everything you see locally.
Those limited dollars certainly flew out the door. They launched a basic website, printed media kits and business cards, treated potential advertisers to coffee, and were quickly out of money. Then, left only to their own will to sell enough advertising to be able to produce the solution that they had envisioned, they had their work cut out for them. They were young with no connection whatsoever to the wedding industry and no real publishing experience. Yet, their vision was one that many believed in from the outset without a product to even show. The vision was a book of weddings that reflected the beautiful, rich tapestry of weddings that happened in the market and that turned the spotlight on the vendors that made those days come to life.
Unlike many new business owners, Kami and Ashley managed to break even their first year in business. They sold enough advertising and gained enough support to cover the cost of printing the book of weddings, and all the expenses associated with launching a business.
As young 20 somethings, they jokingly talk about how they must have thought magazines just magically appeared on shelves. While they did a ton of research, nothing could quite prepare them for what it really took to make Wed Society come to life. But when the first book rolled off the printing press and was released into the wild, the phone started to ring off the hook.
Vendors desperately wanted to be a part of it!!! Couples wanted to have their weddings featured in it. The tables had turned, and now the community was connecting with them to be a part of what they had created. The book represented the marketplace and the industry so well and vendors were proud to have their work featured.
Community is at the core of Wed Society, and it has been since day one. Bringing a community of talented wedding vendors and venue owners and operators together to celebrate their hard work, while also offering tremendous networking and business learning opportunities, is why Wed Society is known as the heartbeat of the wedding community.
What started in Oklahoma quickly grew. Ashley, a full-time, practicing attorney, and Kami, a design and marketing professional, quit their day jobs upon the release of Wed Society Oklahoma, and they committed themselves fully to growing the brand into other marketplaces. They knew they were on to something BIG and had a legitimate company on their hands and were excited to grow the brand into new marketplaces. Their next step was a much bigger city, however… Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
As young 20 somethings, they jokingly talk about how they must have thought magazines just magically appeared on shelves. While they did a ton of research, nothing could quite prepare them for what it really took to make Wed Society come to life. But when the first book rolled off the printing press and was released into the wild, the phone started to ring off the hook.
Vendors desperately wanted to be a part of it!!! Couples wanted to have their weddings featured in it. The tables had turned, and now the community was connecting with them to be a part of what they had created. The book represented the marketplace and the industry so well and vendors were proud to have their work featured.
Community is at the core of Wed Society, and it has been since day one. Bringing a community of talented wedding vendors and venue owners and operators together to celebrate their hard work, while also offering tremendous networking and business learning opportunities, is why Wed Society is known as the heartbeat of the wedding community.
What started in Oklahoma quickly grew. Ashley, a full-time, practicing attorney, and Kami, a design and marketing professional, quit their day jobs upon the release of Wed Society Oklahoma, and they committed themselves fully to growing the brand into other marketplaces. They knew they were on to something BIG and had a legitimate company on their hands and were excited to grow the brand into new marketplaces. Their next step was a much bigger city, however… Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
There were many competitors in the DFW market as Ashley recalls. Some were quite notable names like D Magazine, and Modern Luxury. Yet, both didn’t match the positioning of Wed Society. “Weddings and the industry at large were an afterthought for these brands,” says Kami. Wed Society served this focused audience with exclusive attention on the wedding industry, and Wed Society’s unique model of showcasing weddings across their thriving now multimedia platform, rallied the wedding community together and was a model that resonated across the industry. What started as a beautiful, annual Book of Weddings had now grown into a multimedia brand with a powerful website and popular social channels. Wed Society quickly won the support of the DFW wedding community and validated that the success of Wed Society can be replicated in diverse markets..
Ashley, Meagan & Ashley
1st Employee Meagan Jones
The point person in DFW is a long-term valued employee, Meagan Jones, who remains with the company today. Meagan was hired by Ashley and Kami when they entered the market. Meagan, was also a young 20 something and her only real sales experience had been selling makeup at the Estée Lauder counter in the mall. Yet, there was something very special about Meagan and they knew that she would be tremendously successful and that she embodied all the core values of what was important to the company: a client – centric focus and a fearless work ethic.
They became abundantly aware of the importance of identifying extremely driven and ambitious individuals to spearhead the growth of a new marketplace. Meagan Jones was exactly that and understood the market dynamics, culture and community of the city she called home.
They became abundantly aware of the importance of identifying extremely driven and ambitious individuals to spearhead the growth of a new marketplace. Meagan Jones was exactly that and understood the market dynamics, culture and community of the city she called home.
Ashley, Kami & Alli
2nd Employee Alli Vaughan
A few months later, Kami and Ashley hired their second key person. Alli Vaughan, who is now the chief operating officer of the founder-owned markets of Wed Society. Ali has also been with the company since day one and was the first “unofficial intern“. She worked for free while she was finishing college at Oklahoma State University for Kami and Ashley in the thick of it as they put out the first issue of Wed Society. Alli has a journalism background and was a key resource for the company in the early days and remains a vital and tremendously valuable resource today, intimately familiar with every facet of the company operation.
Ashley and Kami recall fondly a story about Alli‘s first day on the job. Thousands of copies of Wed Society had been delivered to a climate controlled storage facility in a very inconvenient area of town. Aside from holding the fort down while Ashley was on the road to Dallas helping launch the North Texas market, Alli was certainly doing more than answering the phone. One of her first tasks was to figure out a way to get thousands upon thousands of copies of the magazine from the inconvenient storage location in downtown Oklahoma City to a more convenient climate control facility near their office. Alli jokingly talks about asking Ashley “how do I do that“? And Ashley responded…I have no idea!
Ashley and Kami recall fondly a story about Alli‘s first day on the job. Thousands of copies of Wed Society had been delivered to a climate controlled storage facility in a very inconvenient area of town. Aside from holding the fort down while Ashley was on the road to Dallas helping launch the North Texas market, Alli was certainly doing more than answering the phone. One of her first tasks was to figure out a way to get thousands upon thousands of copies of the magazine from the inconvenient storage location in downtown Oklahoma City to a more convenient climate control facility near their office. Alli jokingly talks about asking Ashley “how do I do that“? And Ashley responded…I have no idea!
Austin Launch Party
The focus, resourcefulness, and the I’m going to figure it out one way or another attitude and work ethic has served the company well over time.
Neither Kami nor Ashley had any publishing experience when they set out to produce the first Book of Weddings and have since day one charted their own course to success. They make decisions based on what they see as needs, holes, voids in the market, and then quickly figure out exactly how to bridge those gaps. They embrace new technology, are constantly innovating and evolving, and that is what has set their modern media brand apart from any competitors.
Complacency isn’t an option in the modern digital world, says Ashley. Change is crucial and being comfortable with adapting and evolving is absolutely necessary. It’s what leads to success!
The company has certainly grown tremendously and evolved over time into a powerful and influential media brand complete with digital social and print products. What started as a fun project at a dining room table in Oklahoma has now grown into the leading wedding franchise acrossAmerica. Kami and Ashley’s foresight and intense focus on innovation are the catalyst behind the company’s continued success.
The duo has weathered economic ups and downs, periods in the life of the business where markets were impacted by natural disasters, pandemics, and more, yet they have proven through it all that their business is solid and sustainable for the long-term.
10th Anniversary Party
