As I wait excitedly for my next wedding of the season to start, I thought I’d share this wonderful post by The Design Co.! Just like all of the unrealistic questions floating around the internet about what to ask your wedding photographer, I’m sure the same applies to wedding planners! Here are their thoughts on this confusing topic!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Are you singing along with me here? It’s the hap-happiest season of all! Still no? Okay, fine.
No, we are not late on the back-to-school commercials and yes, we know that it is WAY too early to start singing holiday music, but that other most wonderful time of the year is upon us! Any guesses? None at all? Guys! It’s engagement season!
Each and every year from Halloween to Valentine’s Day marks engagement season – the time of year that the majority of couples get engaged! There are a number of theories on why engagement season is even a “thing”, but regardless of why men and women decide to get down on one knee at this time of year to propose to their partners, it’s engagement season, it’s the season of love, so GET EXCITED!
If you are engaged, about to get engaged, or you just want to start planning your dream wedding regardless of your relationship status (this is a no judgement zone), this blog is for you! Sure, planning your wedding is made up of hours on Pinterest, flipping through magazines, and chatting with your besties about what you want your dream day will look like, but there is also the nitty-gritty side of wedding planning to consider, and that is where your wedding planner comes in. Before you consider hiring any wedding planner, however; there are some important questions that you should be asking to make sure that the planner is not only qualified, but that they are also the right fit for you and your partner. So, without further ado, here are six questions that we feel are some of the most important, answered!
How long have you been in business?
Both Stacey and Erin have run successful businesses in the wedding industry for over 10 years. The Design Co. is a collaboration between Marry Me Productions and Full Bloom Floral Design and today it is a Full Service Planning, Floral, and Decor company that plans and executes over 50 weddings per year. And while we love all event-related things, our focused is devote strictly to weddings.
For your planning services, why do you not charge a percentage like all the other planners?
Great question! When the business first opened, that is exactly what we did, but we soon realized there were some flaws in pricing our services that way. First of all, clients could never budget for our services because our prices would fluctuate with every change in their overall wedding budget – very difficult when you are trying to manage every penny! Second of all, a wedding planner is supposed to make suggestions that save you money. So it never made sense to us that we made more money when you spent more money! To simplify things, we charge a flat fee, a price built specifically for each couple with three main items in mind: budget, guest count and scope of service.
Your prices are slightly higher than some of the other wedding planners. Why is that?
If you have shopped around for wedding planning services (which we strongly encourage!) you will notice our prices tend to be at a higher price point than other planners. As in any industry, our prices are based on numerous factors related to our experience and expertise in our field. We are the longest established wedding planning business in Ottawa, with over 10 years of experience, and are the preferred wedding planner amongst the Ottawa elite. Our work has been featured in top wedding magazines such as Wedluxe and Wedding Bells, in addition to numerous blogs including Style Me Pretty and Wedding Chicks. Our expertise is also sought by the likes of CTV News and the Ottawa Citizen, where we have appeared in many segments and articles discussing the business of wedding planning.
In 2010, we were honored with an Industry Awards from Wedluxe Magazine for “Best Event Planning” for two of our weddings and just this past year we were named among the Top Wedding Planners in Canada by Vogue Magazine. We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality service to our clients and are always professional and respectful of our couples’ privacy. Our service promise is delivered through our innovative approach to wedding style, which capitalizes on a balance of current trends and traditional elegance, and our close relationships with the best vendors in Ottawa.
You can look in any bridal magazine and you find hundreds of florists, photographers and caterers but only one that is perfectly suited to your style, vision and budget. Our value lies in the relationships we have formed with an exclusive group of highly sought-after vendors who not only share our creativity and passion but our exacting standards and integrity as well. This list of elite professionals allows us to connect you with a team of vendors that make your wedding their highest priority. When you choose The Design Co., you are not simply paying for our services; you receive an enjoyable, stress-free experience and your event is planned with a highly dedicated team of professional wedding planners.
Why do you work as a team?
Because it benefits you! Wedding Planning is tough work and it often requires various hats to be donned throughout the process. Sometimes you need a designer to fulfill your creative vision and sometimes you need a coordinator to manage the logistics of the day. At The Design Co., we pride ourselves on our efforts to truly understand our client, their style and personality. When we work as a team, we have experts in all the parts of the planning and creative process which are necessary to make your wedding dreams a reality. We have found this division of labour is a win-win combination for our clients as you get the best of both worlds. Neither the design aesthetic nor the coordination of logistics becomes secondary. This partnership of skills ensures that all of your design and coordination needs are covered.
We provide each client with their personal wedding planner that is responsible for managing communications with your vendors as well as scheduling and attending all meetings. In addition, you will have access to our creatives who will oversee the decor and vision of your wedding. All of our planners are certified planners and are peer verified by the Wedding Industry Experts. Together, our team will ensure that no detail of your wedding is left to chance.
Can the coordinator from our venue plan our wedding?
When venues have a catering or event manager on site their central role is to ensure the logistics of the venue are in place, i.e. correct number of tables in the room, proper cutlery count on the table, serving and bar staff properly groomed etc. At the end of the day, venue coordinators are wonderful at their job and know the facility inside and out like the back of their hand, but it is their job to have the venue’s best interest in mind. When you hire a wedding planner, we have YOUR best interest in mind because we work for you. As your wedding planner we have great relationships with the venues we work with and this can only benefit you in the long run. We work side by side to ensure all your planning needs including, ceremony logistics, vendor procurement and timeline logistics are met.
What is your company philosophy?
We love this question and we have thought long and hard about what makes us unique and what we truly believe as a company. Some people call it their corporate culture, their mantra or their mission statement. Whatever title you choose it is about whatever makes you excited about getting out of bed in the morning. For The Design Co. it all boils down to six simple sentences:
We believe in love.
We believe in creating fabulous Saturday nights. (Fridays and Sundays too!)
We believe that details matter.
We believe in exceptional weddings.
We believe that creating beauty is not an option but a necessity.
We believe your wedding can be perfect.
At The Design Co., this is not just our mantra but our goal when planning and coordinating each and every wedding. We are truly passionate about what we do and have worked very hard over the years to make sure our company philosophy is infused in every wedding we do.
Share your thoughts with us!
Do you have any other burning questions for us? If so, let us know by commenting below or by connecting with us on @thedesigncoottawa on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using #thedesigncoblog!
xo Brittany
Photos Courtesy of: Miv Photography