Stepping back in style...

Worth the (long) wait!


Names: Courtney & Tim from Herts
Month: Aug 2021 - Mainly rain with gaps

In Brief:

Back in July 2020 the delightful Courtney reached out for some guidance. In the first consultation I learnt about their travels together, brilliant love of food, and that Courtney actually works in events! My involvement was to ensure she didnt manage this big event! She wanted to hands over the reins and chill!

Throughout planning I helped mainly with queries about the venue. Townhead hadnt hosted a wedding, it wasnt even finished at that time! I had the pleasure of chatting to the Owner, Cheryl, a lot about ad-hoc queries. This proved helpful to not just Courtney but all my Townhead clients.

The day was fabulous despite a few factors; rain (downpours that magically stopped whenever we needed to move guests outside!), new team (most of the team for the day I hadnt met before!), and my first coordination for over a year!!! I can handle rain (thankfully as I got soaked!) and I actually think it adds conversation and a community feel to weddings. The team was fab, especially the Townhead crew (so helpful and fun plus such an epic site!) and Carla and Luke (trundling up and down the gardens just as much as me!). Having Sasha and Lisa as the first to greet me was lovely and the wonderful Jess created such stunning florals! I was impressed by James, singer, and Matt with the pizzas too! Honestly, the team has the biggest influence on a wedding. Pick wisely!

I will admit that this was hard work. My body was in shock, ‘why are you running up this garden, again, instead of sitting on a sofa!?!’. My feet ached, my hair was a mess, I was soaked… but so very happy! Back in the saddle and smiley happy faces all around me!

The happy couple very kindly shared their thoughts too...

Why did you start looking for a Planner? “When Town Head mentioned they’d been having conversations with Annabel and that she knew the venue, we thought it would be really useful to chat through our plans for the day and get her opinion on how everything would work, seeing as there weren’t any previous weddings to draw from!

After our initial consultation with Annabel and further into our wedding planning, we soon realised our wedding was actually quite ‘DIY’ and complex - given that the venue were going to be pretty hands off when it came to coordination on the day and that numerous components of the day (in different locations) needed to be brought together seamlessly. We also realised that the only way for me to relax and to be a bride rather than an event manager, would be to have someone we trusted to take the reins instead!”

What were your considerations or queries about hiring a coordinator? “I’d say cost was a big consideration for us as we were spending a lot more on the wedding than we’d originally intended and were trying to save.”

What were your first impressions of Annabel's services? “Brilliant! Annabel was professional but warm, engaging and relatable. We felt so relaxed chatting to her and fully trusted her right from the start!”

How did having Annabel's consultations impact your planning? “Annabel helped us to identify areas we could save money and work out what our priorities were! She helped us iron out the logistics and timings for the day and was a huge support whilst we were planning our wedding at a new and inexperienced wedding venue.”

How did having Annabel there on the day affect you personally? “As soon as Annabel arrived on the morning of the wedding, I was able to dump a list of things on her and totally relax! As a very particular person, who likes to be in control - having Annabel to manage our wedding day was the only way I could switch off and be a bride rather than an event manager. We completely trusted Annabel to have our backs and having her on the team meant we were able to enjoy our wedding day, knowing that it was in safe and experienced hands!”

How do you think Annabel influenced the day? “Not only did Annabel help to ensure the day was well planned and thought through, she was there to ensure that everything ran smoothly and kept on track. Our wedding day consisted of lots of moving about and parts of the day in different locations, so Annabel was responsible for prompting all of this movement and keeping things to time, whilst ensuring this didn't impact the flow or atmosphere on the day. With responsibilities being split across numerous suppliers, a new wedding venue that hadn't yet held a wedding as big as ours, a sit down meal in a lakeside tipi away from the rest of the venue and a catering team who'd never worked at this venue before, Annabel was integral in bringing all the separate parts and suppliers together and worked tirelessly to ensure that everything seemed to go seamlessly from our perspective, even though there were various issues behind the scenes and problems to solve on the day! As well as all the major things, there were so many "little" touches throughout the day which simply would not have happened if it wasn't for Annabel - she really thought of everything!”

What advice would you give other 'DIY style' wedding couples? “Drill down into the detail and speak to people who know what they're talking about, to make sure you don't miss anything!”

Would you recommend Annabel to others? “We would absolutely recommend Annabel to anyone who needs logistical or creative support in the lead up to their wedding, anyone who is planning a 'DIY' or more complicated wedding and anyone who will struggle to switch off from logistics and the detail on their wedding day!”

This was a heartwarming, hilarious and joyous group of people celebrating in an epic setting. How could I not have loved it!?

Keep following for more wedding stories from the eyes of a planner…

A x

Wedding StoryAnnabel Candler