Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
Zakaj obožujem poroke
“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.”
Fotografija: Heather Nan fotografija
“What originally got me into weddings was photography,” says McKenzi. “I love posing couples, capturing their emotions and providing them with amazing memories.” Plus, “Vedno so me zanimale ljubezenske zgodbe ljudi,” ona nadaljuje. “Ljubezen je ena redkih stvari, ki jih lahko izberemo v življenju: koga imamo radi in zakaj.” Prav tako, McKenzie pravi, “Ljudem, ki me poznajo, se zdi zanimivo, da sem tako navdušena nad porokami, ker sem malce deklica. Vendar sem našel način, kako svoj smisel za avanturo na prostem vključiti v to, kar počnem.”
Photo courtesy of Cactus Collective
Najljubši trenutki
“Med pandemijo, ustvarili smo paket mikro in pobegov za pare, ki so se odločili pritisniti na sprožilec ne glede na število ljudi in se poročiti z malo ali nič časa za načrtovanje. Videti, kako se energija resnično premakne ob dogodku samo 25 ljudi v primerjavi z 250 zagotovo me je spremenilo v velikega oboževalca štetja intimnih gostov,” says Michelle. “Neverjetno je videti, kako par resnično uživa v kakovostnem času z vsako posamezno osebo v sobi. Ti mikro dogodki niso imeli le intimnosti, proces načrtovanja je bil res prijeten, ker ti pari niso porabili časa ali energije za pojenje majhnih stvari. Osvežujoče je bilo delati s pari, ki so bili tako veseli poroke. Z mikro porokami ali minimoniji, manjše število gostov je pomenilo, da so bili pari pripravljeni zapravljati za dražje luksuzno perilo in cvetje, ki so si ga resnično želeli, ne da bi morali toliko skrbeti za stroške.”
Fotografija: Megan Robinson
“Med "novo normalnostjo".’ era, biti sposoben priti skozi toliko parov, ki niso želeli odložiti svoje poroke za nedoločen čas, vendar je hotel bolj romantično, tradicionalno praznovanje kot poroka v sodišču ali kapeli je bilo tako razveseljivo,” pravi McKenzie. “To preteklo leto, smo gostili 300 mikroporoke. Številni pari so nas poiskali, ker so se odločili odpovedati svojo veliko poroko in namesto tega nadaljevati z nami. Najboljši del je, da so bili prijetno presenečeni, ko so ugotovili, da poroke, ki jih pripravljamo, niso "manj kot".’ Prav tako so posebni, romantično in nepozabno - le drugačen od tistega, kar so si prvotno predstavljali pred pandemijo. Časi izzivov nas prisilijo, da cenimo preproste radosti življenja. Mnogi naši pari so bili zaročeni dve ali tri leta, in zelo so se trudili, da bi bilo uradno. Ponudi jim lepo, 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
“Od 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, uspeli smo rasti in se širiti v nova mesta. Zelo rada imam tudi skupnost poročnih strokovnjakov, s katerimi sodelujem. To je super, ustvarjalna skupina ljudi.”
Fotografija: Fotografija Cameron Clark
Načrtovanje v svetu po pandemiji
“Vedno smo imeli takšno infrastrukturo, ki nam omogoča poslovanje kadarkoli in s katere koli lokacije. Večina naših strank je ciljnih parov in redno nimamo možnosti izkoristiti prednosti osebnih srečanj. Tudi COVID-19 ni zares vplival ali spremenil našega načina, in bo še naprej, posel,” says Michelle.
Michelle je navdušena nad »vrnitvijo na točko v procesu načrtovanja in izvedbe, ko si lahko vsi oddahnejo in ne skrbijo, ali bodo mize 6 feet apart or whether or not a venue’s space has a max capacity [in] guests feeling comfortable being in a room together, laughing, ples, dining, and making memories.”
Fotografija: Megan Robinson
Fotografija: Heather Nan fotografija
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
Fotografija: Trevor Hooper
Svetlejši dnevi pred nami
“Zdaj, ko svet vidi mikro poroke v novi luči, veselimo se, da bomo prva izbira para, ponovno, namesto da bi delali s številnimi paničnimi nevestami, ki so prišle k nam, ker so morale preklicati svoje prvotne načrte,” says McKenzi. “Toliko parov nam je povedalo, da je bilo tako olajšanje in tako izjemno, da so svoj poseben dan polepšali z manjšo poroko.. Sumim, da s tem premikom v zavesti, vse več parov bo šlo v mikro.”
Fotografija: Heather Nan fotografija