We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon & Jane Yu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon & Jane, what are you inspired by?
Jane: There are a variety of ways I stay inspired, personally and professionally, organically and deliberately. I am inspired by… – My peers and role models who channel their positive energy in to their work – My husband’s motivation and discipline – Witnessing moments of love and compassion, in different types of settings – The potential of my dreams and goals Jon: I get most of my inspiration from personal growth books, music, dope DJs, and people who got to the top of their game through grit and hard-work. There are many incredible people out there who have achieved mastery but the ones who inspire me the most are using their acquired skills as utility to genuinely help others on their path to success.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Veil & Vinyls plans, designs & DJs weddings and events, which most companies do not offer under one umbrella. Additionally, we are a husband-and-wife team, so we can empathize with what other couples are going through during the planning process, and can give our combined unique insights based on our personal experience. We are proud that we both quit the comfort of having full-time jobs to start our own business. This was not an easy decision, but we knew we needed to be all-in. Most recently, we are very excited that we launched our new website (veilandvinyls.com) We decided to start our own business for two main reasons. We realized that the combination of our interests, passions and skillsets (Jon & Music/DJing; Jane & Event Production) would be a strong base for a wedding and event company, and knew we could be a force of nature if we did it together. We both wanted to build something of our own that not only reflects our own principles and values, but use our experience and skills to serve people by creating exceptional events that celebrate important milestones of our clients’ lives. Aside from weddings, we are also thinking about what other types of events we want to be involved with to fulfill a similar mission (e.g. philanthropic events). The road up to now hasn’t been the easiest. Not knowing when our next client booking is going to come will always be a challenge until we are a bit more established. Financially, we have had to find multiple sources of income, especially when we first started, even if it isn’t within our industry. We have learned that we need to take the time consistently to understand the basics of marketing, to garner support from our community, and to set goals for ourselves (plus so many other things). As a married couple with two different personalities, we learned that our personal relationship is different from our professional one. We have learned to work with each other effectively by being radically transparent and honest. Because we know more about each other, our communication has improved dramatically, which has helped the foundations of our business. Jane: I want to show that anything is achievable if you put your mind to it. For a long time, I dawdled around, from job to job because I never felt “fulfilled”. Producing weddings and events does excite me, yes, but the heart of that passion lies in connecting with people, helping others when they’re stressed, and bringing ideas to life. Jon: The best version of myself (personally and professionally) will help my ultimate goal of serving people through inspiration and music. Veil & Vinyls will always strive to: 1. Empathize with our clients to give them an enjoyable and stress-free process 2. Offer our respectfully honest perspective, from the design to the music 3. Maintain our client’s trust that we will be all-in, from the moment they book us  

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Many of these suggestions may not be applicable due to the current pandemic. – Activities: The Broad, Runyon Canyon, Griffith Observatory – Food: In N Out, El Chato (taco truck), Korean BBQ Experience (there are so many restaurants, but some favorites are Kang Ho Dong Baek Jong, Corner Place, Park’s), staple Korean restaurants (Soban, Kobawoo House), Birdie G’s, Majordomo, Bestia, Lawry’s, Jon & Vinny’s, Chinese food in San Gabriel Valley – Hang out: Beach areas (Venice Boardwalk, Santa Monica Pier, Manhattan Beach), Arts District – Shopping/Walking: The Grove, Beverly Center, Westfield Century City, Fairfax, Rodeo Drive – Day trip to Joshua Tree for some nature – Drive up to Malibu

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We are a husband-and-wife team that started our company together somewhat recently. Without the mutual encouragement and constantly pushing each other, we most likely would not have jumped ship from our full-time jobs to start this venture. Though we are focusing on the wedding business, we each have dreams in addition to Veil & Vinyls, and it’s important to us that we support each other holistically at all times. Secondly, before we even established our business, there were clients who entrusted us to work with them so we could slowly build our experience. We will forever be grateful to them, as we were learning on-the-go and certainly made some missteps along the way. They were always gracious and understanding, and we have come out stronger because of it. There’s a book called Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, that we have both read. It has pushed us to approach all endeavors in life with a growth mindset, by believing that we have the ability to improve any area of ourselves through discipline, focus, and hard-work. It has instilled in us that all our efforts that we put in to becoming the best version of ourselves will be rewarded. Some people who are keeping us motivated right now Jane: My mother, Lisa Bilyeu, Gwen Lane Jon: Tom Bilyeu, Ross Edgley, Joe Rogan

Website: https://www.veilandvinyls.com/
Instagram: @veilandvinyls (business) , @janesdotyu (Jane), @whosjondoe (Jon)
Linkedin: Jane – https://www.linkedin.com/in/janeyu55/ Jon – linkedin.com/in/jonathan-yu-87276963/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veilandvinyls/

Image Credits
Rachel McCauley Photography, Kate Testa – Off Beet Productions, The Justin Jay

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