Wedding Planner, costs and services? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Wedding Planner, costs and services?

1257
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 12 February 2017 - 10:51
get in touch with Joelle from MyLovelyWedding... she's a wedding stylist so would be able to help you do mockups here and give you suggestions... tell her you were referred by Christina from Making Memories... Joelle is a lovely person and I've worked with her on a couple of weddings and she's very easy to work with...
111
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 February 2017 - 14:46
purchasing online from China is always a tricky game! more often than not I prefer to use that only as my last resort! for larger weddings we actually just go to China and source directly from there... but in your case that would not be feasible... my suggestion would be this... go to the Deira textile souq (old Naif bazaar) and buy the fabric you like in bulk... whether satin / lycra / silk / linen and then take it to a tailor in burdubai or satwa and get the fabric hemmed or tailored to your requirement... that way you are in complete control of fabric/quantity/quality/price for other elements such as charger plates/etc depending on the quantity you are looking for you can purchase also from Deira or then directly from home stores (you would need to talk to somebody in their headoffice to order the specific quantity for you)... for example when I needed these vintage looking photoframes and candlebra from HomeCentre I just got in touch with their Branch Head who then connected me to their Purchasing and they block ordered the items for their next shipment and sold it to me at their retail price (which was way cheaper than anything I found in Dragonmart)... this did take time though coz their shipments only come in every three weeks or so... if you have enough time do a test order for something that is not very important from Alibaba... I once ordered tulle table skirting and was quite happy with what was delivered... so it's probably worth a shot for a not so high price ticket item. all the best... and feel free to ping back if you need any more advice @HorizonMum2 Thank you so much for your very helpful response! Very interesting to know, I didn't realise wedding planners went all the way to China. I was under the impression, especially here in the GCC the local planners just bought everything locally or from Lebanon, hence some crazy prices. Yes, I really wanted to have things tailored but don't know where to begin. Home Centre do have some really nice blingy centre piece items that I spot once in a while and I did wonder if they gave bulk discount. Thank you so much for sharing this. I was wondering if you could possibly give me an idea please? Do you think any Wedding Planner here would undertake the design of the wedding, ie. help me style the wedding, get all the bits and pieces, carry out some mock ups here? We have a local wedding planner at the destination who is very helpful but they have no clue when it comes to design or decorations and I am worried because we are forced to choose this location because of so many elderly family members who cannot travel.
1257
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 09 February 2017 - 12:15
purchasing online from China is always a tricky game! more often than not I prefer to use that only as my last resort! for larger weddings we actually just go to China and source directly from there... but in your case that would not be feasible... my suggestion would be this... go to the Deira textile souq (old Naif bazaar) and buy the fabric you like in bulk... whether satin / lycra / silk / linen and then take it to a tailor in burdubai or satwa and get the fabric hemmed or tailored to your requirement... that way you are in complete control of fabric/quantity/quality/price for other elements such as charger plates/etc depending on the quantity you are looking for you can purchase also from Deira or then directly from home stores (you would need to talk to somebody in their headoffice to order the specific quantity for you)... for example when I needed these vintage looking photoframes and candlebra from HomeCentre I just got in touch with their Branch Head who then connected me to their Purchasing and they block ordered the items for their next shipment and sold it to me at their retail price (which was way cheaper than anything I found in Dragonmart)... this did take time though coz their shipments only come in every three weeks or so... if you have enough time do a test order for something that is not very important from Alibaba... I once ordered tulle table skirting and was quite happy with what was delivered... so it's probably worth a shot for a not so high price ticket item. all the best... and feel free to ping back if you need any more advice
111
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 February 2017 - 00:15
hi... congratulations on ur BIG day! i'm a planner and while I can't comment on what the rates are of other planners here I can definitely share my own charges with you. My charges are very straightforward - 15% of the spend booked through me. So, for example, if you book the photographer through me and his/her charges were 10K, then you would be paying me 15% of that as the booking and coordination charges. While this might seem unreasonable at first thought bear in mind a few key elements: - the rates of services booked through me are more often than not better rates (at least 20% lesser) than rates booked directly with the supplier - if you are booking 10 different suppliers from hair to venue to photographer to florist to linens to cars you still only have to deal with one point of contact - me! - I would also help you shortlist photographers without you having to call and research on those available in the market some planners are already tied up with specific venues/suppliers/artists and would insist you pick from those... I prefer to be more flexible in that approach as in my nine years of experience in the field I've realized that some couples prefer spending more on décor while others would prefer spending more on the venue and yet others who are on a tight budget for the whole event. Hence I have a range of suppliers that I work with (and can even work with your own contacts as well) to fit the couple's individual budgets. and if you're a bride like I was and want to be in control of everything then I even offer on the day wedding coordination and charge roughly 500dhs an hour for the same... anyway let me know if you need help with more info... I'm happy to advise further... not going to leave a link or anything on here unless asked lest I be kicked off the forum for advertising (sorry mods)... @HorizonMum2 I was wondering if you could help at all with your expertise. I am helping my cousin with her wedding in Europe and the location of the wedding is really complicated in terms of decoration. We have access to stunning flowers and a great location but everything else over there is basic and I am looking at purchasing or making the table accessories over here and shipping it there (table cloths, chair covers, tissue box covers, charger plates, candle holders etc...). I noticed the most fancy wedding organisers do order a lot of their products from China as well as having things locally made. I have been to Dragon Mart and there prices are nothing like a few years ago. I found them very expensive and quality..... not so good. I have looked on Alibaba.com and seen some nice things but from experience, what you buy online is not what you get through the post. Do you have any suggestions please, I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you so much.
1257
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 07 February 2017 - 09:51
hi... congratulations on ur BIG day! i'm a planner and while I can't comment on what the rates are of other planners here I can definitely share my own charges with you. My charges are very straightforward - 15% of the spend booked through me. So, for example, if you book the photographer through me and his/her charges were 10K, then you would be paying me 15% of that as the booking and coordination charges. While this might seem unreasonable at first thought bear in mind a few key elements: - the rates of services booked through me are more often than not better rates (at least 20% lesser) than rates booked directly with the supplier - if you are booking 10 different suppliers from hair to venue to photographer to florist to linens to cars you still only have to deal with one point of contact - me! - I would also help you shortlist photographers without you having to call and research on those available in the market some planners are already tied up with specific venues/suppliers/artists and would insist you pick from those... I prefer to be more flexible in that approach as in my nine years of experience in the field I've realized that some couples prefer spending more on décor while others would prefer spending more on the venue and yet others who are on a tight budget for the whole event. Hence I have a range of suppliers that I work with (and can even work with your own contacts as well) to fit the couple's individual budgets. and if you're a bride like I was and want to be in control of everything then I even offer on the day wedding coordination and charge roughly 500dhs an hour for the same... anyway let me know if you need help with more info... I'm happy to advise further... not going to leave a link or anything on here unless asked lest I be kicked off the forum for advertising (sorry mods)...
2
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 February 2017 - 06:44
Hi Maja, I am actually working with a wedding planner , she did one wedding Abu Dhabi and was amazing , food , drinks, music , dancers , lights, entertainment everything . I think it came to around 400k but was very lavish and very good. I have her number and details if you want to contact her :) Misha
59
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 January 2017 - 12:31
Hi everyone, Sorry if this has already been asked, but I recently moved here from the UK and have just started planning my Dubai wedding. I was thinking of hiring a wedding planner but the problem is that I have no idea of what the typical costs are, or what it is that I would be paying for. I was wondering if anyone who has used a wedding planner in Dubai could share their experience, including how much they paid and what services were included in that price? I understand this will vary depending on the company, but any insight on the market would be much appreciated! Thanks, Maja Our wedding, cost around 500K about 2years ago but that included everything food and drinks, our venue at Atlantis, photographer, videographer,invite, we had an indoor garden theme wedding, flowers....our wedding planner was amazing. her names is melanie at platinum events in motor city, would highly recommend her...everything went to plan and was perfect. wedding planners here aren't cheap but if you dont want the headache yourself totally worth it.
76
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 30 January 2017 - 11:56
Hi everyone, Sorry if this has already been asked, but I recently moved here from the UK and have just started planning my Dubai wedding. I was thinking of hiring a wedding planner but the problem is that I have no idea of what the typical costs are, or what it is that I would be paying for. I was wondering if anyone who has used a wedding planner in Dubai could share their experience, including how much they paid and what services were included in that price? I understand this will vary depending on the company, but any insight on the market would be much appreciated! Thanks, Maja Hello, We have recently started working with Louay , who has his own wedding planning company. I cant really let you know the prices for services as it varies based on if you have found a venue already or not. We had already got the venue, i found my dress and hair stylist and we needed specific things from him as we were running out of time and extremely busy with other things. The thing is he can customize a package for you based on your needs. He himself is very creative and can give you ideas you probably never heard of yourself and suggest things that would be lower on cost but more unique or rational. He has also done many events. Arab, Indian, European....etc If you get in touch with him, tell him you were referred by Adam Akawis fiance Dalia. He is a family friend so would help you out in such a case. A lot of wedding planners decline offers if your wedding is less than 5 months away, saying that they wont have time for it. Our wedding is two months away and he took us on explaining that usually its a stall to make sure clients pay. Some of the things he will be doing for us based on what we need are : Sve the dates Einvites ballroom decorations based on color and theme produced with you through a mood board or consultation outside of ballroom decoration small give aways finding a DJ can consult you on hair stylist and make up artists can help you find a dress works on getting permits for alcohol and indoor smoking if needed .... thats at top of my mind at the moment http://lmb.ae/lmb-profile/ check out his website.
1
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 26 January 2017 - 15:22
Hi everyone, Sorry if this has already been asked, but I recently moved here from the UK and have just started planning my Dubai wedding. I was thinking of hiring a wedding planner but the problem is that I have no idea of what the typical costs are, or what it is that I would be paying for. I was wondering if anyone who has used a wedding planner in Dubai could share their experience, including how much they paid and what services were included in that price? I understand this will vary depending on the company, but any insight on the market would be much appreciated! Thanks, Maja
 
 

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