What motivated you to start your business?
Six years ago, I had to plan my own wedding. I went through the stress and uncertainties that come with wedding planning. The lack of knowledge and professional support made it difficult for me and my fiancé to enjoy some parts of the planning process. After my wedding, I started reflecting on what could have been better, and I realized that there were some hiccups that could have been avoided if I had hired a wedding planner. After doing some research, I discovered that I could have allocated a budget to hire a planner and make it easy on myself and my family. I did not know what a wedding planner could do. Since then, I decided to educate myself, and start a business to serve couples.
Tell us what makes your business different from other wedding companies?
As a bride who had to plan her own wedding, I understand that wedding planning can be overwhelming and stressful. I have started Everlasting Weddings By Grace not only to allow couples to enjoy the planning process, the wedding day, and all of the events leading up to it, but also to educate them on how to choose and work with vendors who match their wedding style.
In addition, my cultural background is reflected in our core values: Intentional planning, Modern with a twist of tradition, Respect for our clients, Have grace under pressure, Being Authentic with our clients and our partners, and Plan and design with Elegance. Being originally from Africa and having lived in almost all continents, I have acquired a cultural sensitivity and a fluency in five languages, which makes me the right person to understand people individually, and respect family traditions and diversities that weddings bring together. At Everlasting Weddings By Grace, we cater to people from different backgrounds, and create events that truly are a reflection of each individual couple.
How did you handle the pandemic? Did your business model change?
As we all know the pandemic was a hard and scary time for everybody. The event industry was greatly affected, and like many other event professionals, our company had to adapt to the unpredictability that came with Covid-19 and to the restrictions. We had to adjust our services to meet the CDC guidelines, which led us to create our all-inclusive Micro-wedding package, which brought together many wedding professionals from different categories and was also an easy way for couples to still have the wedding they dreamed about.
What is your best advice for engaged couples?
Our advice for engaged couples: follow your vision of your wedding day. It can be easy to be influenced by other people’s experiences, but the more you stay truth to your vision, the happier you will be.
How far in advance should couples book your business?
12-18 months in advance is ideal, as we love working closely with our couples and having enough time to get to know them.
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