Because my name is on the business, so many people think I do EVERYTHING. And while yes, I’m in charge of EVERYTHING, there’s quite honestly no way I could do it all alone. Forget about the key functions necessary of just making any business run, we are also known for producing highly detailed, multi-day celebrations across the entire globe. There are so many moving parts that no single individual could ever do what we do as a one person show and would have a hard time even with a single assistant. Essentially, every event we produce has three main players. Me, one event producer and one event associate. Together I’m proud to say we can manage any project and any level of production brought our way while ensuring it’s beautiful at the same time. Today I wanted to give a little behind the scenes peek at our internal process and share exactly what each person is responsible for when it comes to creating memorable celebrations no matter the size or location.
First and foremost, is Madeline. She is our Senior Event Producer and has been full time with me for over three years. I could be cliche and call her my right hand, but it would be more accurate to say she’s my brain. She allows me the freedom to be creative and spend time with the clients by taking care of all of the high level production needs each event commands. She is my partner on most of the weddings we produce. She manages vendors, handles logistics and is part of each meeting and call with our clients so she can also know every single detail of their celebration. On site this translates to her being able to handle any conversation or issue be it with the couple, their family or vendor that my come up. This is important because on site there can be so many fires to put out and I’m often called to be in two places at once. With her and the rest of the team by my side, I’m able to do just that. So while I’m working with the lighting designer to make a design call or ensuring the bar is perfectly styled, she can handle sound checks with the band or making sure the couple is getting enough to eat.
Next up is Marsi. Marsi has been with me for close to seven years and counting. She is also an event producer on my team but focuses more on events than weddings. She handles the production of birthday parties, VIP celebrations and social events for our legacy clients and also manages all of the wedding weekend events that are not the actual wedding day. Think welcome parties, rehearsal dinners, excursions and brunches. Like Madeline, she handles all of the high level production needs of our celebrations so I can focus on the clients, their vision and their needs. She’s also far more adventurous than I when it comes to design and while I’m often not risky enough to take all of her suggestions, I love collaborating with her to make our designs even more creative than they would be if I created by myself. On the wedding weekends, we call on her to lead and manage all ancillary events. While you may think Madeline and I could handle that on our own, we’ve learned over the years that it’s just not possible because often Madeline might be managing the rehearsal while I’m setting up the rehearsal dinner and all the while a major issue comes up with the wedding production at the same time. Marsi alleviates this for us by taking the helm of event set up for the ancillary parties which allows Madeline to continue to manage production at the wedding and me to float between both while also being available for our clients.
Then we have Kellie. Kellie assists both Marsi and I on all of the nitty gritty we need to ensure the tiniest of details are as perfect as the higher level production involved with each event. She does all of the initial research when it comes to venues, vendors and the like. She ensures we don’t miss a step when it comes to things like addressing invitations, RSVP’s and more. And she ensures every detail such as the welcome gifts, cocktail napkins, and such are created and show up on site perfectly. Kellie is in charge of ordering no less than 70 t0 100 products for any given event. Some of these are simple orders from Amazon and some details are completely custom down to sourcing a specific textile and exact thread and the seamstress needed to create the perfect custom aisle runner. Essentially she makes sure no balls are dropped, allowing us to create highly detailed and personal celebrations while Marsi and I focus on the bigger picture design and production. On site, she’s in charge of ensuring shuttles depart on time, hair and makeup is going as scheduled and making sure every tiny detail is implemented from the escort cards to the table numbers to the departure gifts and more. Kellie is also charged with knowing every detail of Marsi’s events so she can step in if a scenario arises where Marsi and I are predisposed with other situations on an event day, which happens ALL THE TIME.
Lastly, we have Zaire who’s our newest team member. So new, we haven’t had the chance to even have a team head shot taken. But Zaire isn’t any less significant in our operations. Zaire’s role is essentially to be Madeline and I’s backbone in the same way Kellie supports Marsi and I. She handles all of the initial vendor research from checking room blocks, scheduling scouting trips and gathering initial quotes so Madeline and I can focus on our couples and the larger production elements. She handles orders, double and triple checking calligraphy and so many other tiny details ensuring we keep every detail moving along at the pace needed to deliver successfully. She manages budgets, ancillary timelines such as hair and makeup scheduling, bridal party timelines and more and she’s a Godsend when it comes to keeping us organized. On site, she is required to know every detail of the plans for the wedding day so she can step in and solve any issue that comes her way if Madeline and I are managing other details.
While this is only a glimpse of what each person does within the company, essentially creating a strong team has been key to our success when it comes to creating amazing, high level productions filled with the most personal of details. I feel so lucky to have them by my side and know it is because of them that our clients are getting the best possible experience both throughout the planning process and on the event day.
