Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittney Samford.
Hi Brittney, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My husband and I got married in 2018 and during our venue search, we noticed that there were not many free-standing ballrooms style venues available. We may be found 3 or 4 that were okay, but many of them were either outdated, or the experience with the venue staff and the way they handled things wasn’t the greatest… We started talking about one day opening a venue that was not only beautiful on the outside but produced a great experience all around.
In the meantime, I was not happy with my corporate job and started wedding planning on the side as a creative and fun outlet. Six months later, I was able to go full-time with that company and have been planning and designing weddings ever since. When I started planning weddings, it opened up a lot more time and space for us to focus on the venue dream and after a year of searching for land and developing plans and then another year of construction, we officially opened in March of 2021.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It was definitely not easy getting here. During construction, we dealt with something new daily due to a lot of big items overlooked by our contractor that ultimately changed our vision. That was a really stressful time because we had been booking the venue a few months after beginning construction and although we took all the right steps to plan well in advance, had renderings, etc. there were still fires that had to be put out regularly.
Now that we are open, the consistent struggle is finding the balance of our policies versus giving the flexibility to clients that they need for their specific vision and day. There is a reason for every policy we have in place and although it has only been 18 months, we have already seen some horrific things happen that reiterate why we have those in place. One thing that every business deals with is reviews… A few months into opening, we were attacked by one specific client who didn’t follow policies and although we made exceptions and let their wedding day happen as planned and our team was as respectful as possible, we still ended up with 17 one-star reviews overnight. It took our rating from a 4.9 to a 2.7 and we have been working hard to get it back up. Thankfully, we have had a lot of people who have booked with us because of those reviews and how we handled the situation. It also prepared us for future situations and our internal methods changed tremendously from it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Hillside Estate?
The Hillside Estate is a French-inspired 17,000-square-foot estate sitting on 16 acres of rolling hills with views of the valley and lake. The estate specializes in weddings but is available for all types of different events such as birthdays, anniversary parties, corporate events, etc.
We have quickly become known for our attention to detail, transparency, and personalization. When the estate was being built, our family agreed upon one thing: to make sure that the venue was a space that felt like an escape from the typical wedding world. One where the staff was always friendly and inviting, where the entire estate was extraordinary, where couples felt at home, and where each vendor that walked through the door felt excitement to be a part of the couple’s new journey. The Hillside Estate was founded on the same core values that our family lives by: dedication, compassion, having fun, and loving one another.
What are your plans for the future?
Our focus right now is to continue growing and learning. Although I had experience in the industry and it was a huge help, I know there is still so much to learn and ways to make our current way of doing business better. We are working on new events for our clients, new offerings for inquiries, and have some big plans for the future when the time is right.
Pricing:
- $7250+ Weekdays
- $8250+ Sundays
- $9750+ Fridays
- $11750+ Saturdays
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thehillsideestatedfw.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehillsideestatedfw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehillsideestate
Image Credits
Hannah Way
Allen Tsai
Stephanie Brazzle
Sarah Kate
Kate Panza
