Six months ago, Marquita Gholston found herself in a bind. Her five-year-anniversary was fast approaching, and she did not have time to flesh out the special plans she had in mind for the occasion. Fortunately, as a client of Charmaine Flanagan, Gholston was able to sit back and enjoy a lovely evening with her partner orchestrated by Woo Forever.
“I didn’t have to worry about anything,” she recalls. “Woo Forever made our day feel like a romantic journey in a world of our own.”
Flanagan, a North Laurel resident, founded the relationship consulting service Woo Forever in February 2014 after contemplating the idea since 2009.
“My husband and I work hard at keeping our relationship fresh,” Flanagan says of their 10-year marriage. “We like to do special things for each other, and I thought, why don’t I do that for others?”
Flanagan wondered — what does “happily ever after” look like for couples that are married or in committed relationships?
“There are so many resources for singles, to actually get people together in the first place,” she says. “But once you’re hooked up, that’s it.”
At first, Flanagan considered calling the service “Second Honeymoons.”
“But it’s not just a second honeymoon,” she says. “It’s about wooing.”
Flanagan hopes that Woo Forever can be a resource for couples to find ways to connect further with one another.
“What wooing is all about is really getting to know the person you’re with,” she says. “I realize that the honeymoon stage is over for most people in committed relationships, but I feel like the next phase of compassionate love is where the reward is.”
Flanagan explains that the majority of her work involves consultation. Flanagan sits down with couples and gets to know both individuals on an intimate level.
“I consider myself ‘The Woo-ru,’” she says.
Whether she’s planning a birthday, an anniversary or a spontaneous date night, Flanagan says it’s “the little things” that truly make an occasion exceptional.
“With Charmaine’s passion for her work and great attention to every detail, she creates a very personal and unique experience for her clients,” Gholston says. “Often, our Woo Forever meetings felt like a talk with a good friend. Charmaine took the time to learn not only what I desired but why it was important to me.”
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Flanagan encourages couples to work extra hard to appreciate their significant other.
“I love Valentine’s Day, of course,” Flanagan says. “I think it’s important to really go back to what it’s all about, and that’s about celebrating the love that we have in our lives and not taking that for granted.”