Launching a brand-new event is as much an exercise in trust-building as it is in logistics. Before a single ticket is sold, a first-time organiser has to convince strangers that an idea with no track record is worth their evening, their money, and their goodwill. Getting the tone, branding, and booking experience right from day one is often what separates a one-off experiment from the start of something people keep coming back for.
That’s precisely the challenge Emielia Dahl-Sam faced when she launched MAENADS, a London event celebrating women in wine and the creative industries. After meeting sommelier Rachel, they decided to turn their time in the culinary and hospitality world into something of their own, and set out to build a night that felt genuinely welcoming. We sat down with Emielia to hear how MAENADS came together, and how they made a first-time event feel credible from the outset.
Summary
1. The vision: a welcoming space, not an exclusive one
For Emielia and Rachel, the starting point wasn’t really wine at all – it was community. Having spent time in the culinary world, they wanted to create an event that brought people together around something they could genuinely enjoy, rather than something that felt like a performance.
That meant confronting a very specific gap they had spotted in the UK’s drinking culture:
“In the UK there is a split between the pretentious wine drinkers, and the pub goers – we wanted to find an accessible middle ground.”
Rather than positioning MAENADS as a connoisseur’s tasting or a rowdy night out, Emielia and Rachel built something that sat deliberately between the two: approachable, unpretentious, and easy to walk into without any specialist knowledge.
The second half of their vision was representation. MAENADS exists to showcase women across wine and the creative industries – not as a footnote, but as the whole point of the evening. The wine list features women producers, including selections from Other Wine’s Pía Carrau and Katla Wines’ Jas Swan, while the room itself is shaped by live music from Gigi Wilde.
If you’re planning an event in London with a similar community focus, Emielia and Rachel’s approach is a useful reminder that a strong concept and a clear “why” will do more for your atmosphere than an elaborate production ever could.
2. Making a first event look credible
For a first-time organiser with no previous events behind her, Emielia wanted a ticketing platform that would legitimise the event in the eyes of people who’d never heard of MAENADS before. A polished, professional booking experience does a lot of the reassurance work that a track record would otherwise have to do. Two things stood out to her in particular:
- A custom URL and minisite: Having her own branded event website that she could share directly, rather than sending people to a generic listings page, made MAENADS feel like a proper, standalone event rather than a one-off pop-up.
- Tiered and early bird ticketing: Emielia ran a discounted first tier before moving to full price closer to the date – a straightforward way to reward early bookers and build momentum for a brand-new event with no prior audience to draw on.
She also made good use of capacity limits, which were simple to set and manage – essential for a first event where getting the room-feel right matters as much as the numbers. If you’re weighing up which ticket types and tiers make sense for your own first event, Emielia’s approach – modest early bird pricing, a firmer price closer to the date, and a hard capacity cap – is a solid template for anyone taking their first steps as an organiser.
“We wanted a credible ticketing platform to legitimise the event – Weezevent allowed us to create a professional ticket page instantly.”
3. Choosing the right event ticketing platform
Fees were a deciding factor for Emielia when she compared Weezevent to other ticketing competitors – as an independent, self-funded event, keeping more of the ticket revenue mattered. It’s a common consideration for anyone weighing up an Eventbrite alternative for a first event on a limited budget.
“Weezevent’s fees were much fairer than other platforms we considered.”
Beyond the practicalities, it was the design flexibility that really won her over. Emielia specifically called out how much she enjoyed being able to customise her event page, including adding her own banners:
“I love how you can make it really pretty – really make it yours. This was a must for us.”
For an event built on atmosphere and identity, being able to make the booking page look and feel like MAENADS – rather than like every other listing on a generic platform – was a small detail that added up. The results speak for themselves:
“We have our second event coming up in October. And we will definitely be using Weezevent again.”
4. Message for fellow organisers: believe in your idea
Emielia was candid about the uncertainty that came with launching MAENADS. Without a clearly defined “purpose” in the traditional sense, she found herself second-guessing the concept in the run-up to the first event. What settled her nerves was the response from the people who actually turned up – feedback that repeatedly pointed to the simple value of being in a room with other people, in person, around something they cared about.
Her advice to other organisers considering taking the leap is straightforward:
“If you’re having second thoughts about your event – keep going! I was really stressed, but our feedback was really positive, so much so that we have our next event planned for October.”
That second event, on 22nd October, sees the format continue to evolve, keeping its focus on women in wine while expanding further into the creative industries, with a ceramicist joining to demonstrate her craft on the night.
As Emielia puts it, don’t second-guess yourself: if you believe in the idea, go for it. And if you’re in London and want to see what an accessible, community-first wine event actually looks like, drop by MAENADS next event!
Ready to give your own first event the credibility it deserves? Create your free Weezevent account and set up a branded event page in minutes.
