When planning your wedding, having the right suppliers can be the difference between being absolutely blown away and feeling pockets of stress throughout the day. This is especially important for destination weddings, and is just one of the many reasons couples often choose to work with a wedding planner. As you go through the planning journey with a reputable planner, you will find they are likely to recommend suppliers they have built relationships with and worked with before. This is common here at Elegante by Michelle J, and we want to clarify why we do this and whether you should really always use your wedding planner’s recommended suppliers for your wedding.
We are going to preface this by saying the most important thing for us when guiding you in choosing your wedding suppliers is you, your preferences and your vision for the day. We often work with couples who may have a pre-existing relationship with a photographer, or really love the look of a particular makeup artist, for example. When our couples feel strongly about certain suppliers we will always endeavour to work with them. Having said that, after many years of experience in the wedding industry I have learnt to always thoroughly look into every supplier before we agree to work with them, and this is in the best interests of our couples too. The benefit of having us on your team throughout the wedding planning journey is that we can offer expert advice and guidance on which suppliers will help you have an amazing day, and which we have concerns about.
To illustrate the beauty of trusting your wedding planner’s recommended suppliers, we want to take you inside one of our weddings which took place in Florence in August. The brief for this wedding was nothing short of fabulous – a traditional Jewish celebration taking place across four venues over two days, with every element carefully considered and lavish luxury at every turn. We knew this was going to take a wonderful, monumental team effort to bring together and meet our couple’s expectations.
One of the most important things to consider when planning the build, logistics and execution of the day was which suppliers we would bring on board. In order for this wedding to run seamlessly and spectacularly, we needed to know that every supplier working on every element of the day was trustworthy, reliable and could deliver high quality. Over the years we have built a network of trusted wedding suppliers in Italy, all of whom we trust and depend on to help us put in the team effort required and go the extra mile for every event. Our couple placed their trust in us to involve the best suppliers in their wedding day, and this was truly one of the things that allowed it to be the beautiful, memorable success it was!
The wedding began with a welcome party at Palazzo Ximenes, a romantic hidden gem of a venue in the heart of historic Florence. Our suppliers worked hard all day to transform the courtyard space into a stylish, glowing space overflowing with Italian lemons and coming alive with music and live cooking stations. Whilst our suppliers were putting together the foundations of the welcome party, our team was out delivering welcome bags to guests, checking in on our couple and doing final site visits at the wedding day venue, so it was vital we could rely on our florists, production company, caterers and musicians to bring everything together.
The next day our wedding planning team of 9 were working across 3 venues; the couple’s hotel (Four Seasons, Florence) where bridal prep was taking place, the Florence Synagogue which was being styled and set up for the chuppah, and Villa di Maiano where we had put up a clearspan marquee, installed air conditioning and were now turning the space into a floral oasis. It was an absolute joy to work with such talented suppliers who took our couple’s vision and turned it into reality, working from the direction we provided to them during the planning process.
It’s safe to say the wedding was a triumph, and it wouldn’t have been possible without our trusted network of suppliers in Italy. Special thanks go to; the team at Il Giardino delle Fate Flower Design; Alma Project 24/7; Galateo Ricevimenti; David Bastianoni; Muzika; Waterfall Visuals; Your Wedding Beauty Team and the Elegante by Michelle J team from the UK and Italy!
The moral of the story is that trusting your wedding planner’s recommended suppliers benefits everybody; the planning journey and wedding day experiences are much enhanced by these positive relationships, which ultimately results in you having an even more incredible day. If you are considering planning a luxury wedding (Jewish or not, destination or not) and would like the guidance, support and extensive supplier network that comes with our service, get in touch.