Jordan Fatheree of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek | Luxury Weddings in Dallas & WIPACon 2026
Jordan Fatheree, director of catering and events at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, joins Kevin Cochran on the Texas Wedding Podcast to open a series leading up to WIPACon, WIPA's first-ever national conference, coming to Dallas August 9th through 11th.
Jordan traces his path from a small Texas town through hotel school in Las Vegas to landing his first Rosewood job through a chance meeting at a Rangers game, and shares what makes events at the birthplace of the Rosewood brand feel different from anywhere else. He and Kevin also walk through Jordan's full run through WIPA Dallas leadership, and preview his own WIPACon talk, Video 101 for Non-Videographers, along with the rest of the conference program.
Follow along with WIPACon updates and hear more from the people shaping the Texas wedding market on the Texas Wedding Podcast.
Jordan's own WIPA Dallas presidential lineage includes two past guests of this show. Pair this one with Mary Wright Shah's episode [link needed, see flag above] and Paula Ewers' episode to hear from the rest of that chain.
The Texas Wedding Podcast is hosted by Kevin Cochran of 718 Creative, a Texas wedding videographer.
This episode is sponsored by Waco Work, recorded in person at their downtown Waco studio. Listeners of the Texas Wedding Podcast get 10% off booking the space.
Meet Jordan Fatheree
Kevin: Jordan is the director of catering and events at Rosewood Mansion, which is the OG, the first of the Rosewood properties. On top of that, he's the director of programs for the WIPA National Board, and has been a huge part of WIPA Dallas, even as it's transformed into WIPA DFW.
From a Dairy Judging Contest to Four Seasons Las Vegas
Jordan Fatheree: I grew up in Rockdale, Texas, about an hour from here, played every sport, did every extracurricular, was student body president, and was a dairy food judge, which is exactly as small-town Texas as it sounds. I went to Austin Community College undecided, and I remember standing at a wall of pamphlets when I saw one for meeting and event planning. I called the department chair, Virginia Lawrence, right then. She'd planned weddings at Disney and took me completely under her wing. By eighteen I was already opening the W Austin downtown.
From there I wanted to go to hotel school, so I packed up and moved to Las Vegas for UNLV, one of the top hospitality programs anywhere. I was interning at the Four Seasons on the Strip, on the top floors of Mandalay Bay, at the same time I was carrying a full course load, going straight from class to a shift on the floor. Going from the W's cool, casual brand to the Four Seasons' strict standard was an adjustment, but it gave me the foundation I still lean on. I stayed on at Four Seasons after graduating, moving through banquets, the restaurant, and eventually sales.
Landing at Rosewood Through a Rangers Game
Jordan Fatheree: I moved to Dallas for a relationship, as one does, with no job lined up yet. I ended up in a suite at a Rangers game and met Julian Leaver, the first industry person I met in this city. I told him my background, and he mentioned he was overseeing catering and events for two Rosewood hotels at the time. He said let's grab coffee that week, and within a couple of days he had a job for me. That was 2014. Meeting him in that suite felt like sitting next to the one perfect person in the whole city for what I needed right then.
Life at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Jordan Fatheree: I'm the director of catering and events at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, the birthplace of the Rosewood brand. This is my second tour with Rosewood, so it genuinely feels like coming home. My team includes Gary, who handles conference services and was actually my director of catering years ago, Monica, ten years with the hotel and incredibly sharp on food and beverage logistics, and Logan, who joined us this year and keeps everything buttoned up for our clients.
If I had to name my favorite parts of the job: leading site tours and sharing the hotel's history, working alongside every department toward the same client, and getting to know legacy staff who've been here for decades and are still just as passionate as their first day, like Mary at our concierge desk and Arnie, one of our banquet captains. I also live close enough to walk to work most days, which in Dallas traffic is its own kind of luxury.
Along with Julian and our sister property in the Bahamas, I help produce Rosewood World of Weddings, an event bringing destination resort teams together with wedding planners. We hosted the first one in Dallas last year, and this year it's moving to Rosewood Sand Hill in Palo Alto.
Most of our clients already have a connection to the hotel, afternoon tea, a holiday brunch, some memory that gives the day extra meaning before we even start planning.
A Wedding I Won't Forget
Jordan Fatheree: I'm not going to share too much out of respect for the family's privacy, but this was one of the most meaningful weddings I've been part of. A bride was seriously injured by a distracted driver a few months before her wedding date. I got a call from her mother right after it happened, and for a while we assumed the date would have to move. But she made a full, near-miraculous recovery, and the wedding happened on the original date as planned. We called her our miracle bride. It's such a gift to get a small window into someone's life at a moment like that, and to help make the celebration happen anyway.
A WIPA Leadership Lineage
Jordan Fatheree: Jordan Kahn called me around 2021 and told me I should apply for vice president of WIPA Dallas, before it became WIPA DFW. Mary Wright Shah was president at the time, about to become immediate past president, and Jacqueline Hill was moving from VP into president. I served under Jacqueline, then had my own term as president, with Tracy Autumn as my VP. Tracy became president next, and I served as her immediate past president. When Tracy needed some time away from the board, Paula Ewers stepped up as president, and I supported her too. Chloe Alday has led the chapter since, and has done an incredible job retaining real, quality connections even as the numbers have grown huge.
After my term ended, I wanted to keep serving, so I applied for the WIPA National Board, and this year we're producing the first-ever national conference.
WIPACon 2026
Jordan Fatheree: I'm doing a breakout talk called Video 101 for Non-Videographers. So many people in our industry know video matters for marketing but find it intimidating to actually start, so the goal is to give real handrails, a blueprint for using video with intention instead of it being this huge lift every time.
For the rest of the program: Caitlin Fulton of Fulton Events, who built WIPA Philadelphia into what it is, is hosting the kickoff party. Todd Events and its sister brands, Avant Garden, Vertical 360, and Party Dallas, are designing the main stage. Kate & Co is running the Monday night experience. And Julian Leaver's team is designing WIPA DFW's first true gala, a concept built around honoring the craftspeople behind every wedding, the florists, the seamstresses, the cooks, as a gift to the wedding community itself. Damon John opens day one, and Augusta Cole, who rarely speaks from a stage like this, is one I'm most excited to hear.
Twenty-five WIPA chapters will be in the same room together for the first time ever. If you're on the fence about registering, don't be. Tickets are limited and WIPA events always sell out. By the time this episode is live, there may only be a handful left.
Connect with Jordan Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek: https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/mansion-on-turtle-creek
Connect with Kevin // 718 Creative https://718creative.com | https://www.instagram.com/718.creative
Connect with the Podcast https://www.texasweddingpodcast.com | https://www.instagram.com/texasweddingpodcast
