With our final wedding for the year coming up in 2 weeks, it has really been a busy 2013 for us at Hannah Michael. We have had the privilege of meeting incredible clients and helping them design, plan and coordinate their special events. One of the things we've noticed this year was the men (grooms) taking active roles in the planning of their weddings! This stood out for us as it showed that the grooms are also interested and quite keen on ensuring that details of the day are carefully planned. It has simply been a joy to work with all our couples. Some photos and testimonials have been uploaded on our main site.
2014 is even looking busier with the number of events we are already planning for next year! The colour trend seems to be blue especially navy blue and royal blue. The colour theme for our December 2013 wedding is Royal blue and Gold! Grey has been a popular colour for weddings for a number of seasons and it is believed that this trend will continue to 2014. There are so many colours that can be paired with grey; sunflower yellow, olive green and ivory. Other colours we are seeing are pink, neutral, aqua...all used in a different and classy way.
Merry Christmas and A Fruitful 2014 everyone. We are looking forward to 2014!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Centre Pieces for Wedding Receptions
It has been a while since I wrote a piece. 2012 was a busy year for us as we experienced significant growth in different arms of our business especially the cake and invitation/card making sides of our business. I will be sharing some of our designs at some point and I will be talking about some lovely couples we worked with and their testimonials.
We have started consulting and securing bookings for 2013. One of the things we do well is to help couples create a beautiful day within their budgets. Whilst consulting with a client recently, we realised that her budget could not accomodate the sort of centrepiece arrangement she wanted for her day. We looked at other options and finally came up with a cheaper option that will give the same effect and ambience she wants for her big day.
When picking a centre piece arrangement, always remember that fresh flowers are expensive. Seasons, colours, type of flower etc all add to the cost. Also, the more flowers you have in an arrangement, the more expensive the arrangement will cost. I advise clients to think of how to use other elements to substitute or complement flowers; that way you use less flowers but still bring in the freshness they introduce to a decor. Example: Use candelabras with taper candles (use non flame candles if the venue objects to open flames). Add little flower arrangements for freshness:
Candelabras come in different heights so you can create a high centre piece effect or a lower one. Mirrors, rose petals and votives can also be used.
There are so many elements that can be used as centrepieces to create a nice table setting without breaking a bank.
We have started consulting and securing bookings for 2013. One of the things we do well is to help couples create a beautiful day within their budgets. Whilst consulting with a client recently, we realised that her budget could not accomodate the sort of centrepiece arrangement she wanted for her day. We looked at other options and finally came up with a cheaper option that will give the same effect and ambience she wants for her big day.
When picking a centre piece arrangement, always remember that fresh flowers are expensive. Seasons, colours, type of flower etc all add to the cost. Also, the more flowers you have in an arrangement, the more expensive the arrangement will cost. I advise clients to think of how to use other elements to substitute or complement flowers; that way you use less flowers but still bring in the freshness they introduce to a decor. Example: Use candelabras with taper candles (use non flame candles if the venue objects to open flames). Add little flower arrangements for freshness:
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Conceptualising Designs
2012 is already in full swing; it’s February already! It is going to be a busy year for us as we are signing up more clients, building up relationships with venues and new suppliers and working towards starting our own cake and cake decorating shop for wedding cakes, celebration cakes, cupcakes and novelty cakes. Watch out for more information.
For our client’s who are getting married this year, we are at different phases of the design process and so I will like to share some thoughts on designing your event.
Designing an event goes way beyond what the room looks like. Designing your event will require that you harvest your inspiration from many places. Inspiration can be in the fabrics, magazines, favourite holiday destinations, the flowers, the space (venue), or the time of year. Wherever you find it, when you start conceptualising your event, remember to design your entire event. What I mean by this is to create a thread that will weave your event from the beginning (the invitation) to the end and after (thank – you – notes). It should all work together cohesively, building a full experience. This thread can be a colour, the elegant atmosphere, a fun theme, the menu, the interactive entertainment, or the worthy cause. Find the thread that works for you and then communicate it through your printed materials, your decor design, your menu, the guest experience, EVERYTHING.
For our client’s who are getting married this year, we are at different phases of the design process and so I will like to share some thoughts on designing your event.
Designing an event goes way beyond what the room looks like. Designing your event will require that you harvest your inspiration from many places. Inspiration can be in the fabrics, magazines, favourite holiday destinations, the flowers, the space (venue), or the time of year. Wherever you find it, when you start conceptualising your event, remember to design your entire event. What I mean by this is to create a thread that will weave your event from the beginning (the invitation) to the end and after (thank – you – notes). It should all work together cohesively, building a full experience. This thread can be a colour, the elegant atmosphere, a fun theme, the menu, the interactive entertainment, or the worthy cause. Find the thread that works for you and then communicate it through your printed materials, your decor design, your menu, the guest experience, EVERYTHING.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Greg and Mariame - 20th August, 2011
Mariame is one of those great clients who you know you will just love! We met Mariame at our UK Wedding Show exhibition in February at Excel, London. She was a delight to work with; a really nice and classy lady. She wanted a really simple wedding décor for her reception, her bouquet, wedding party flowers and ceremony; we worked closely together to create this really simple but classy ambience that she wanted for guests. The wedding ceremony took place at Notre Dame de France at Leicester Square and the wedding reception took place at Millennium Hotels, Gloucester Road
Mariame wanted white chair covers with bows; she really wanted her décor simple. We designed her chair covers, keeping the design simple but with a bit of character. For the bows, we used pistachio green silk taffeta fabric which was the exact match of her bridesmaids’ outfits.
Mariame wanted Phalaenopsis Orchids in a tall vase as centrepieces.
Beautiful pink crystals and pink favour boxes to the table setting. She had a beautiful colour coordinated gift box.
The wedding cake tied in to the theme of the wedding; simple and classy
Mariame wanted a simple rose bouquet
This is what Mariame had to say:
"I met Ify at a wedding fair in Excel 6 months prior to my wedding and honestly she's been a life saver! From our first meeting I knew I was in good hands. She was very professional, well prepared and very pleasant. I used her service for the church, cocktail and reception rooms decorations and all the wedding flowers (bouquets and decoration). She took her time to listen to every detail and at no point I felt like she was trying to impose her ideas on my wedding. I was most impress by her willingness to help me with details that were not part of our contract and even helping me find a videographer. I will definitely recommend her to any bride-to-be as she will be one less thing to worry about!"
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Post Event Analysis (PEA)
It is every Planner’s joy to walk away from an event knowing that their clients are happy and that their Company provided the excellent service(s) that they were contracted to deliver. However, things sometimes don't always go as planned.
Here at HM we always review what went well and what didn’t go so well after every event. We call this the 'PEA'. We believe that every event - successful or otherwise can be improved upon and there are always lessons to be learned.
Here are some of our PEA questions.
For a successful event:
1) Was the event a success?
The definition of ‘success’ is relative so we go through our checklist of what boxes a successful event should tick.
2) If the event was a success, what areas can still be improved on?
Every area of the event is analysed, those responsible for each area(s) are questioned and answers/ comments/recommendations are communicated and documented.
3) Was the successful event profitable? Were there hidden cost(s) not anticipated or accounted for? Did we compromise profit to secure the job?
A business needs to make profit to survive
4) What are the lessons learnt?
These need to be documented in the client’s file.
5) Are the clients truly happy?
Happy clients bring repeat businesses
6) Are their guests happy and amazed?
Every guest is a potential client or will recommend a good vendor to friends and family. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement in the events industry.
7) Are other vendors happy?
For a not so successful event:
1) Why is the client not happy or satisfied?
2) Why is the event not successful? What factors contributed to this?
3) Were the reasons/factors within our control?
4) Were there communication gaps?
5) Were both parties transparent in their dealings with each other?
6) Could we have handled matters differently?
7) What steps do we take in future to avoid a reoccurrence?
Thank goodness we have a high percentage of happy clients because it takes a few weeks for a good Planner to recover from the shock of a bad event! An unsuccessful event is not just emotionally draining but very costly to a business - your reputation is simply on the line!
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