My wife and I hired White Swan for our rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony, and reception…read moredecorations. This was a complex event, with many different venues and vendors involved, and it took place over several days. We had a couple hundred guests at any given event, so the conception, planning, coordination, and execution of all the moving parts for this was quite the challenge.
I think it's fair to say that hiring White Swan was the 2nd best decision we made for our wedding plans (the 1st was deciding to get married in the first place!).
To truly appreciate how painless and smooth this experience was, and why I will be hiring White Swan for all my future events, you have to understand the context of how White Swan works.
First, in a word, White Swan embodies the meaning of the word "professional." By that, I mean, they say what they mean, and they mean what they say. They also do what they say, and say what they do. I had a very difficult time just finding someone who is organized, articulate, punctual, professional, and is representing me and my interests, expectations, and requirements. This may sound like a simple, or little, thing, but I've found it very difficult to find these days. White Swan isn't just an "in-and-out" operation that puts you in a production line and hopes your event goes well. Their staff really take the time and care to understand what my wife and I want, involve us in the details we need to be involved in, and make the right decisions for us on details we don't need to be involved in.
In terms of planning, their approach to my wife and me can best be described as warm, open, creative, and inviting. Nazee, the owner, sat down with us, and we brainstormed ideas, came up with different options based on price, timeline, availability, etc., and ultimately came up with a plan and full proposal for what we wanted. Over the next few days / week or so, the White Swan team reached out to us to clarify details on specific items we would have never thought of. They followed up on every question we put to them. They definitely cross all their "t's" and dot all their "i's" with an acute attention to detail in everything they do.
In terms of execution, one word to describe them might be "military" or "precise." When the day of the event arrived, they had the entire supply chain / logistics worked out, everything arrived in its entirety and on-schedule, with everything staged appropriately in its rightful place. There was no confusion, no 2nd-guessing, or any question on what needed to happen, and when. Literally everything we were expecting happened, and, actually, surpassed our expectations. Everything was more beautiful than how they looked in photos, or how we described it verbally in the planning stages. It was as if Nazee and her team were in our heads and could somehow read out minds to deliver not only what we asked for, but several things we didn't even ask for, or even think about, which made the entire experience come together in an even more profound and beautiful way.
Without mentioning names, we had also hired other vendors for other aspects of our event, and in hindsight, I regret not giving more scope to White Swan, since White Swan effectively made every other vendor look bad. The White Swan crew was present, available, attentive, and "on it," while other vendors were a bit delayed, or had questions that should have been asked several days before, or made unilateral (and, incorrect) decisions on items that were really important to us and should have dictated our involvement. We even wanted to make a few, last-minute (and, quite modest) changes, which White Swan was happy and able to accommodate, while the other vendors gave excuses. There's nothing wrong with saying "no" to a customer, but White Swan figured out a way to help us when no one else could / would...just sayin'...
I could go on and on, but the point is that White Swan comes with my highest recommendation. I suggest asking for Nazee, since she's really, truly, the best there is. Bottom line, you won't be disappointed for choosing White Swan. And, you may even find, as I did, that this is the last event planner, decorator, designer, etc. you'll ever have to hire, which will, no doubt, save tons of time and resources for months and years to come. I'll be hiring White Swan for a corporate event I'm budgeting for in 2019, so that's already saving me time / hassle for sourcing and interviewing future vendors. It feels so great to cross off "find an amazing event planner, designer, architect, creative director, etc." from my to-do list!
