Brian: 0:11

Welcome back to the Vero Beach podcast. This is part two here at Waldo's Secret Garden. See, I said Waldo, not Walden. Waldo's Secret Garden with Charlotte. So, Charlotte, tell us a little bit about what the day-to-day is like here.

Charlotte: 0:25

For someone like that doesn't, I'm gonna call it like the ADHD thing, like I'll put my cup down and go to start one thing over there. Before I know it, it's five. That thing did not get done, but I'm like knee deep in trash, like cleaning out one of the barns. Every day, you know, it's kind of as is. Everything's okay right now. I do not touch anything unless it's broken because I'm it is so old here. Um, this house is over 60 years old, ours is over 120 years old. Yeah, it's usually just um getting back to people like with inquiries and trying to make any type of like improvements, small improvements anywhere.

Brian: 1:02

When you go through and you start cleaning out places, is it just you? Like, do you have others that help you?

Charlotte: 1:07

So, and I'll just say this for the listeners. So, this is a 13-acre property. The front, two acres, is a wedding venue in our living area, and this is all cleaned. And the back of the property is all in old dairy, and there's 10,000 square foot buildings with corridors inside that were just filled to the brim because my mother was collecting a lot of stuff, I think with the intention of selling it, but it got really out of control and psycho, honestly, at this point, I'll say it. But yeah, I am I'll go through it. The cleaning process is very uh, it can evoke a lot of emotion. So I either have to hire a junk removal company or just do it by myself or have like a really close friend come or my brother. Yeah, yeah.

Brian: 1:53

You know, when you said about the cleaning process, I didn't even think about this, and maybe you can shed some light on it. When it comes to having these events, like do you have a team that does cleanup? Like, how does that work?

Charlotte: 2:03

Yeah, we have people that come in, they're not always here working since it's seasonal. Honestly, that part is super easy. Okay, so yeah, we just have a team that comes in, cleans the morning up. We do all the trash maintenance in the evening, we have our own dumpster, like just in-house facility in the back.

Brian: 2:18

Wow, yeah, and now you know that you can have up to 3,000 people here for an event. So you're like, oh, we can accommodate for 3,000. I know.

Shawna: 2:25

Was that your max, do you think, or do you think you could fit even more people in? I don't know.

Charlotte: 2:29

Yes or no? I don't know because it was people in and out.

Shawna: 2:32

Oh, sure.

Charlotte: 2:33

Gotcha, yeah. Yeah, so we probably could go like a little more. Sorry, neighbors.

Brian: 2:38

Sorry neighbors.

Charlotte: 2:39

That's perfect. Trying to be as good as possible and and make money.

Brian: 2:43

I'm still just kind of blown away, like where we're sitting right now because we're sitting right here with all the gardens behind you, Charlotte. I can see like all the big plants and trees.

Charlotte: 2:50

I know, like the world is out there, yeah.

Brian: 2:52

But I you don't really recognize it except for you hear it in a distance.

Shawna: 2:55

So did you come up with, did you and your family come up with the Waldo's Secret Garden, or was it already named that?

Charlotte: 3:01

Actually, it was I wanted it to be a different name. And I think a florist we work with, Lara, she started we didn't have a name, and she just started calling it Waldo's Secret Garden, and we were like, that works. So yeah, absolutely. And my mom had a floral company called Waldo's Garden. Oh so, and I think it's really important to stay on brand. Sure.

Brian: 3:19

Do you ever get like a kick when people are like call you and are like, hey, where's Waldo?

Shawna: 3:23

Yeah.

Charlotte: 3:24

Well, they're always looking for the driftwood, most like some of the time. Yeah.

Shawna: 3:28

Like, what do you mean you're on 12? Yeah. But I I love the name Waldo's Secret Garden. Number one, I love the book Secret The Secret Garden, but it's so appropriate because you are right here, but once you're back here, it feels like you're in a different world. It does.

Charlotte: 3:43

It's just like this hammock that's just, you know, encasing you. Truly an oasis back here. It truly is.

Shawna: 3:49

I really like the way you just described that too.

Brian: 3:51

Yeah, I love that too. What do your guests often say when they visit for the first time?

Charlotte: 3:56

Okay, so I love being like kind of not being probably like hiding around corners and listening to people. And luckily, everyone is always like, This is amazing. And I'm like, Yes. Because I'm a people place where I'm like, they like us, like they don't see the cracks over there. And because I'm just hyper sensitive to that stuff, too.

Shawna: 4:15

Yeah, that would be so fun to like hide and just listen.

Charlotte: 4:18

Yeah, just walking past people's conversations or like this is so cool.

Brian: 4:21

This is okay. So I was doing some searching as we do, like when people reach out, and I noticed you guys have several different types of events, like from weddings to ghost tours. Uh, I've noticed that's so funny.

Charlotte: 4:33

The ghost tour guy just texts me. Really? Yeah, Larry Lawson.

Brian: 4:36

We're having one October 24th. So I would love to know a little bit about this and how do you balance this variety of events that you do here?

Charlotte: 4:44

I'm so glad you asked that because we probably need to drive here. I don't know without looking like a total weirdo. Um, because it can transform into a wedding. And I know that's confusing because at night we can turn into like a really creepy ghost tour. Both are true, but some people don't want to do that. They don't want their wedding to be a ghost tour, exactly. Yes.

Brian: 5:09

Is that really? Is she really here? Is that the woman in the white dress? Right, yeah.

Charlotte: 5:14

But I've got enough confidence right now that I think it's working. I think, yeah, I think it works.

Brian: 5:19

Yeah, well, it's very, it's very it was very interesting. Like, wow, like they actually have a mixture, like a variety of things that they do here. It's not just a wedding venues place. So I thought that was really interesting.

Charlotte: 5:29

Well, and I think to stay relevant and to keep a business going, I think you have to be open to whatever idea people want to do. Like, yeah, I toured with these really awesome girls. They want to have like a fairy tale book dinner thing with all the as everybody dresses up as fairy tale uh characters, just have a magical night under the stars or join it in other big cities.

Shawna: 5:49

Is that the um is that the book talk girls? Yes. I have been following them online and so I've seen like their parties and stuff like that. Yeah, I'm gonna go to the house. I was like, this sounds fantastic.

Charlotte: 5:58

But to go back to your question about like all the different types of events, I was at this place in Portland like 10 years ago called McMeneman's, and it was basically the they have old debt farms there. I don't know if you've been. No, these brothers bought them and turned them into like so. Basically, what's happening here? I tried to just I remembered it forever. But like there'd be a wedding going on at the end of the property, and Dave Matthews was playing like later that week at another. There's a you know, one closet you could open, and there's a little Hidden Grateful Dead bar. So it was just a really neat, yeah. There's a restaurant inside.

Brian: 6:32

Oh, that is so cool.

Charlotte: 6:33

I guess you would call it a pocket park, but wow, that is so cool. But a lot of things were happening together that seemed to work very well.

Shawna: 8:35

So, what makes a Waldo's wedding different from weddings at other venues?

Brian: 8:40

Besides a ghost.

Charlotte: 8:41

Yeah, besides one, okay. I've got to tell you one wedding story that happens, and we certainly don't try like provoke any kind of ghost storying, or we know we know better, you know. We can't help what it looks like sometimes. But but a man came up to me at the reception with his daughter, and he's like, Did you know that you have a woman in your kitchen, like a ghost that my daughter was just talking to? And I was like, Oh yeah, yeah. I was like, was everything okay though? Today, yeah.

Brian: 9:09

She's checked in, but she's never checked out.

Charlotte: 9:12

How old was the daughter? Was she a little kid? Little kid. Yeah, little kids tend to see. I've never seen a ghost here before, but this was a wedding question. It's always happens. But yeah, what makes it special is like the brides can do anything. Like, we are just they can dream as big as they want here as well, which is really nice because I know some places like you can't touch that, you can't have some special like, well, don't burn the place down, obviously, like it would go up really quick. Yeah, otherwise, just whatever they do, you know, it's their day, they get to do whatever they want. That's so special. They want so we don't have any type of packages. I've just always been a huge like bring in whoever you want, or I'll refer you, which I think is important. Oh my god, baby raccoon just ran by us. No, this is why I love it. But this is like a Disney episode.

Brian: 9:58

Um come over and start pulling on our pant leg. Hey, excuse me, I got something to say. Did you see that lady in the kitchen?

Shawna: 10:05

Yeah.

Brian: 10:07

He's part of your cleanup crew, right? The raccoon, yeah.

Shawna: 10:10

Oh, yeah.

Brian: 10:11

So if someone wants to plan an event here and they don't really know how to go about it, what how do you guide them?

Charlotte: 10:17

Oh, okay. Well, this is important too because I have a like a packet that I give people, whether or not they book here, because I think even if they don't book with us, it's important for the economy around us. Um, I just guide them. Usually they only need caters, DJ, and they just have to bring in their own alcohol. So I really try to provide anything else for them that would make it easier. Yeah.

Brian: 10:39

Nice.

Charlotte: 10:39

That's so cool.

Brian: 10:40

That's good. You really just kind of help them set them up, simplify it. Because I can see how it could be very overwhelming for somebody. It's like, I want to do this event, but I have no idea what to do. Right.

Charlotte: 10:49

And I'm like, just find the music, the food, and the alcohol. And then the rest is even if you don't want to decorate, there's enough lights, and yeah, that's cool.

Brian: 10:57

After the music fades and the guests leave from events, what's the feeling that lingers around for you?

Charlotte: 11:03

I kind of get sad. Oh, really? Which is interesting because I spend half the day like a nervous wreck, and I'm like, oh my god, I don't want to talk to anybody, I don't want to see anybody. And then everything is so wonderful. It's just like this huge positive, like spiritual feeling when everyone's having such a good time, and then they leave and it's quiet, and there's a little bit of sadness, I will say.

Brian: 11:23

Oh, wow. Yeah, that's a beautiful thing too, though. It just kind of tells shows the people like how much it means to you as well that they're enjoying Waterway Secret Garden.

Shawna: 11:32

So yeah, it truly is cool. And really, I hope you never lose that because it kind of shows like how much you care. Where you could imagine, like in like a corporate venue or whatever, it's just another day. People are here, people are gone, doesn't even pull it out. Yeah, exactly. So I think that makes it a really special place.

Charlotte: 11:49

Yeah, because at that point, I mean, well, we're not like friends, we've been planning this event together and you build these connections.

Shawna: 11:55

So and then you're like, now we're not gonna be talking anymore.

Charlotte: 11:57

Yeah, and then they just go away, and then sometimes they come back, and then you know, it's like it's cool. Yeah, that's cool.

Brian: 12:03

Well, listen, if anybody's tuned in and you've been to Waldo's Secret Garden or the Antique Barn and you have not left a positive review yet, go do that because that helps your local businesses, your local neighbors here.

Charlotte: 12:16

Yeah, absolutely.

Brian: 12:17

All right. Well, with that, we're gonna go ahead and get ready to go into part three where we're gonna talk about Vero. What you love about Vero, some of the collaborations you might have. If you guys are enjoying the podcast, make sure you click that review. That helps your local podcast be found by more people.

Shawna: 12:30

That's right, later, neighbor.