my story

Nadia Duran story of the wedding business, the joys, the challenges, and everything in between.

I am Nadia Duran, born in Mexico in a beautiful little border town called Juarez, Chihuahua. Yes, that’s right, just like the little Chihuahua dogs!

My hometown is right on the border with El Paso, Texas which makes me a REAL Tex-Mex! My love for eating tacos, nachos, burritos and all things topped with jalapeños (even popcorn) proves it.

I was only 21 years old when I graduated with Bachelor Degree in Digital Systems and Communications Engineering, at the University of Juarez. My excitement, passion, and eagerness to succeed in my career helped me to manifest something I could have never imagined in a million years - an internship through AIESEC in the former Yugoslavia! Now the Republic of Serbia to work for a technology company. I knew this is going to be amazing!

It was in 2002 when I fell in love with Serbia, its people and the Balkan culture. It was the love, at first sight, the minute I landed in Belgrade. I love Sarma, Ćevapi, Burek and Kajmak, Kisela Voda & Rakija and a sound of gipsy music which still makes my heart sing.

Upon my return home I successfully developed the Customer Education business sector from almost non-existing to 1 million dollars at the time, while working as an Engineer with National Instruments in Austin in Texas having a role in the Customer Education department for Mexico and Central America.

The universe was on my side again, and in 2004 I was presented with a one of the kind opportunity to showcase my skills in the far-away land of Australia. Dreams do come true! Only being 23 years old I knew that life had some wonderful things for me in stock. I said: “hasta la vista mama, I only need 4 years to make it in Australia, my home is in Mexico”. Little I knew what will happen next…. Three months after I arrived in Sydney, I called my mother on the phone and told her “I have met someone” and a year later we got married!

I got married in 2006 on a small beach in one of the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Our wedding was very private with only 40 guests. It was the very first event that I have designed and coordinated, and it also ignited my passion for the wedding industry.

I felt it in my heart and in my gut that I have not only found my soulmate but I have also found my calling!

The voice inside me kept saying “you can do weddings for other people”. I knew I could create something extraordinary, now having done my own wedding successfully I recognised a demand for creative designs and sophistication that I could bring to the events.

Two months on, ‘Events by Nadia’ was born! My very own and very first wedding business in Australia specialising in the hire and rental of decorative items for weddings and events. Not knowing where to begin I followed my instinct. First, I bought 10 plastic chairs in Bunnings, found a roll of white fabric from a Vietnamese shop to make chair covers out of pink, blue and red fabric enough for 10 bows of each colour, and made a red carpet out of red fabric for the photoshoot on the beach. That was a start! Then I created my own website, got registered in a wedding directory and was open for business.

I will never forget the day I received my first call from a first client. A beautiful Chinese couple from London were coming to Australia to get married. When the bride Hannah called me on the phone, she asked me “Do you have more than 10 chairs as per the photos on your website?” Without hesitation, I replied, “of course”! I charged Hannah and her husband $250.00 to decorate their wedding and I spent more than $2,500 to purchase all the stock I needed for their wedding. Creating unforgettable weddings and seeing happy clients was always my priority with profit slowly increasing.

For the next four years, I continued working on my wedding business ‘Events by Nadia’ and as an Engineer. I worked 7 days a week, long days and nights, knowing that all the sacrifices I make will pay off one day. That one day was just around the corner! I was found almost immediately by the wedding industry in Sydney, and my fresh approach to styling and design got a lot of attention.

My business expanded within Australia, exhibiting to couples that their wedding could be colourful, original and luxurious whilst reflecting on their personality and taste. After four years of hard work and constant dedication, I was finally able to pay myself my first salary, leave my job as Engineer and be fully immersed in my business ‘Events by Nadia’.

‘Events by Nadia’ grew from a small desk in my home, to multiple warehouses in Sydney with 20 employees, designing and executing hundreds of weddings, corporate affairs, charity galas and intimate dinners. I built partnerships with brands such as Four Seasons Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, InterContinental Hotels, Rockpool Hospitality group, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Olympic Park and more.

In 2012 my gorgeous son was born! I felt I was prepared for taking maternity leave, having structured my team in a way that the business can run itself without me being there. I guess nothing can prepare you for the reality of motherhood. So I had to continue working every day while breastfeeding my son and attending phone meetings. I struggled….not just physically but mentally too. The overwhelm felt like rock bottom. What was supposed to be the most beautiful time in my life, turned out to be one of the most challenging times in my life as I developed postnatal depression.

After spending the first year of my son's life feeling depressed, I knew I needed to do something to change my state of mind. I had the most beautiful and healthy baby and a family, yet I felt empty on the inside.

In 2013 I attended The Engage! Luxury Wedding Business Summits, in the United States hoping that it could lead to amazing networking opportunities through people that inspired me throughout the events industry. It was life-changing!

It was the most spectacular event I had ever seen in my life. I had the great honour of finally meeting my idol, the queen of flowers Karen Tran along with other industry leaders such as Pablo Oliveira (Nuage Designs, Inc.), Jose Graterol (Jose Designs) Ceci Johnson (Ceci New York), Preston Bailey, Jose Villa, Gabi Lavor and many industry leaders that I admire.

It was a game-changer for me – it opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities and I never looked at weddings the same way again.

So I kept going back to the Engage Summit year after year. Meeting some incredible people in the industry made an impact on me and on the future of my business.

Meeting Karen Tran was definitely a life-changing moment, Karen and I connected on a very personal level. Karen came to Australia to do a masterclass and I had the opportunity to be the decorative sponsor. From there, Karen invited me to join her Floral Experience Masterclasses around the world and I started planning and designing Destination Weddings in the most incredible and exotic destinations. I felt like a new woman, everything was falling into place.

My depression was now in the past and my growing business was my future. My life seemed perfect except for one thing, my marriage was collapsing, and in 2017 we have officially separated. My world was shattered, I was devasted and depressed.

Just when I was on top of my professional game, mastering motherhood, feeling in control of my life my marriage ended, and once again I was thrown into the deep end of the depression.

After a lengthy legal battle with my ex-husband over my business, in October 2019 I have made a heartbreaking decision to resign from ‘Events by Nadia’. I now have lost the very core of who I am – ‘Events by Nadia’ and a family that was so dear to me…

One day in December 2019, after crying my eyes out for months I woke up with a renewed strength and a sense of self. It was the day I was born again independent, resilient, and ready for the new!

That day I registered my current business NADIA DURAN. The feeling of hope and excitement that I felt at that moment was incredible. I felt alive again. I felt Nadia again! I heard that voice again inside me saying “you can do this”.

Although I didn’t have any clients, I had confidence in myself as my own brand. I knew people knew me and what I was capable of achieving and business would slowly start again. My years of industry knowledge and experience would help get me back over the line, no matter how long it took.

In March 2020 once again I was knocked down now by Covid-19 which destroyed the events industry as we knew it. All the weddings and events I was working on were cancelled or postponed. For the first time in my life, I found myself needing to rely on the government for help to support myself and my son.

It hasn’t been easy, it has rather been extremely hard. My court case with my ex-husband is on-going and I am currently struggling to make a living out of events due to Covid-19.

When life knocks you down and you fall, the only way back is up….. I won’t stop, I believe I have the magic to transform spaces and to bring people’s dreams to life. My work is my contribution to the world and I will not give up my purpose.

I am hopeful that things will change in the near future. I have always been a fighter and a survivor, no different this time. My passion for sharing knowledge and experience is greater then any fear or a virus. It is my core belief that I can inspire others to rise up to any challenge through hard work, passion, and faith in yourself.

Thank you for your support throughout the years and for the love that you bring into my life.

With love,

Nadia Duran