Belinda was wonderful-beyond-words to work with throughout our entire wedding planning + wedding event process! Where do I even begin?
My now-husband and I have been vegan for the past 5 years. Food and sustainability have been a really important part of his and our life, so we wanted to have a semi-sustainable wedding that had delicious vegan food and stayed true to our values (composting, etc.).
We researched multiple wedding planners and interviewed many of them. As professionally-busy individuals, there were a few things important to us when selecting a wedding planner: someone true to our values, someone who could take minimal direction (i.e. pinterest boards) and run with it, someone who could be flexible on touchpoint scheduling, someone who could take care of all the minor details and someone who is budget-conscious.
On our first introductory call with Belinda, we connected with her energy and passion, and felt like the initial few recommendations she had for us were good ones. We booked her the next day.
Once we signed and paid our down payment to work with Belinda, she had EVERYTHING under control and always had a smile on her face! She had an automated scheduling service that reminded us when we needed to touch-base and let us find times that were easy for us (even accommodating nights/weekends with our busy work schedules!).
Our planning calls were always extremely productive with a clear agenda while still making them fun and personal (did you know Belinda is a professional opera singer too!?). Belinda had templates that made the planning process easy and kept everything up-to-date (budgets, guest lists, gift lists, wedding timeline, etc.).
She made great recommendations to local vendors (DJ, Flowers, Rentals, Photo Booth, etc.) and was able to accommodate some extremely unique requests (example: she was able to convince a vendor to build an upright boat backdrop for our wedding ceremony and coordinated a flower display around the boat....all for an extremely reasonable price!). She scheduled tastings with vegan caters, vegan bakeries and bartenders so we could select the perfect vendors for us. She even helped us negotiate rates with vendors and told us what standard market rates were for different types of vendors.
While we felt comfortable through the entire planning process, it wasn't until the actual wedding day that I learned just how magical and TALENTED Belinda really is.
I've heard from friends that its extremely rare to have a stress-free wedding day, but ours was just that!
Two weeks before the wedding, Belinda walked us through a timeline of events for the day. She made sure she had contact information for key people (Maid of Honor, Best Man, Mother of the Bride, Father of the Bride, Officiant, etc.) and the information for the hotel we were staying at along with the room number so she could take care of everything at the end of the night. A few days before the wedding, we walked through the agenda once more (hair first, then makeup, then photographs with bridesmaids, father of the bride first look, first look with groom, wedding party photos, wedding ceremony, dance floor, cake cutting, etc.).
Once the wedding day rolled around, we just showed up! No stress, no running around -- just spending time with our bridesmaids and groomsmen enjoying every moment of the day and trying to take mental snapshots we'll never forget!
True to how she operates, Belinda had EVERYTHING covered. When I arrived for makeup at the Lido House Hotel, the makeup artists were already set up and ready to go. When I arrived at the venue for the first looks, the rental vendors were already done setting up, the caterers were cooking, the DJ was testing the audio, flowers were set up, dessert table was beautiful. The day of the wedding, I did absolutely NOTHING except get pampered and take photos with the love of my life, my best friends and my family. Belinda and her assistant Amy even went out of her way to bring me food throughout the night to make sure I was eating! It was so stress-free and lovely.
It wasn't until the end of the night when it was time for everyone to go home that my husband and I actually even spoke to our vendors (we just stuck around to say thank you!). And once we got back to our hotel, the top layer of our cake was in the freezer, our gifts/cards were on our nightstand and all of our pictures/photo frames/guest books were packed up and ready to take home. My shoes that I lost somewhere throughout the night were also there in a bag waiting for me!
I know events like this are a headache to plan, manage and execute -- so the fact that my husband and I went through all of this without one bump in the road for us is a testament to how talented Belinda is.... BELINDA IS AMAZING!
If you're looking for someone to plan your wedding, Belinda is your gal! read more