Candace Rape
Candace is the person you'll plan with, hear from, and celebrate alongside. From the first message to the last dance, she makes sure every event at The PHNX feels personal, because to her, it is.
Alongside her husband Andrew, she turned a building lost to fire into one of Trussville's most welcoming gathering spaces. Andrew builds and runs it. Candace is its heart.
"I want every couple and every family to leave feeling like they celebrated with a friend."
A local, through and through.
Candace has called Trussville home for years, and it shows in the way she runs The PHNX. She knows the families, the traditions, and what a milestone means to the people celebrating it, because more often than not, she knows the people too.
When a fire took the original building in May of 2023, Candace and Andrew didn't walk away. They spent two years rebuilding, leaning on a community that showed up right alongside them. That experience shaped how she hosts today: with gratitude, with warmth, and with the understanding that a space is only as good as the people in it.
She's the one who answers your first email, who remembers the little details you mentioned in passing, and who's there on your event day making sure everything feels exactly right. Not a front desk. Not a booking bot. A real person who genuinely cares how your day turns out.
Our whole wedding cost less than $10,000.
When Andrew and I got married, we didn't have a big budget. Under ten thousand dollars for the entire day. We booked one of the most affordable venues we could find, decorated with things we pulled together from garage sales and flea markets, and my dad built our photo booth by hand out of 2x4s and plywood. Our friends did the catering. Every single piece of it was done on a budget.
And honestly? It was perfect. Because all we really wanted was to be married and start our life together. Everything else was just details we figured out alongside the people we love.
That wedding is the whole reason The PHNX exists the way it does.
Affordable. Not cheap.
We never want the price of a venue to be the reason someone settles for less than the day they pictured. So we built The PHNX to be affordable, and we mean genuinely affordable, while still giving you far more than you pay for.
You get the space, the freedom to bring your own vendors, and the room to decorate and plan it exactly your way, all within a budget that actually makes sense for your life. Just like we did.
Your wedding shouldn't put you in a hole before your marriage even begins. It should be the start of something good, and we'd be honored to give you the place to begin it.
You're in good hands.
When you book The PHNX, Candace is who you're working with, start to finish.
She plans with you
From your first question to your final walkthrough, Candace helps you shape the day you're picturing, at your pace.
She's there on the day
Candace is on-site making sure everything runs smoothly, so you can actually be present for your own celebration.
She remembers you
Many of the guests who celebrate here come back, because it never feels like a transaction. It feels like family.
I'd love to hear from you.
Tell me what you're celebrating and your guest count, and I'll help you find your date and build the perfect day.
Can't wait to meet you. — Candace