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When Anna from Anna Michalska Photography reached out to me about doing a vendor interview, I jumped at the chance. The first think I do when looking for new vendors, or simply making a purchase is look for photos or a video of them. Once I see their face, hear their voice, and see their mannerisms, I get a general idea of what they’re like. This way, once I do contact them, I know what I’m in for.
Click below to watch my interview with Anna. I hope we answer questions you may have about Evelyn Clark Weddings. From what we do as wedding planners to the kinds of couples that like to work with us, we hope you like what we share!
Wedding planner interview transcript
Can’t watch the video right now?
Here’s the transcript so that you don’t miss anything.
Anna: What sorts of services do you offer (day-of coordination, full-service event design or a la carte planning)?
Evelyn: Full planning & design and Wedding month Management, and Custom service based on availability.
Anna: Do you handle professional services, contracts and payment processing?
Evelyn: I help my full-planning clients acquire professional vendors and services by matching them with vendors appropriate for their style, budget and personalities. I do review contracts for them and help facilitate payments, but ultimately my clients are responsible for signing contracts with and making the actual payments to vendors themselves.
Anna: Do you handle rentals? Will you coordinate delivery, arrival and set up times with the photographer, the florist, the musicians and the caterer/banquet manager?
Evelyn: Yes and no. We handle the “light” decor and rentals such as linens and centrepieces and guestbook, etc. We leave the heavy-lifting such as loading and setting rental chairs, draping, lighting and large florals like arbours to the rental companies or florists/cake artists that we work with. We concentrate on design, planning and coordination, so we work best handling the small details and answering questions and coordinating people — all the timing, arrivals and set-up with vendors. We leave the heavier duty rentals to those that are trained and have the steel toe boots and know-how to install and dismantle safely.
Anna: Can you create a timeline that tells everyone involved in the planning process – other pros, members of the wedding party, bride/groom and families — what to do and when to do it?
Evelyn: You bet. Couples can struggle with this because this is likely their first wedding.
While most couples know what time they are taking their photos, the time of the ceremony, cocktails and dinner, they don’t know what to do with all of the little details and logistics in between. With our experience, we know how much time to allocate for your guests to take their seats before the Grand Entrance so that your dinner doesn’t get cold.
So we provide an itinerary to the couple that they can pass to their bridal party and family. We also create a wedding itinerary for vendors. This lists more logistical details, arrival times and loading times, when to start an installation and how long they have before guests start arriving, etc. everyone knows what happens and where they need to be for a seamless event.
Anna: What’s the cost of the average wedding you plan?
Evelyn: This varies. Most couples have a starting budget of $40-50K, but this number depends on your guest count. A $40K wedding for 50 looks very different than a $40K wedding for 150. So the way we look at it is $ per guest. You take your overall budget and divide that by your number of guests. Our numbers start at roughly $400+/guest.
Anna: How many weddings do you do per year, and do you plan events other than weddings?
Evelyn: We are a small firm and we like it that way. It gives us time to focus and work closer with our clients and a bit more of that work/life balance. So we like to take on about 15 weddings a year. This doesn’t mean every year is like this, but the beauty of owning your own business is being able to take on more or less when you need to. We only plan weddings because of this too to keep our focus.
Anna: Will you handle every aspect of the planning or can the couple do some things on their own? In other words, what parts of the planning will the couple be responsible for?
Evelyn: This depends on what service a couple books with us. Full-planning clients get the benefit or starting from scratch (or near scratch) with us — we scour venues, match them with vendors and manage all vendor communication and meetings, plus develop a budget and manage that budget, in addition to coordinating all the details on the day-of. So, yes, we have a hand in all aspects of their planning.
With Wedding Month Management, these couples are planning on their own for the most part. We are happy to give them vendor recommendations, answer some questions here and there, and offer a meeting during their planning to help guide them. But we really start working with them about a month or so before the wedding. At this point, they should have most of the planning done, and our job is to look at their plans and fill in the gaps. We fine tune everything so that the wedding day is seamless.
There is personal responsibility for all couples though, regardless of service. Couples are responsible for making decisions and communicating with us — if they’re unsure about anything, unhappy with anything (or really happy with anything!). Ultimately, a wedding planner doesn’t plan the wedding for you, they plan the wedding with you and make it easier.
Anna: What has been some of the most memorable wedding planning/wedding experiences you’ve had??
Evelyn: As much as you can plan the details and choose beautiful decor, a wonderful wedding is nothing without a great group of guests.
It’s when we experience a wedding where you really feel the manifestation of love and excitement to celebrate — with big laughs, whoops during speeches or during little inside jokes. As an outsider, I don’t know the bride and groom and their friends as intimately. But when I can feel the intimacy of the couple and their guests and get swept up in everything — that’s when you have a memorable wedding experience.
Thanks again, Anna, for inviting us to take part in your vendor interview series!
Would you believe that it took over 2 months of rescheduling before everyone was healthy enough to be on video at the same time?
If you have any more questions, feel free to give us a shout here.
