About
Rooted in shared growth.
Ashling comes from the Irish Aisling, meaning “dream” or “vision,” and the ash tree. The ash tree is unique because its roots help build a network that moves important resources to where they’re needed, allowing trees to share what they have and support the growth around them.
That same idea is behind Ashling. We bring businesses, venues, hosts and professionals together to share audiences, expertise, resources and opportunities. What one partner has can help another, giving all of us more ways to grow.
Our brands
Our consumer brands are a key part of what makes Ashling Events different from other event services. We don’t just provide the infrastructure behind events. We have a direct relationship with the people those experiences are designed for.
Smitten Singles
Making every single moment count.
Smitten Singles offers a fresh alternative to dating apps with facilitated, in-person experiences that give singles more opportunities to meet naturally and connect in real life.
Forever Smitten
Turn moments into memories.
Forever Smitten is for monogamous couples who still want to date each other. We give couples new reasons to get out of the house, discover places, try experiences and make time together feel like something worth remembering.
Paper Lantern Social Club
Where friendship glows.
Paper Lantern Social Club helps adults expand their social circles through events and shared experiences that make meeting new people and building friendships more natural.
Our story
Ashling started from a simple idea: good things happen when people have a place to gather.
Ashling Events grew from more than four years of creating and curating nearly a thousand events designed to help people find genuine connection in real life, beginning with our original, Smitten Singles brand. Along the way, we’ve built relationships with the venues, hosts and event professionals who make those experiences possible.
We have always sought partnerships that keep more dollars in our communities, create paid opportunities for event hosts, and generate revenue for the businesses that give our communities their character.
As our brands grew, we saw an opportunity to activate the ecosystem we had already built. Ashling Events brings venues, event hosts, coaches, learning partners and consumer audiences together on one platform. Venues gain new ways to reach customers and create experiences. Hosts gain access to paid opportunities, skills building and resources. Coaches and learning partners bring expertise and resources to both our professionals and consumer communities.
We are local and independent business forward, while welcoming franchises, chains and larger organizations that invest in and contribute to their local communities. Our Enterprise plans make it possible to build those partnerships across multiple locations.
Today, our strongest consumer communities are in Omaha, Des Moines and Sioux Falls, but the Ashling platform allows us to grow well beyond the Midwest. We are actively building a national network of venues and event hosts and seeking partners across the United States.
Our values
Local first
We believe local businesses help define a community. We prioritize partnerships that strengthen independent businesses, create opportunities close to home and help more revenue stay within the communities we serve.
Create opportunity
We want our work to create real economic opportunity. That means helping businesses generate revenue, creating paid work for hosts and event professionals, and giving our partners new ways to grow alongside us.
Real connection
We believe there is still tremendous value in getting people together in real life. We build experiences, tools and partnerships that give people more opportunities to meet, participate and form genuine connections.
Shared success
We believe a strong partnership should create value on every side. We bring businesses, hosts, coaches, learning partners and communities into the same ecosystem so opportunities, expertise and audiences can move between them.
Our commitment
Ashling works with the Safe Bar Network, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing alcohol-facilitated harm. Through that partnership we support welcoming, responsible and well-prepared events at partner locations.
Learn about the Safe Bar Network