When the Wedding Stars Align…
The Charlottesville wedding scene received some much-deserved love in this New York Times Style article yesterday! I’m over the moon to see this iconic shot of Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards by my best friend Jen Fariello at the top of the page– hooray for Cville creatives!
Unfortunately, one line in the article irked me. The point of the piece was that wedding venues in coveted destinations around the country are hard to book– most venues ask you book up to two years in advance to secure your dream date; early in the article, a founder of The Venue Report (a gorgeous, awesome resource for brides and event planners) is quoted saying that couples “can easily find another planner or another florist, but the venue is the backdrop for everything else. If the couple has a specific vision, they’re likely going to wait.”
I get that a venue is hugely important; where you tie the knot transforms the rest of your wedding planning decisions (is everything going to be in the same place or will the ceremony and reception be in different locations? is there an outdoor space? is there an indoor space? does the venue require you to use specific vendors or can you book anyone?). BUT– the venue isn’t the only vendor you need to book in advance. In fact, most photographers (especially in Charlottesville) book more than a year in advance; planners book more than a year in advance; to work with your dream calligrapher or paper designer, caterer, floral designer, hair and makeup artists, cinematographer… you’re going to have to move FAST. So to only highlight venues as hot commodities needing advanced booking is a bit unreasonable.
And yet, it’s not just the timing. You can “easily” find another planner or florist? That says, to me, that all planners and florists are interchangeable. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. The florists I know and love in Charlottesville all have a unique style. Yes, they might source similar flowers, but their vision and aesthetic are all unique. Your florals from Beehive will not match the florals you’d get from Southern Blooms. There’s a reason you meet with multiple vendors in each category– to find the right fit for YOUR style.
It’s even more of a priority with planners; if you want to find a planner to help you design, style, and organize your wedding weekend, you typically want someone whose personality and energy works best for you. Some planners are more hands on; some are more crafty; some are organizational whizzes, but leave the styling in your hands; if you tell three planners to style a “boho-rustic-garden” wedding, you’ll get three totally different vision boards and plans. The process of working with one planner over another is going to be different; they aren’t just clones and they aren’t all going to have the same exact interpretation of your style. You cannot– I repeat, CANNOT– just substitute one creative for another. They ARE NOT the same.
If you have a specific vision– and have found dream vendors to create that vision– it’s not just the venue that will need to be booked in advance; it’s EVERYONE. The stars must truly align– your groom will need to propose at just the right time or you’ll have to make the commitment to wait for your favorite players to free up at just the right moment in order to have a wedding that looks and feels like your dream day.
Thoughts? Am I just being too defensive? Are all event creatives interchangeable? How did you choose one over another? What vendor did you book first?
