I am pleased to feature An English Rose, one of Montreal’s most professional wedding planners on my blog. Rachel Cripps-Gervais, president and owner of An English Rose took the time to answer our questions with well thought out responses, many hints and tips for brides and grooms as well as an insight into current wedding trends. Enjoy!
What can you tell me about your business and what you can offer your clients?
- Founded in 2007
- 3: myself, husband, admin staff
- Wedding, Honeymoon & Event Planning
- Mid – High End Wedding Planning
- Individual Consulting & Mentoring to Full Planning Wedding Design
- Multi-Cultural, Same Sex, Multi-Religious
- This summer I worked on my first Hollywood family wedding
What makes your business unique from other wedding planners?
- ME – I have a strong corporate background, managed teams of over 100 and had to liaise with junior staff to Board level Executives. Worked with external suppliers for 20 years, negotiations and management of suppliers.
- HR background give me good listening and communication skills including mediator when needed
- Hotel management background for 7 years – Wedding Planning for 10+ years
- Travelled & worked throughout Europe, Africa, North America and Asia – so gives me a wider perspective on life
- My husband is also a certified wedding planner, so gives a male perspective for the Grooms. He has also spent 20 years living and working in the US, Morocco, India, UK and more.. again giving a global mindset.
- This is my full time occupation, which I take seriously, I am qualified and certified, incorporated company with full liability insurance
- Strong organization & project management skills (not everyone in this business has!!)
- Fully engaged with my team of vendors that are hired for an event – we all pull together and support each other to ensure the wedding or event is a huge success. How you treat people is key – you never know who or where you will see people again.
- I like to Blog and network with other Wedding individuals, always staying on top of the world of weddings
What would you advice someone that just are about to start their wedding plans?
- Sit down and talk with your fiancé and both agree the vision and the style of the wedding, along with location etc – ensure you are both aligned on what you want.
- Work out your budget and understand that the more guests you have the more cuts you may have to make in other areas of the wedding.
- Hire a wedding planner who will give you peace of mind and let you enjoy the planning process, they will also have hints, tips and come up with cost saving ideas!
How do you go about hiring a professional to help you with your wedding plans?
- I meet with them face to face and conduct a full hour interview on all the services they offer, including pricing, payment terms and contract details
- I then check out their premises: office, studio space, kitchens etc – take photographs for my file
- Ask for references which I follow up on
- I then can present my clients with a 3-page summary on each vendor I present along with relevant photographs
- This ensures anyone presented to my clients are reputable and reliable and I have met personally and referenced – gives clients peace of mind and reduces a lot of the leg work.
Have you noticed a remarkable wedding trend for 2010?
- Shorter style Bridesmaid dresses
- Cultural Dance Routines for Entertainment during dinner
- Indian Dancers
- African Dancers & Drummers
- Hungarian Dancers
- Ukranian Dancers
-
Acrobatic Dance Show
You can reach An English Rose here.