Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
मुझे शादियों से प्यार क्यों है
“I used to do corporate event planning, and I really love the way designing and planning weddings has given me a larger creative outlet. There’s more emotion involved,” says Michelle. She also loves “being able to get creative with fun details like paper suites, floral décor, lighting design, lounge furniture and a personalized guest experience.” Along with her stellar team, “We love that no two events are ever the same, and we really enjoy getting to meet and work with people from all around the globe.”
तस्वीर: Heather Nan Photography
“What originally got me into weddings was photography,” says McKenzi. “I love posing couples, capturing their emotions and providing them with amazing memories.” प्लस, “मुझे हमेशा लोगों की प्रेम कहानियों में दिलचस्पी रही है,” वह जारी रखती है. “प्यार उन कुछ चीजों में से एक है जो हमें जीवन में चुनने को मिलती है: हम किससे प्यार करते हैं और क्यों।” भी, मैकेंजी कहते हैं, “जो लोग मुझे जानते हैं उन्हें यह दिलचस्प लगता है कि मैं शादियों को लेकर इतना जुनूनी हूं क्योंकि मैं थोड़ा टॉमबॉय हूं. लेकिन मुझे अपने काम में बाहरी रोमांच की भावना को शामिल करने का एक तरीका मिल गया है।”
Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
पसंदीदा पल
“महामारी के दौरान, हमने उन जोड़ों के लिए एक सूक्ष्म और पलायन पैकेज बनाया है, जिन्होंने बिना किसी परवाह के बिना योजना बनाए शादी करने का फैसला किया है।. यह देखना कि केवल एक घटना में ऊर्जा वास्तव में कैसे बदलती है 25 लोगों की तुलना में 250 निश्चित रूप से इसने मुझे अंतरंग अतिथि संख्या का बहुत बड़ा प्रशंसक बना दिया,” says Michelle. “It’s amazing to see a couple truly get to enjoy quality time with every single person in the room. Not only was there an intimacy to these micro events, the planning process was really enjoyable because these couples didn’t spend time or energy sweating the small stuff. It has been refreshing to work with couples who were just so happy to have a wedding. With micro weddings or minimonies, smaller guest counts meant that couples were willing to splurge on more expensive luxury linens and the florals they truly wanted, without having to worry so much about cost.”
तस्वीर: Megan Robinson
“During the ‘new normal’ era, being able to come through for so many couples who didn’t want to put off their weddings indefinitely, but wanted a more romantic, कोर्टहाउस या चैपल विवाह की तुलना में पारंपरिक उत्सव बहुत संतुष्टिदायक था,” मैकेंजी कहते हैं. “यह पिछला साल, हमने मेजबानी की 300 सूक्ष्म शादियाँ. कई जोड़ों ने हमसे संपर्क किया क्योंकि उन्होंने अपनी बड़ी शादी रद्द करने और हमारे साथ आगे बढ़ने का फैसला किया. सबसे अच्छी बात यह है कि उन्हें यह देखकर सुखद आश्चर्य हुआ कि हम जो शादियाँ करते हैं, वे किसी से कम नहीं होतीं।’ वे उतने ही खास हैं, रोमांटिक और यादगार - महामारी से पहले उन्होंने जो कल्पना की थी, उससे बिल्कुल अलग. चुनौतीपूर्ण समय हमें जीवन की सरल खुशियों की सराहना करने के लिए मजबूर करता है. हमारे कई जोड़ों की सगाई को दो या तीन साल हो चुके थे, और वे इसे आधिकारिक बनाने की पूरी कोशिश कर रहे थे. उन्हें एक सुंदर पेशकश, postcard-like location and helping them organize special little touches made all the difference in the world for them.”
Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
A Fresh Look at Micro-Weddings
“तब से 2020 became the year of the micro-wedding, it really validated us as a company. We did go the extra mile to add a lot more traditional touches to our ‘new normal’ weddings to give couples who came to us after canceling big celebrations all of the traditions and fanfare of a larger wedding. We will continue to carry those more traditional elements into our weddings.,” says McKenzi. “We actually grew rapidly as more and more people discovered our niche. I think the best thing I did was to bring on additional people to support the business. With the extra talent and brainpower, we have been able to grow and expand to new cities. I also really love the community of wedding professionals I get to work with. It’s a great, creative group of people.”
तस्वीर: Cameron Clark Photography
Planning in a Post-Pandemic World
“We have always had the sort of infrastructure that allows us to do business at any time from any location. Most of our clients are destination couples and we regularly don’t have the option to take advantage of in-person meetings. Even COVID-19 didn’t really impact or change the way we do, and will continue to do, व्यापार,” says Michelle.
Michelle is excited about “the return to a point in the planning and execution process where everyone can take a breath and not worry about tables being 6 feet apart or whether or not a venue’s space has a max capacity [तथा] guests feeling comfortable being in a room together, हँसना, नृत्य, dining, and making memories.”
तस्वीर: Megan Robinson
तस्वीर: Heather Nan Photography
What Counts Now
“Customization and personalization! These themes will always translate and become a true reflection of the couple no matter the size of the event,” says Michelle. “Focusing on what truly matters will be at the heart of our main approach going forward. The rest is simply details. And while details are fun and matter to some extent, that’s not what the celebration should be about. I see guest lists, selectivity and overall guest experience taking a front seat to things like linens and tabletop rentals. As a designer, that pains me to admit, but at the end of the day, we have to be honest about what matters.”
Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
तस्वीर: Trevor Hooper
Brighter Days Ahead
“Now that the world sees micro-weddings in a new light, we are looking forward to being a couple’s first choice, once again, rather than work with a lot of panicked brides who came to us because they had to cancel their original plans,” says McKenzi. “So many couples have told us how it was such a relief and so extraordinary to make their special day all about them with a smaller wedding. I suspect that with this shift in consciousness, more and more couples will be going micro.”
तस्वीर: Heather Nan Photography