Q&A Interview: Wedding Planners
germel boado
A wedding planner can be a saving grace for you. Resourceful, insightful and dedicated to being of service - they are your best friends when mapping out the big day.
In this post we did a short Q&A interview with three wedding planners. In brief, we were able to learn more about them and hear about some ideas they have. Feel free to contact them with any additional questions.
And as usual - please comment and/or share this post!
Latisha Santos
Life's First Impressions
Latisha pictured on the left Email: santos.latishag@gmail.com
What do you enjoy about wedding planning?
I enjoy everything about it but if I had to choose one thing, it would be at the end of the wedding when the Bride & Groom thank you for making their special day a success. We did our job.
How long have you been in the wedding industry?
I have been in the wedding industry for 2 years. I coordinated about 8 weddings last year. This year, we coordinated our biggest wedding with 480 guests at Treasure Island in San Francisco. Athena Herrera, the owner, started out company 14 years ago.
What is important to look for in a vendor?
Personality, experience, and trust. A vendor that has a good personality shows their work ethics. People want to work with vendors who they can get along with and coordinate with. Experience is important. Practice makes perfect, you continue to learn with each gig. And trust... Trust that each vendor does their part for the wedding - time management, performance, and execution.
What are some money saving tips for a wedding?
Be open to suggestions of ideas and referrals of vendors from your wedding coordinator, family, and friends. Most likely, they have experience with who they suggest to you.
What is the name of your company or company you work for?
What do you think makes a perfect wedding?
There is no perfect wedding but there is a successful one! As long as the bride and groom are happy and satisfied, it is the perfect wedding to them.
Flordeliz C. Lagpacan
Lead Event Coordinator at Prestigious Planning
Email: f_lagpacan@hotmail.com
What do you enjoy about wedding planning?
What I enjoy most about my job is making the clients happy. I love seeing all the vendors come together and making sure the event runs smoothly as possible.
How long have you been in the wedding industry?
7 years
What is important to look for in a vendor?
Connection is the main key to finding the right vendor. If you don't have a connection with them, they won't understand what you want. You want to be able to be comfortable with them because you're trusting them with your special day.
What are some money saving tips for a wedding?
Less is more: You may want a big centerpiece for your tables but that will obstruct the view of your guest seeing each other across the table. Talk to your vendor about compromising your centerpiece such as: how do I get this look for a lesser price. You can compromise on decorations for a bigger bar tab or check out Pinterest for a lot of DIY projects you can do with your wedding party. Do your research before you jump into booking everything, it may be exciting to get everything done right away but sometimes if you wait you can get a better deal.
What is the name of your company?
Prestigious Planning | Wedding & Events based in San Jose, CA
What do you think makes a perfect wedding?
When your clients are having fun and not stressing over the little details of the wedding. It makes it all worth it in the end: happy clients, new and old vendor relationship bond and another memorable wedding for the books.
My-Dung Tran
Weddings by My-Dung
Email: weddings@mydungtran.com
What do you enjoy about wedding planning?
I love the opportunity to meet with new couples and to learn about them. Meeting new people always fascinates me and I love hearing about their journey together as a couple, their hopes, dreams, and vision for the wedding. Wedding planning is super stressful but it gives me great joy knowing that I’m able to take off that stress and worry from the couple so that they can fully enjoy and be in the moment with each other on their special day. And I just love seeing the couples smiling and having a good time - it definitely warms my heart and re-energizes me!
How long have you been in the wedding industry?
About 5 years
What is important to look for in a vendor?
True, it’s important to look for vendors that fit your budget and understand your vision. But I think what’s MOST important is to have chemistry with the vendors that you book. You’ll be working with these vendors for the months (and sometimes year) leading up to your wedding day. You want to make sure that it’s a vendor that you are comfortable with and that you can trust.
What are some money saving tips for a wedding?
You definitely want to first prioritize the different vendor categories. Decide what is most important to you and what will help to make it a fun and memorable night for each other and your guests. Once you’ve done that, then work on a budget and STICK to it! Create a “must have/must do,” “would like to have/would like to do,” and a “would like to, but absolutely not necessary” lists. This will help you prioritize what’s most important so that you don’t end up spending money on things not important to you.
What is the name of your company?
Weddings by My-Dung (pronounced My-Young, as in “my young lady”)
What do you think makes a perfect wedding?
The perfect wedding is one shared with family and friends whom you love and care about. It is definitely one filled with laughter. Advice to the couples out there is to just “let go” on your wedding day. You’ve done all the planning and have done all that you can up to your wedding day. Just let go, be in the moment, and enjoy it with the people around you. Your guests will not walk away remembering the details of your wedding, but they will definitely remember how much of a great time they had with the married couple.
This post was done in collaboration with Rosey Gonzales