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“Absolutely,” I said, sensing her excitement.
“Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me,” Ireland gushed.
“I love talking business.”
“I can tell that you enjoy what you do. It’s nice to meet with someone who’s so open-minded about these things. Most people prefer steady jobs with a paycheck. I have one of those, too, but I work for a small business, a wedding planning company. We work with a lot of small business owners: a bakery, a rental company, a florist. I’m surrounded by entrepreneurs, and I get caught up in their plans.”
“I didn’t realize you were a wedding planner.”
“Yep, I’m a wedding planner, and I help out on the farm and in the shop when I can. I enjoy being here. There’s something magical about the holidays on the farm. It feels that way year-round with the lighting and the trees.”
“I can see that.”
Ireland’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “It’s what drew me to the place. I wanted to get married here and even planned my wedding.”
“Her fiancé cheated on her,” Heath said, his tone filled with irritation.
Ireland smiled softly. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me because I ran to the waterfall by Emmett’s house, and he found me in my wedding dress. We got snowed in at his cabin, and the rest is history.”
“That’s an interesting meet-cute.”
She waved a hand at me. “Oh, we’d met before. But I was already engaged. It wasn’t the right time until it was.”
That made me wonder if the same was true for Heath and me. We were so young when we were messing around. Was it not the right time, or was he not the right guy for me?
“But enough about me. Let’s talk movie night.” Ireland raised her hands and framed the area with her hands in the direction of the side of the barn. “I was thinking we could project the movie here. People could sit on chairs or blankets there.” She pointed at the grassy area surrounding the barn. “Then we could have concessions inside the barn. But I don’t know. I’m not sure about the last part.”
“You’ll want the concession outside. You want to make it easy to access. Otherwise, you won’t get as many sales.”
“I never would have thought of it like that.”
“I promise this will be a simple event. The hardest part will be the food. What will you offer?”
Heath stood nearby, listening but not offering any suggestions.
“I checked with local restaurants, and we could sell sandwiches with a small increase in price so we could earn a profit. We could offer our own cookies, popcorn, and drinks.”
“It’s a great start. After your first event, I’m sure you’ll think of other things to add, or decide you don’t want to sell something. You can adjust.”
Ireland sobered. “How will we get the word out?”
“The same way you do with your regular tree-cutting season. You can use your social media accounts, your email list if you have one, and post flyers around town.”
Ireland bit her lip. “We don’t have an email list. Could you help me get started with one?”
“I’d love to. I’m a huge fan of newsletter lists. It’s a quick way to get the word out to your customers. Let them know what’s going on at the farm, share upcoming events, and even provide information about how to care for their trees, or the different types of trees available on your farm.”
“Emmett’s against the idea of emailing people. He said we’d just be annoying them, and it would invite more people to the farm,” Heath said.
“Isn’t that the point?” I asked.
Ireland waved a hand. “Emmett isn’t fond of people. Or at least not most. Let me handle him.”
“I think it’s a quick and easy event you can do this fall, leading up to your tree-cutting season. If it goes well, you could schedule a few more of them. Maybe end with a holiday movie,” I said, walking in a circle around the area. The vision of people sitting with their families on blankets surrounding the side of the barn and kids running and playing came to my mind.
Ireland clasped her hands together. “I love that idea.”
I almost wished I could be here to see it.
