Wedding Planner Interview: Joyfully Gathered

 

Y’all are about to FREAK out about this…starting today, every Wednesday the blog will feature a brand new interview from a fellow wedding vendor, small business owner, or brand that you NEED during wedding planning season. I am so incredibly excited about this and I can’t wait for you to see all of the knowledge that these incredible people have. I’m beyond grateful that I have been able to connect with the people that will be featured and even more excited you will get to hear all of their advice. It’s going to be so good!

Kicking the series off TODAY are the stunning ladies of Joyfully Gathered, they are a wedding planning team here in Northern California and truly the cutest duo I have ever seen. Keep reading to hear their tips for your wedding day and so much more! Enjoy!

Tell us a little about you! Where are you located and what services do you offer?

We are Hannah & Danielle, a wedding planning duo based in Northern California. We offer wedding coordination, planning, and design for life’s big moments.

What would you say to a couple who does not think a planner/coordinator is important to fit into their budget?

We like to find out a couple’s priorities in our initial consultations to hear what is most important to them about their wedding day. If a full-service wedding planning team isn’t feasible, we always recommend a day-of wedding coordinator at the very least. Someone who isn’t related to you and who has the experience to handle executing the wedding day that you’ve worked so hard to plan. We hear from couples all of the time that the best investment they made was hiring a wedding planner – it relieves the families of having to take care of the details on the wedding day so that they can be present with the couple!

What is the difference between day-of/month-of and a full wedding planning package?

Day-Of / Month-Of wedding planning packages are great for couples that have the time to dedicate to researching and planning, or couples that are on a budget but still want that planner for the wedding day. Full wedding planning packages are great for couples that want someone to walk them through each step of the process with ease. For many couples, the expertise of having a planning team help you streamline your decision making, come up with a cohesive design, review contracts and ultimately create and execute a seamless and stress-free wedding day is absolutely worth the investment

What are some wedding planning trends you see taking place this year?

If we’ve learned anything this year it is to throw the rulebook out the window. Trends towards micro-weddings are obvious, but we are also seeing couples re-prioritize what is actually important about their wedding day. Simplicity seems to be the trend right now!

How are you unique in how you handle wedding days?

We have the benefit of offering two experienced planners reviewing all of the details of your event – we’ve worked together for so long that we are damn close to finishing each other’s sentences at this point. We work hard to create a calm atmosphere for our team of vendors and our couples. We do our best to be an advocate for our couples and help them through a process that we know well!

What is your favorite part of the job?

Well, besides the fact that we love working together, we really love getting to know our couples to the point that they trust us with one of the most important, formative times in their lives together.

What can a couple expect from you once they book your services?

They can expect a whole lot of love from us! From welcome gifts to monthly emails and check-ins, we do our best to help our couples manage expectations, make the best decisions for their wedding day, and ultimately to create a day that feels like the best reflection of their love story.

What type of role do you have when it comes to wedding vendors? Do you handle contracts, payments, and all contact leading up to the wedding?

We like to be as involved as the couple wants! Once they select a planning package, that will determine when we start direct vendor communication. We always offer our preferred vendor list to our Day-Of / Month-Of brides so that even if we aren’t doing the vendor communication right away, they can still see our top picks in each planning category. We also are happy to review contracts for those brides as well. We really partner with our couples more than we control every detail. A common misconception is that when couples hire a full coordination planner they are effectively giving up their right to have any say in their wedding. That’s not true! We ultimately want to create the day that you have envisioned! We are just bringing our expertise into the mix so that the decision-making can be as easy as possible.

What is a mistake you see couples make often that you can give some insight/help into?

Attaching themselves to a venue before really figuring out what their priorities are – if the budget is the number one priority but they are in love with a venue that is going to put them over-budget, then every decision after that is going to be stressful. We ask our full-coordination clients to fill out a questionnaire that, among other things, identifies their priorities, so that we can come back to those throughout the planning process. If any decision deviates from those priorities then we re-evaluate before committing to that particular item.

If you could offer a couple one piece of wedding advice, what would it be?

Take a few minutes throughout the day to sneak away from the party with your honey and soak in the day – it goes by FAST and if you are running from one thing to the next you’ll miss it (reason #547 why we love First Looks, they give you more time with your soon-to-be spouse pre-ceremony so that you can get those family or sunset photos in during the reception without the stress of running out of time)

Are there any other questions you get asked often or wish you could share more about? Feel free to add anything!

The wedding industry is full of creatives, devoting their time and talents to their clients, and that comes at a cost. You are not only hiring a vendor for their service, but for their experience and their knowledge within their field. We hope that our clients value the time and love we put into planning their big days, as well as the other vendors they hand-select to be a part of them as well. Also, a thank you note or positive review goes a long way!

Wait, don’t you just love Hannah & Danielle? I met them last year and they have become sweet friends of mine that I hold so dear and I’m beyond grateful for the two of them. Be sure to find them on Instagram @joyfullygathered or head to their website https://www.joyfullygathered.co/ or email them at hello@joyfullygathered.co!