Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Coetzee.
Hi Lee, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
BLB stands for Bill, Lee and Bob. Billeebob… LOL, Bill is a top musician with Disney for 25 years. Me-Lee had my own event and floral company for over 25 years. Bob is this incredible person for an eye with designs and building. So we looked at places to settle down as a family for many years. Bought several properties with deals falling through. We wanted to retire together, keeping in mind horses, animals and without backgrounds, doing a venue. So we found this incredible 10-acre ranch, and the rest is history… An amazing history. We put our all into it. We thought of every aspect of the event industry and put it into the ranch. We also live here, so we kept that in mind designing the space. We have six incredible horses that are Disney retired horses, as part of our lives, my mini goats, our peacocks, chickens, and then the cats and dogs. LOL… a full-on zoo. So YES, we are a wedding and event venue, proving a place and experience where memories are made.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a challenging journey, trying to build out the perfect setting for both living as our home and as a venue space. Dealing with the city for zoning was a fun treat, LOL, but our neighbors have been a big blessing along the way. There were difficulties in place due to the prior owners that we had to fix to move forward in our adventure.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, I owned my own floral and event company for 25 plus years. Sold it just before the Covid nightmare. My company was in and still is in the Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes. Longest runner contract with a vendor, I have been told. This was and still is a passion and blessing of mine. So I brought everything I knew to the Hacienda when doing the designs, layouts, gardens, dressings, rooms etc. So with Bill’s knowledge of music and weddings, Bob’s eye for design and building, we created this one-of-a-kind magical place. A place I am most proud of. And I believe my background with Bills in the wedding and music industry definitely gives us a one-up in regards to giving clients a one-of-a-kind incredible experience here at the Hacienda.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Well, this is our home first and for most, so the event – venue side is a wonderful bonus for us. We have noticed a trend to people wanting smaller, more private-style weddings and events, especially around here. So we find we are the most perfect fit. Although we are a ranch, we use the word Hacienda because our house is very European in design, and we have tried to reflect that throughout our buildings and designs. Our party barn has 12 plus wonderful wrought iron Italian chandeliers in it. We have had some people come here and say this is not rustic- ranch-like enough. We are definitely not every one’s idea of a barn venue… THANK GOD!!!!!
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@blbhacienda.com
- Website: BLBHacienda.com
- Instagram: blbhaciendaweddings
- Facebook: BLBHacienda
Image Credits
Crickets photography NUVA photography
