Wedding planner … Revelry Events
When did you start in this business and what did you do before?
Oddly enough I actually have wanted to be a wedding planner since I was about 6! I have quite vivid memories being the go to playground wedding planner. So a big part of my life has always been the pursuit of a wedding planning career. When I was 16 I interned with a wedding planner in North London and started planning on my own when I was 19, but worked in PR for a charity to help pay the bills while I built up my business
Do you have a particular style or do you reflect the client’s desires?
Just a quick cycle through the featured images on our website will tell you that we don’t stick to one style of weddings - we love to change it up and help create unique weddings that really are a reflection of each couple’s personalities.
So in our portfolio you’ll find elegant, classic weddings in historic venues, colourful neon in a London townhouse, a tropical and tribal celebration in a barn (I remember that one!) and even a Wes Anderson inspired wedding in a restaurant. Keep them guessing, we say!
What can a wedding planner do that a best friend or venue manager can’t?
A wedding planner comes with years of experience that a keen best friend just doesn’t have. Most people can knock up a good spreadsheet or help you curate your Pinterest board, but a planner knows what’s coming down the road and can help you avoid mistakes, spot gaps, help you figure out your budget and get the absolute best out of your suppliers
A venue manager or coordinator is a brilliant thing to have and we know some truly excellent people who run things from the venue or in-house catering side of things, but a planner has a wider scope of work and holds the bigger picture. Your venue manager can’t spend time with you advising on every aspect of your wedding budget or help chase down those pesky outstanding RSVPs. The simple answer is that things like that are just not in their remit. A planner working alongside a venue manager, now that’s a dream duo
Where do you get inspiration and would you say there is a current trend?
For our regular styled shoots we take inspiration from anything from film, fashion and textiles. Even current events. One of our most recent shoot concepts, featured in You and Your Wedding magazine, was Old Havana - inspired at the time by the US lifting their embargo on Cuba, and our prediction that it would be the next big travel destination. Another, earlier in the year, was a sultry, zombie-inspired shoot timed around the release of the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies movie
Right now, a big trend for 2019 is dried flowers. There’s also a heck of a lot of love for grazing tables happening, which we are loving! (I love them too!)
What is your favourite flower?
Anemones are my current favourite! So gorgeous
What sort of information do you need to know when meeting with a prospective client for the first time?
We like to know the where and when, if they know that yet. A rough idea of budget is always useful, as well as what level of help they are looking to us for - anything from a few hours of venue search help to full on three-day event wedding planning!
What sort of lead time do you need when taking on a project and can/would you do more than one wedding per weekend?
It always depends on how much help we’re being asked for. If it’s a full plan and a couple haven’t got anything locked down, even a venue, then I would say a year to be on the safe side. But we’ve done things in less time, if couples are willing to be flexible and make quick decisions when they need to! Being a team of two, (hi Susie!) we can take on one wedding each per weekend with assistants - which has happened before in the Summer months!
Do you have fixed prices or is each package tailored to the client?
We have some guide prices for certain levels of planning help (hourly, final weeks, partial and full) but our proposals are always tailored to the clients, taking into account their needs as well as their budget
What is the most fun part of your job?
The design side, for me. I love taking a brief - however vague - and turning it into a style notes document to wow a client!
What is the most important part of your job?
The way we make our couples feel. If we’re adding to their stress, we’re not doing our jobs as well as we should be
We need to be a lot of things all at once - someone to confide in, get advice from as well as the person you assign all the boring, time-consuming and stressful parts of planning the happiest day of your life to
What makes you laugh?
Wedding speeches. Even when you think you have got to know a couple really well over the time you’ve worked together, embarrassing anecdotes from their nearest and dearest never fail to both surprise and delight!
Holly and Susie are a great team to have on your side and work on some truly awesome weddings, so if you need some help, give them a call x
Holly and Susie / Revelry Events