Every wedding vendor team is created a little differently. In this series we explore how and why each couple selected the right wedding vendor team for their big day.
Just one month after Tim proposed to Hannah in Utah’s Arches National Park, the pair began planning their wedding for a year-and-a-half later in another picturesque destination. While they live in Chicago, Hannah and Tim wanted to tie the knot somewhere that offered more predictable weather as well as a slew of activities for their guests to enjoy.
With a weekend of festivities in a yet-to-be-determined location, the first step they made was to enlist a planner/designer to guide them every step of the way. Hannah tapped the same pro who helped her cousin earlier that year, Calluna Events, and who came with a vast experience creating destination events. The decision to hire a planner was particularly valuable as the pandemic affected a lot of the decisions made—though with smart and safe moves, the couple was still able to have their dream wedding.
Having worked in the wedding industry herself as an intern for an event planner and later managing an event space, Hannah was involved in a trunk show for wedding dress designer Inbal Dror a few years prior. There was one dress in particular that she had seen and fallen in love with. Its non-white color sparked a lot of the wedding day’s rich, moody tones—and in the end, it also happened to match the scenery perfectly.
Hannah had already begun gathering inspiration photos before confirming Calluna Events, but when they kicked things off it was time to dive deeper into them to decide what type of wedding was in store. While she and Tim had considered getting married in Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, Tennessee, and Colorado, the idea for a destination wedding in Arizona bubbled to the top of the location list, as Hannah’s family has a home there and she felt the locale checked all of her boxes. A couple of venues were considered before the pair chose the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North as their final pick.
“Covid-19 protocols had the potential to dampen the day, however, Hannah and Tim were blessed with a location that had plenty of access to outdoor spaces. That, and mask mandates, made the guests, venue, and vendors feel safe. These protocols were the most unglamorous part of planning the wedding, but the couple felt it was important to make their day happen no matter what. Heather and the photographers helped guide them with what a wedding day would look like with various guest sizes. These guest sizes ranged from just the couple, just the bridal party, and so on. Ultimately ,67 guests attended and we created a seating plan that was unique to wedding culture, while also respecting COVID protocols. They decided to seat their guests based on their ‘bubble exposure.’ The seating chart consisted of multiple tables of two and four. Guests saw this decision as refreshing and they enjoyed a wonderful dinner with their partner, or immediate family.” —Heather Dwight, planner and designer
Once the location was secured, the bride and groom selected a team to document it all. While the couple found the majority of their vendors through Instagram tags (and enjoyed seeing their personalities through stories and posts on the platform), they also looked at the preferred vendor lists of every venue they visited. They found their videographer, PenWeddings, thanks to one such list at a venue in Missouri, which they briefly considered as a wedding destination. They hired The Shepards to work alongside them, and both artists created wonderful imagery that captured the day perfectly.
Next, it was time to choose a floral designer who could highlight the beautiful tones of the desert, pulling in the warmth of the sunset with shades of mauve, orange, and cool purples. They found that in Phoenix-based florist The Wildflower AZ.
“Both of us feel strong pulls to nature, despite living in the city. So feeling completely immersed in it was a key part of the design for us.” —Hannah, bride
Then it was time to pick a stationer. Summit and Sage got to work to create a desert-themed stationery suite that hinted at the color palette of the upcoming celebration. Soft pink, terracotta, dusty greens, and a bit of goldenrod would all appear on the big day (and in the bride’s wedding bouquet).
Music came next. The couple wanted a DJ from the start as they had a very specific playlist in mind. In working with Vox DJs, they knew the soundtrack for their reception would be exactly as they intended.
“They were announced into the reception to the song ‘American Venom of Red Dead Redemption 2’ as they are big video game players, but wanted the YouTube version, not the one on Spotify. Then they went right into their first dance to ‘Would You’ by Richard Swift. It was beautiful, and they danced on the same platform where they were married, just as the sun set.” —Heather Dwight, planner and designer
To look her best amidst the arid air of the desert, Hannah enlisted a skilled hair and makeup team, Makiaj Beauty. Concurrently, the rental order with Glamour and Woods started taking shape, though it continued to evolve as the design of the day fully came to fruition. Rounding out the day-of details, Dang! Fine was brought on for the ceremony structure, and Meg Gross penned the place cards and leather signage.
