Top Tips from 3 of the best wedding planners
Knowing what questions to ask when looking for a wedding planner can be a struggle, and that's why we've spoke with 3 of the top wedding planners (in our eyes) to give answers to their most asked questions and top tips on how to work with a wedding planner, to plan your big day!
Wiskow & White
Italian Wedding planner Lucy shared with us her most asked questions and insights into her brand Wiskow & White.
At Wiskow & White we create weddings that are authentic to our couples. This means that we bring together a unique team of suppliers to create something that looks and feels completely right to the couple.Our weddings range from 10 people to 150 people, take place Italy wide and have hugely varying budgets too. We use our creativity to make each event whether big or small, budget high or low, the best weekend of our couples lives and a moment in time that their guests will never forget.
"I’ve recently got engaged and am thinking about a destination wedding. Where do I start?"
Have a think about why you’d like a destination wedding and what aspects of the wedding are most important to you. Start to gather a rough idea of what you’d like to spend.
Book a call with an experienced planner. You’ll learn lots, get some great advice from an expert, without any of the dodgy sales tactics. This sort of call will really help you to understand what’s involved, get a feel for whether this is going to be the right route for you and what it might cost to create what you desire.
"What shall I look for when choosing a planner?"
It’s all about connection. You’re going to have this person or team in your life for a long time and from an initial chat you should feel whether they really understand your vision and needs. It’s also important to understand their experience - the weddings they’ve done, the feedback they’ve got. Real life experience beyond styled shoots and curated instagram accounts.
And finally what their planning process is like - is this going to fit in with the way you like to do things, your lifestyle and your expectations of what your planner will do for you?
"I'm not sure if an Italian wedding is for me..."
Italian weddings and wedding planning is slightly different to planning your wedding at home of course. The distance, the language, the slightly more relaxed response times (!) - it’s best to understand this before jumping in as it does not suit everyone. Having someone you trust as a go-between, whether that’s a planner, a venue or another supplier, that can help with the language and clarifying things is key. A wedding is a complicated event and there is a lot of communication and detail that goes in to getting it spot on. This shouldn’t be under-estimated.
Despite the slow response times and Italian ways, suppliers in Italy care so deeply about weddings and do an exceptional job. When it comes to the service they deliver, they give 100% and that’s why the weddings that you see look and feel so wonderful - and people keep having Italian weddings!
And finally, we asked Lucy to give us her best advice -
Trust yourselves, but take good advice when it’s given to you. Hopefully you’ll have a great team behind you that coach you through your decision making. When something doesn’t feel quite right, it usually isn’t. So really connect with your gut and make sure you follow it.
Instagram @wiskowandwhite
Miranda Rose Events
Earlier this year after 10 years of working in the events industry one of our favourite event planners, has finally made the big jump into weddings and has set up Miranda Rose Weddings & Events and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to our industry. Miranda Rose designs and delivers unique, heartfelt experiences tied together with elegance and timeless style. The weddings they have already produced are jaw droppingly beautiful and give us such a buzz.
At Miranda Rose we work closely with each off our clients to understand their unique vision for their wedding. I’ve always loved working with my clients helping them to bring their vision to life. It’s the kind of job that my detail driven, spreadsheet obsessed personality thrives on. We use our wealth of knowledge, creativity and experience to support our clients at each and every step. We take so much pride in our impeccable management and organisations skills to make sure that no element is forgotten or overlooked.
"Do I need to go to a Wedding planner with a set vision or is just a few vague ideas ok?"
At Miranda Rose we believe that it all starts with you. Your vision. Your dream. Your day. Every couple has a different approach and needs from wedding planners. Some come to us with a very strong vision of how they want their wedding to be and some couples need a little extra help to draw out of them what their perfect day looks like. We can help a couple execute their dream vision for their wedding with partial planning services or on the day management.
"How can I make my Wedding day unique?"
It’s always a couples dream to make their wedding totally unique and have amazing wow moments that their guests have never seen before. So we have to pull together all our resources and find those special moments that people will remember forever. We have to turn into a superhero squad to find those hidden gems, but of course, we always manage it! One of our couples had a dream of leaving their wedding on an old fashioned tractor with fireworks exploding behind them – it took the logistics manpower of a small army to arrange it but boy was it worth it!
"What do I need to plan first? Where do I start?!"
I find it’s a very personal thing what matters to a couple most. For some it’s having the perfect venue, for others it’s having the most incredible food or like for me I was desperate to have a certain photographer. Once you pick what’s most important to you then you get that ticked off your list first and base all the other elements around it. I knew I wanted Benjamin Wheeler as my photographer so I found out his availability, booked him and then worked out the rest around that date.
And finally, we asked Hannah to give us her best advice -
For us it’s all about connection. Your wedding planner is going to become an extension of yourself in this incredible journey and it’s critical that that person fully understands you and your vision. If you can meet your potential planner in person then great but even an initial phone call should tell you if they are the right planner for you.
Your wedding day is a day which gives you and your partner a chance to celebrate the love you have for each other. Make sure it’s a day which truly embodies you both which lets your personalities and love for each other take centre stage. So don’t feel pressured to follow the crowds and trends being splashed in front of you – be true to you.
Instagram @mirandarosevents
Scarlett & Bell
We are a small team of wedding planners and creatives, working with couples from all over who share our love of Scotland as the location for their wedding. I started Scarlett & Bell to combine my creative passions with my business and organisational skills, and wedding planning was perfect.
We predominantly offer full planning and a final weeks service. With full planning we work with a lot of couples coming from oversees to marry in Scotland, and they quite often are looking for the planning of 3 or 4 days of events. Final Weeks is kind of what you think of with a day-of coordination service, but we start about 10 weeks before the wedding. With both services we will be there on the day of the wedding, making sure everything goes to plan (or as close to it as possible), and ensuring our clients and their guests have the best day!
"What questions do you get asked the most in planning a wedding?"
Probably questions about timings, when and where all aspects of the day should happen. It gives us the opportunity to discuss different ways of celebrating your day aside from the typical ceremony at 1pm, drinks 2-4pm etc. etc. It also allows us to point out realistically how long things take, like having your guests sit down for dinner! Basically things that, unless you've planned a wedding before, you're not going to know!
"What tips can you give to someone who is looking for a wedding planner?"
The most important thing is finding someone you click with, and that you trust. You are going to be speaking with them a lot, and they are acting on your behalf finding suppliers that are going to speak to your taste and personality. You need to be able to have open, honest and fun conversations with them, and feel confident they know what they're doing! So have a good long consultation with them, and trust your gut.
"Any advice on what to remember when planning a wedding?"
This is about you guys, not about what you "should" do, or what your family or friends have done. There are few rules to follow, and those are: you need to have a ceremony with a licensed professional, say some specific phrases, and sign a piece of paper. Everything else is up to you. You don't see the point of the cake cutting? Don't do it. You don't want to spend £120pp on an average meal for a lot of people you don't know that well? Have a late ceremony and cocktails, nibbles and dancing instead. Have fun planning a day that is yours.
Instagram @scarlettandbell
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