Sonoma County Wedding Planners – Questions to ask your wedding planner
Are you planning a wedding in Sonoma or Napa County this year or next? If so, you may want to sit down and talk with a few reputable Sonoma County Wedding planners.
If you’re feeling frazzled about all the details necessary for planning your perfect wedding perhaps a wedding planner can help negate some of the stress. Here in Sonoma County there are literally hundreds of venues to choose from. Sonoma and Napa Valley have a plethora of picture perfect venues for your special day. From old world wineries to coastal redwoods, ocean vistas to traditional churches and synagogues.
Once you have narrowed down the venue and location for your wedding or special event, you’ll need to select vendors to help feed and entertain your guests. This includes caterers, photographers, florists, DJ’s, and perhaps even a band or quartet. With-out first hand knowledge and insight, these tasks may become arduous and take the wind out of your sails. Planning a wedding ought to be a fun experience – one in which you and your significant other get to make big decisions for you and your guests.
It’s a lot of work planning a wedding and with the help of a knowledgeable wedding planner it can make the day one to remember for many years to come.
Whether you’re looking for a planner to handle last-minute tasks, or one who takes the lead and plans every detail, it is important to ask them a few questions. Keep in mind that a wedding planner will be able to keep your wedding organized, on schedule, and most importantly stay on budget. This all means less worry for you, allowing you to enjoy important matters like catching up with old friends and family. You may seriously want to consider hiring a wedding planner if you’re asking yourself: “where am I going to get my dress, floral arrangements and cake? It will take the stress off your back and allow you to enjoy the day in all it’s glory.
Adrian Tamblin Photography works with a number of preferred vendors – It has been a goal of mine to interview and share what I’ve learned with my customers about each business and what sets them apart. Today I had the chance to interview Stephanie Cole and Sarah Drake . Together they own Cole Drake Events and specialize in wedding planning in Sonoma and Napa Valley.
Adrian Tamblin Photography – With communication during the wedding planning process being paramount how do you keep in touch with your clients?
Cole Drake – We mirror our communication style during the wedding planning process with the preferences of each of our clients. Some clients are all text, others are more inclined towards emails and phone calls. The frequency of communication largely depends on each wedding and event, as well as the wedding planning service package that they select. With the majority of our clients coming to the Wine Country from out of state, it is rare to have a face to face meeting. We rely heavily on Skype and FaceTime (sometimes at odd hours of the day and night depending upon time zones) in those instances where we don’t have the luxury of meeting in advance.
Cole Drake Tip – If you’re going to be communicating with your planner via e-mail, set up a separate e-mail account strictly for wedding correspondence. To stay organized, sort messages into separate folders based on topics, such as flowers, cake and dress.
Adrian Tamblin Photography – What services do you offer? Anything special that sets you apart?
Cole Drake – We specialize in full-service wedding planning services in addition to Day-Of as well as planning packages in between precio propecia. One of the main differences right out of the gate with Cole Drake Events is our honest up front approach. Our clients’ careers are demanding and our company efficiently keeps them on track in a way that is respectful of their time and resources. In addition we infuse sensory elements into every event with the focus being on the couple. For example, we worked with a bride who grew up treasuring time spent with her grandfather in vintage book stores. There were nostalgic aromas and tactile elements associated with that memory for our bride, that when incorporated into her wedding day, it become more than just a party, it was a way to infuse personality into the décor and vibe of her day. Cole Drake Events delivers highly personal events that stay true to the personalities of our clients using sensory elements that are personal to the couples aesthetic blueprint and personalities.
Adrian Tamblin Photography – What is your combined experience? What do past clients say about you?
Cole Drake – Cole Drake Events is built on a collective twenty years of wedding and event experience and on the foundation of honesty, authenticity, sensory, humor and creativity. With that foundation, we are pleased to offer wedding planning, coordination, corporate and social event services. We put our experience to work with our clients and understand the value of hard work, the collaborative approach to successful events and the right balance of people to get the job done! Check out what our former clients are saying about Cole Drake Events on Wedding Wire
(Awarded Brides Choice 2014) : http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/cole-drake-events-napa/307741bbb4c2fd46.html
Adrian Tamblin Photography – How do you help a client stay on budget?
Cole Drake – Taser! Just kidding. We take the approach of casting a large net over every single forseeable category, financially speaking, so that there is no where to go but down on the budget as vendors are hired and selections are made. There is nothing worse than giving clients a bottom line and then telling them that every little thing is going to cost “just a bit more.” Its crazy-making!
Adrian Tamblin Photography – What is the average size of the wedding you plan? Can you plan large weddings?
Cole Drake – The median size for a Napa or Sonoma County Wedding is 125 guests. Although the sweet spot, in our humble opinion, is 80-100. That number strikes the perfect balance of expense and enjoyment. We certainly do plan large weddings and events. Some of our favorites are Indian and Jewish Weddings usually well attended into the hundreds and some of the most sensory evoking experiences with respect to flavors, colors and rich traditions. We had the pleasure of working with Lisa Ray (Host of Canada’s Top Chef) when she wed Jason Dehni. Honestly it was one of the most beautiful and emotive Indian Weddings we had planned to date.
Adrian Tamblin Photography – Will you and your team be onsite the day of the client event? What post wedding wedding responsibilities do you have?
Cole Drake – Most definitely we are present on wedding day. Very hard to QB the game from the sidelines! Everything we do and plan up to the wedding date is to prepare our team for successful execution of every unique wedding. And by team we mean not only our staff, but the florist, caterer, photographer/cinematographer, confectioner etc. We all work in tandem in an interdependent way. We LOVE working onsite on the wedding day and look forward to delivering a beautiful event! From checking in vendors, equipment, placement of every little detail, we are very hands on. Think less ‘clipboards and heels’ and more ‘roll-up-our-sleeves’ get it done. Its an approach that serves our clients well and gives them confidence that in their absence, everything will run according to plan. After the wedding we make sure that all of their personal items get back to their hotel room and that the vendors remove their product from the event space. Generally we are the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Adrian Tamblin – What can I expect to pay for wedding planning services? Do you charge a flat fee, hourly, or a % of the total wedding costs? Are there any extra costs the client should think about?
Cole Drake – Once the client has determined that we are a good fit for them and vice versa, we identify a wedding planning package (sometimes customize) that will work best for them. We charge on a flat fee with a specified number of hours in each package that addresses their wedding planning needs. In Napa Wine Country, expect to pay a wedding planner approximately 10% of your overall wedding budget. Most Winery Weddings for 100 people, all in, are between $50-$75,000. The most surprising unnecessary expenses are related to a couples lack of decision-making (or second-guessing)and losing out on opportunities. We advise that you hire your planner and let them guide you in venue and vendor decision-making as they usually have a great inside track on incentives, discounts and added value that a couple otherwise, wouldn’t be privy to.
Cole Drake Tip – Work with your fiancé and family to create a wedding budget. Don’t set you sights on vendors and venues you can’t afford, instead allocate monies for each vendor and then discuss those details with your planner. Often we can help maximize your budget and get your dollars to go further.
Adrian Tamblin Photography – What happens if my event is postponed or cancelled?
Cole Drake – Depending upon where a couple is at in the planning process, the deposits made in many cases can be applied to the new date if known far enough in advance. The job of your planner is to connect quickly with your hired vendors to shift dates and services over for you seamlessly. It is crucial to listen to your planner regarding hiring of recommended vendors as there are vendor relationships with the planner that clients benefit from in general. But when an unfortunate circumstances arise become highly valuable.
As you can see hiring an experienced wedding planner can really payoff. If your getting married soon or want to plan the perfect event, Adrian Tamblin photography highly recommends checking out the services offered by Cole Drake Events.
Filled Under : Weddings