Bridal Check List
The Who's, The How's, The When's & The What's
To make Destination Planning Just a Tad Bit Easier
Aloha to Our Beautiful Bride to Be~
If you are reading this Blog Post there's a great possibility that you have selected MartinRoberts Design as your Floral Décor Company for your upcoming event of a lifetime. So we have decided to give you all the necessary tools you will need to make this journey not only easy, but smooth & effortless. Below we have listed some key points that you will definitely want to take note of. Our hopes is by the end of this blog you will not only have a better understanding of what to expect from us as your Floral Décor Company - but also what we expect from you as a client. So please - grab a pen, a piece of paper and a glass of wine:) Happy Reading~
What to Expect When You are Inquiring
Any and all clients who call into our studio inquiring about price quotes for their upcoming event will be asked these simple questions below:
Date of your event
Location of your event
Bride & Grooms Last Names
Contact number, Contact Name & Contact Email
*STOP RIGHT THERE*
If you are calling in without these simple answers listed above - you may want to hold off on trying to obtain any further information. You will want to do some ground work on your end first before trying to connect with us. It is difficult for us to answer your questions if we have nothing to start off with first - so always come to us with at the very least the information listed above. Once you have gathered that - you are ready for the call or the email. Since we specialize in destination weddings - 99/9% of our business is conducted via email. Yes we said email - welcome to 2015 where the internet is the hottest, quickest and easiest thing out there. With that being said we welcome our future client's inquiry emails at the address listed below:
This is usually the quickest way to get in touch with one of our Lead Sales/Design Representatives (turn around time is normally 24 - 48 hours after email has been received). If you call into our studio - please expect a 3 - 5 business day response. During our peak seasons (listed below) please expect 5 - 7 business days due to extensive events taking place.
PEAK SEASON FOR MARTINROBERTS DESIGN
September 15 - January 15
May 1 - August 30
*Dates above are subject to change*
The Introductory Email
Once we receive your inquiry email or information if it has been called into our studio, one of our Lead Sales Representatives will send out to what is called "The Introductory Email". In this we will include inspirational images of previous events we've designed along with links to our Facebook, Instagram, BlogSpot and Website. Along with images you will find a word doc. titled "Pre Consultation Questionnaire Form".
This Form is the form that we ask all of our clients to fill out to "the best of their ability". Now if you remember the note above which was mentioned earlier in the blog "doing ground work on your end". If you have done this then completing the Pre Consultation Questionnaire will be a breeze. Once the Form is completed you will then move on to the next phase.
Gathering Your Thoughts - Getting it all on Paper
Now we get into the fun part. Below are some things you may want to include in your questionnaire form that you are returning back to us. You can attach these images within the email - you could create a word doc, pdf file or even a power point. We will take it as you wish to send it:)
Attire:
The Bride & Groom
We welcome Pictures - in fact we LOVE THEM~
It's a Must for Us to See "The Dress" of course we will keep it hidden in your own personal event file that we start for each client. This way your Lead Sales Representative who will in turn also be your Lead Designer can refer back to the dress for guidance on helping you in selecting the perfect bouquet. Remember it is very important that the Dress and Bouquet go hand in hand~
It is as equally important for the Designer to also know what you Mr. is wearing - don't forget you are both the Stars of the Show.
Bridal Party
Bridesmaid Dresses
Colors, Style, and of course send pics
Groomsmen Attire
Will they be wearing a suit? Casual? A Vest? A Tie?
These are all things we'd like to know - it makes a difference if they should be wearing a lei or a boutonniere. Just some food for thought.
Mood Board
I personally encourage all of my brides to create one of these. They are a great inspirational tool - they give you just a dash of a little bit of everything you need to help you on your way of creating a "Visual" Design Concept. This can often times be a challenge for clients when planning a destination wedding, so the Mood Board is extremely wonderful for that mere fact right there. In your mood board you will want to include: Your Wedding Theme (if you have one) A few descriptive words, Your Color Palette & Some fun inspirational images that you love.
Save the Dates & Invites
You will want to snip an image of both. Some couples do only save the dates or only wedding invites. Either way - we want to see what you've come up with so far. It is an important rule of thumb to Design from Top to Bottom. Meaning - we want to be sure that the look we are designing is cohesive throughout the entire event. We would hate for you invites to be burlap, lace & giving off a vintage theme - when on your wedding day it's nothing but Glitter, Gold and Glam. There will surely be a disconnect in design - which we want to avoid at all times! So please share with us what you have already created - so that we can gain better insight on what you might be envisioning for the special occasion.
Pinterest Page
Before we go any further let's start off by saying "Bless the creator of Pinterest - for he has made things both easy and extremely difficult all at the same time" - AMEN!
Pinterest is every bride's BEST FRIEND & WORST ENEMEY. Ladies be careful how you use pinterest. Some friendly words of advice:
1. Create a Few Boards - no more than 5
2. Select a style & or theme - and stick to it (it's extremely hard to reel yourself in when there are 20 thousand different ideas floating around on your pages)
3. No More than 2 hours per day on Pinterest (it will become addicting and will cause you to change your mind more times than you even realize it's happening)
4. Remember not everything you see in pinterest can be replicated exactly as seen in the image. Venue space, mechanics that go into a design - these are all factors to consider when browsing the web.
5. Once you have a nice size selection of photos selected for the various boards you have created - STOP! it will become overwhelming.
6. Pinterest - is a tool designed to help people dream & get creative. However, you also want to steer clear of DIY wedding décor for destination weddings. The whole reason you chose a destination wedding & MartinRoberts is to eliminate the DIY factor. We will Do It All For You.
Mark Your Calendars - Remember these important Dates
6 months from your Event - This will be when we ideally would like to set up our first "Meet & Greet Call". This is a short 30 minute call that is basically an informative spill given to you by your Lead Designer. You will both familiarize yourselves with one another and the upcoming event. Often times we have Brides and Grooms who like to connect with us more than a year out from their event date. We love the enthusiasm and understand how exciting it is for both of you - I mean this is the biggest day of your lives. However, we have found in the past that doing a call that early on with so much time in between - only leaves our clients forgetting everything we told them. So we highly recommend taking the first 6 months to figure all your details out - gather your thoughts, ideas, photos, etc. Then let's connect - at that time the Design concept is much easier to start.
Final Due Dates / Deadlines
1 month prior to your Event - A final event order will be required and expected from each client. Your event order is your contract that is created by MartinRoberts for your big day. It is very important that all clients get a final in place NO LESS than 30 days prior to their event date. Remember Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - therefore nearly everything is flown in. The longer a client waits to finalize, the fewer options they will have and items will become limited & based entirely at that point on availability. Don't wait to finalize - the sooner the better:) then you can relax till it's time to say "I DO".
Conference Calls
MartinRoberts Design offers One "Meet & Greet Call" to all confirmed and booked clients. We will allow up to 3 email exchange between the prospective client and our Lead Sales/Design Rep - before securing a deposit. Once the non-refundable deposit is secured we can move forward with setting up the Meet and Greet Call. Depending on each client's Budget - MartinRobers will then advise you if a final "Button Up" Call will be necessary. Should a final call be required - we will schedule that out for about 45 days prior to the event date. If we feel that the event details are pretty straight forward we will conduct the remaining duration of business leading up to your event via email exchange only. All conference calls are pre scheduled in advance based on the availability of each Lead Designer's Schedule. Calls are generally done Tuesday - Thursdays only. Monday & Fridays are based on availability as those are heavier days for events & design. Saturday & Sundays we are almost always on site for events - so those days are blocked out unless specified otherwise. Pop up calls to the studio are welcomed - however, there is no guarantee that you will be connected with your Lead Designer. Again if looking for a quick response - email is always best.
The overall Goal for this entire process is "With Ease". We want this to be as painless and easy as possible. Though it seems like a lot of information - this blog really does give you the entire run down of what to expect when you are doing a destination wedding. Destination wedding = Less Work for you, More work for Us. Let us do what we are great at - you are in the best hands - we pride ourselves in the beauty that is captured in each and every event - no two events should ever be the same. There should always be something slightly different that is brought to the table - that is what keeps MartinRoberts Design at the top & striving to only get better. We look forward to creating the Picture Perfect Wedding of your dreams~
