[passing on the love] celebrations by sarah

one of the most important things to me as a small business owner is to see other entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed! i firmly believe in the benefits of community and this belief exists in my professional life just as much as it does in my personal life!! and, i want to make sure that the world knows about the awesome people i get to know and work with as a part of my own small enterprise!! thus, i have created the "passing on the love" interview series, a monthly feature that introduces you to someone great and gives a little insight to who they are [and what their business can offer you]!!  

internet, please meet sarah, owner of celebrations by sarah - event and wedding planning. sarah is a really, really great gal who i've had the pleasure of working with over the past few months - we planned and executed a styled wedding shoot last may and we have another shoot planned for october!! we are also working together on a wedding coming up in november. and [i feel super privileged about this] i will photographing sarah's own wedding next summer!!!! now without further a-due...

what are three things that people should know about sarah:

1: hmmm, well obviously i am very well organized, i would never had gone into this business without knowing that i was fully capable of always on top of everything, and knew that this is something that i could maintain. so, organizational skills – done! 2: i love working with people... i am very personable and always want to get to know every little detail that is very important to you. 3: i love weddings! hahahaha. this is becoming more and more apparent to me. and i want a couple’s wedding to be everything they want it to be!

can you sum up why someone should hire a wedding planner? what are the benefits?

ideally, you just have this experience once where you are getting married, and you are planning a party – it really is a party where you are gathering people together and want to make a certain impression, and i think people don’t really know what it entails. you are planning a party on a scale to which you have never done before and a wedding planner can make it so much more efficient and visionary. you tell me what you are looking for and i direct you to where to find it within your price range. you don’t need to spend every evening or weekend trolling the internet for things because i can make recommendations! and when visiting a venue you won’t need to worry about what are the right questions to ask because i will do that. i take as much stress out of the process as i can, and you will probably save money because i will make what i think are the best recommendations and lead in the right direction at better prices because i do this full time, i am always researching and am always working with vendors!

this is along the same lines as the previous questions... when a bride and groom hire you what are you doing for them? can you paint a broad picture of what people can expect from you, sarah?

right, either way – if its for the whole coordination and i come in at the beginning or months before, or if it’s for just the day of coordination and i come in to the picture six weeks before – when i come into the picture i want to know where they are right now even if all they have done is set a date that is all i need to know, or perhaps they’ve already hired a venue, and a photographer and a guest... i want to know exactly where they are at, then i make a plan for the next step along the way that should be the next step, because a lot of people don’t know what should be done a year in advance, like a photographer who should be booked a year in advance at least! and you might even be looking at a year and a half to book the photographer that you want! so i like to get them on their way to the next step to where they should be at and then a general vision if what they want so that i can find the vendors that will give them what they want and budget is another thing... so that i don’t give them a vendor that they can’t afford, and to give them an idea of what [the bride and groom] can have.  so vision, a budget and plan [are some of things that help with as a wedding planner].

the relational aspect of planning a wedding is obviously something that excites you about your job, but what else? what else excites you about being a wedding planner?

hmmmm... definitely helping people come to that realization and then helping them get through the process [of planning their wedding].

what are some things about weddings that you see are being done in saint andrews or the broader charlotte county that you really like, or inspires you?

um... using the waterfront as much as possible! ...people are just blown away by the views here, and wanting to have as many outdoor opportunities as much as possible so there a lot of outdoor ceremonies... i think too getting to know the local vendors, which is something i am obviously excited about, just finding out more and more about the talent in this area, and how could a job everyone here does!

  

other than your own wedding, what would be your dream wedding be to plan, what would the details look like, or who would the ideal client be?

definitely people who know what they want or have a really good idea... and maybe they’ve never thought about it before or have had a dream their whole life,  but just as soon as they get engaged these ideas start to form in their head and i really love when they come to me and they say “i love this, and i want to do this, and i want the food to taste like this.” just have a really good idea of what they are looking for. i think that makes the wedding come together much better and makes the [bride and groom] so much more satisfied in the end when they see exactly what they have envisioned come together.

it must bring you a lot of joy and satisfaction in your job to know that you are able to make a bride and groom’s vision for their wedding come together and to witness the elation they feel about the party they are throwing for their family and friends to celebrate their marriage!

yes!! there is nothing better really! it’s nice, too, to have guests come up to me and say “thank you so much for all your hard work.” that is exactly why i am there! the bride and groom walk in to the room and see [their vision all together]... that is the best!

one of the things that you and i have talked about in the past and we seem to have the same vision for, particularly for saint andrews – canada’s oldest resort town – is to promote this area as a premier destination wedding location! i know my reason for this, what about you... why is this is important to you?

well i’m not from here, and so i don’t take this area for granted in any means, and i don’t think i ever could, even if i were born here because it’s stunning, just absolutely stunning here. and, i’m from ontario so i understand the impression that you get when you come into this area... and the small town feel of saint andrews is quite nostalgic. i love that everyone knows each other and knows how to work together. and obviously the views are one in a million. you can’t really beat the hospitality and the food is obviously something that you can only find in certain parts of the world as well. and people here seem to want to... if they have a specialty they seem to want to share it with as many people as possible and do the best they can. word travel fasts and everyone’s reputation is their work. i love that some of the businesses here have been here for years and years and years and that is because they are doing something right and they are doing it well! and they are working with the community and specializing, whether it be floral design or making soup, or whatever they are doing... and everyone seems to be proud of being here and making a good impression

so you want to invite people into that experience as well as promote the local flavour so that people are knowing about what is happening here!!

absolutely. i am proud of what is happening here!! and of course i want to promote it as a place as a one in a million place to be married in!!

what else should people know about celebrations by sarah?

i strive to exceed expectations! you have expectations of a wedding planner i want to know what they are and go above and beyond! i want to bring all your ideas together and help to broaden your vision!!

give some love to sarah comment below, and make sure you like her facebook page!! oh! in case you were wondering, yes sarah does smile as much as i do... maybe even more. 

have a great weekend!

love & sunshine,

shannon-may