Wander and Co, Perth (2025)

09/03/2023

✨ BE RIGHT BACK

Hello beautiful friends - it's been a hot minute!

Just popping in to drop a quick note that Wander will be taking a little hiatus.

Life has been crazy with so many new challenges and opportunities that I've been so excited to seize, that I've been inching closer and closer to burnout. We all know the importance of mental health and I'm so grateful to be able to see the signs and take the necessary steps.

So I'll be taking a step back from Wander to take a breather, go on some different adventures, eat some cake, and hopefully come back fresh and excited to marry off more beautiful people.

We're going to be low-key on the marketing front but will still be chipping away in the background and running amok in the events industry. But for now, this isn't a goodbye, it's a see you later!

Love you all xx

📸: Kenneth Lim Photographer
🍰: Sieve & Stone
🌸: Sonny and Willow

25/12/2022

From me and mine to you and yours, have a wonderful Christmas Day ✨

20/12/2022

45 guests, a free-flowing bar, and bubbles. What more could you want?

H + K were the sweetest couple and were so chill throughout the whole journey, even when the weather didn’t behave as we needed it to.

Dream team!

Planning, Coordination 📋: Wander and Co Events
Venue 🏘️: Mulberry Estate
Florals 🌺: Wyldbloom Collective
Celebrant + MC 🤵🏻‍♂️: Glen Adams
Photos 📸: Tenae Elise
Limos 🚙: Allure Limousines
HMUA 💄: Dry Bye | Michele Allison

17/12/2022

I am the biggest klutz. Well. No, I’d say that I tend to go ham (iykyk) with whatever I do which often does mean I end up on the floor. If I could get a compilation of myself face-planting for this post I would add to it but luckily, none exist hehe.

But during bump in and in the background when your wedding is in full swing, I’m often the one running around like a headless chicken. And that’s ok!

Here are a couple of story times from recent weeks:

🥃 While helping pick up glassware from the bridal table, I stepped in a small puddle and slipped, landing on one knee. I saved the glassware though!

🐾 Oscar, the cutest ring bearer I ever did see, slipped out of everyone’s hands minutes before the start of the ceremony. Guess who had to chase him across Coombe Reserve, wearing boots that don’t have the greatest traction on grass? It’s me! Thankfully, no grass burns from full sliding towards his lead.

Wedding vendors - talk to me about your favourite fails.

15/12/2022

Sometimes, part of your vision can only really come together when your guests meet the dress code brief. I’m not talking about making sure people wear specific colours (surely we’ve all seen that story floating around), I’m just talking about a general dress code to fit the vibes.

How can you ensure that this happens?

📃 Make sure that the dress code is clearly printed on your invitation! If possible, consider adding a little card with the invitation suite detailing the dos and don'ts of your dress code of choice.

📍 If you’ve got a wedding website - go you! Add in the dress code breakdown into the FAQ or even add a whole tab to your website explaining the dress code.

Remember though, guests will do what they want and ultimately dress in a way that they are most comfortable. How they dress won’t ruin your day but it might make theirs ❤️

📸:

13/12/2022

Oh wow, you’ve found a little extra to play with in your budget - yay! Let’s add a few fun touches to your day.

🍸 Cocktail Hour

This is super fun and we had it at a recent wedding. Between 10 pm - 11 pm, the bar served up Espresso Martinis and Margaritas. Guests loved it! Make sure that your venue or bar provider can provide this service, and make sure that it won’t overload your bar staff, especially if you want them freshly prepared. Cocktails can be a handful!

🎵 Live Music

All our celebrant friends are more than happy to play your ceremony tunes through their sound system but if you have the room for it, live music during your ceremony just adds that extra touch.

🎨 Live Painting!

Come on, we’ve all seen the tiktoks! Consider having an artist at your reception live paint a snapshot of your ceremony. Watching it all come together can provide another bit of entertainment for your guests and an amazing surprise for you at the end of the night!

10/12/2022

Just a quick note to say that wedding season is in full swing and all your vendors are under the pump. If you’ve been in touch, please afford us a little patience as we work through the madness ❤️

08/12/2022

Think back to all the weddings you’ve attended and wedding favours you’ve received. No doubt you would have seen stubby holders, sunglasses, maybe shot glasses? Where are they now? While the gesture is nice, some guests may already have a collection of them - do they really need more?

Let’s try something different!

💌 A Good Cause

We’re starting to see couples choosing to contribute to a good cause instead of purchasing bonbonniere for their guests. The money they would have spent on favours is donated to a cause of their choice, and a little message is left for guests instead.

🍇 Homemade Jam!

Recently, E + L decided to gift their guests homemade jam from the fruit trees growing in their backyard. Thoughtful, meaningful, and it went down a treat!

🍸 Signature Drink

Consider bottling up your drink of choice, or even a little kit to make your signature cocktail for guests to take shake up at home!

⚫ Nothing

At the end of the day, guests aren’t attending your wedding expecting to go home with a wedding favour. Don’t stress yourself too much thinking about what would be appreciated or what would fit in the budget!

07/12/2022

☀️ S U M M E R W E D D I N G S ☀️

While I’d argue that Perth weather is absolutely perfect and summer is amazing for weddings, here are a few things to keep in mind:

☀️ Clear Marquees

Clear marquees are gorgeous but they get incredibly hot under them, especially during the day. If you need a daytime do, I’d recommend a white marquee or at least, not to have any sides put in if possible.

☀️ Slip Slap Slop!

Make sure EVERYONE, especially the bridal party, gets sunscreen on. You don’t want red faces and sunburn during the portrait session. Keep a small tube in your kits and don’t forget to reapply!

☀️ Layer Up!

Days may be blistering hot but once the sun goes down, Perth can get pretty chilly and windy. Make sure you and your guests are prepared with shawls (or a blazer to steal hehe). If you have an outdoor setting, it would be a great idea to prepare a few blankets for guests to throw over too!

📸:

06/12/2022

We’re on a little bit of a story time thing going on and we all know, I love a good story. When people ask why I would recommend a wedding planner or coordinator, here are a couple from my most recent weddings:

👗 At 8 pm the night before their wedding, I receive a frantic message from H. “Help, I forgot to pick up my dress hoop and nothing is open tomorrow morning.” Her dress was altered to fit the hoop so going without would mean her dress would be too long, and won’t look the way she wanted it to. Within an hour, I was able to find a solution, and early the morning of the wedding, Mr Wander did the drive out to Joondalup to pick up said hoop, and had it dropped off to H.

🥂 A + J had an amazing champagne tower that went off without a hitch but the unthinkable happened when the dance floor opened up. The party people (who were amazing, ngl) tried to take the roof off the place and shook the tower down. We’re talking glasses collapsing, champagne on the floor, the whole nine yards. Mr. Wander II and I managed to carry off the surviving glassware and clean the floors, all within 15 minutes with the party people continuing the tear it up. Amazing!

The moral of these stories is simple really. Wedding Planners and Coordinators are, at their base, problem solvers and doers. We’re resourceful and aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty so when the unthinkable happens, you’re not the one stressing.

📸:

29/11/2022

Alright alright, how many times have you heard that weddings were popular in June because our medieval ancestors had their annual baths in May and come June, still smelled decent. Well ❌

In reality, the popular months for weddings (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), were in January, October, and November; when harvest was completed and the time for planting the next season had not yet arrived.

These months also worked with times when livestock were turned into food which mean fresh meat, grains, and vegetables were plentiful! All the ingredients for a great party.

26/11/2022

I tend to say that I fell into events by accident, and never left.

Whether they were intimate fundraisers, large sporting events, massive cultural gatherings, I’d had a hand in them all. And while every event had their moments of stress, I found that I thrived in the environment and at the end of the day, loved the satisfaction of watching a successful event unfold.

Then I slowly grew to realise that I wanted to work on events with a little more beauty, events where I could let my creativity flow. And so Wander was born, an avenue where not only can I dive into my creative strengths, I can assist gorgeous individuals walk down the aisle to marry the love of their lives.

Fresh out of high school and stepping into university, I never imagined I would run my own business as a wedding planner. And here I am, working and building my absolute dream.

What about you - how did you end up where you are now?

24/11/2022

Seating charts are pretty common in WA but in the US, es**rt cards are growing in popularity.

The idea is - each guest will have a card with their name, with their table number printed on it, thus es**rting them to their table.

Es**rt Cards open up so much room for creativity to accompany each es**rt card! Think lollipops 🍭, glasses of bubbles 🥂, maybe a cheeky shot 🥃; the possibilities are endless.

However, there are lots of moving parts and logistics with arranging fun es**rt cards - what if your guest doesn’t drink? Not super into lollies? What about the extra time guests need to search for their little tag?

Seating charts are much simpler to put together to present all the required information in one snap shot, and will likely be more affordable too.

So what do you think - Seating Chart or Es**rt Cards?

22/11/2022

You’re considering a wedding planner - yay 🥳

Here’s some quick steps to help you choose the most suitable planner to join your squad;

1. The Stalk

Let’s make the FBI a little jealous of your mad skills. Look through your prospective planner’s website, socials, maybe even how they engage on wedding groups on FB. Make sure their previous work appeals to you, and they can provide you with what you need.

1. The Chat

Most planners will offer a free initial consult and they’ll have handy little buttons on their website or socials to make booking in easy. It’ll usually be a 30 minute chat over the phone or Zoom/Teams so no pants 👖 required.

1. The Research

Before your consult, get yourself on Pinterest and get what’s in your head onto a board. Shoot that off to your potential planners and make sure to refer to it during your call to ensure that they have a good grasp on your vision.

1. The Decision

Now’s the time - get your pros and cons out (the last list you’ll need!), think through your prospective planners and once you’ve decided, you’re going to make someone’s day! Shoot off a confirmation email your planner of choice, and please send a quick note to the other planners that you chatted to, so they’re not left hanging 🤗

17/11/2022

Once you’re engaged and looking up all your wedding ish, those sponsored ads are going to start rolling in. Venues, rings, dresses, etc. And amongst all of that, you’re going start getting ads along the lines of “The Wed Shred”, “Top 10 Ways to Fit in That Dress/Suit”. You get the idea.

But why? Why are we putting pressure on the newly engaged to look or present a certain way for their wedding day. Let’s face it, the wedding day is only 1 day out of the rest of your life and it’ll already be a stressful time, why add undue pressure to try and fit into a certain ideal.

This is also accurate for couples who may have tastes and likes that may not be mainstream. Black dress? Wedding on Friday the 13th? Want everyone to dress in their Halloween best? Let’s do it - who cares what the next bridal magazine may list in the top 5 things you absolutely NEED to style your wedding day.

Remember that your wedding day is about you and should be a representative of your most authentic self. And your soon to be spouse, relatives, guests, they already love you for who you are. So wear that black dress with the 2m train, feature those lightsabers in your ceremony, and enjoy your engagement, don’t spend half of it feeling like you have to change yourself.

If you need to fit in your wedding finery, it shouldn’t be the crash diet or crazy workout plan to look for, it should be a seamstress 😉

15/11/2022

Are BYO Weddings Cheaper?

Short answer: It depends.

Long answer:

BYO venues where you can bring in your own food and drinks is often appealing because there are so many options for you to get it all catered for a lower cost. However, there are many other factors and costs to consider.

⛪ Venue Hire

How much is the venue charging for hire? Often times, byo venues will charge a hire fee that is much higher than fully catered venues. So any cost savings you might find from catering your own food and alcohol would be spent on the hire fee.

If you are fortunate enough to have access to a large enough venue to entertain all your guests without having to pay a hire fee, then 🎉

🪑 Furniture + Amenities

Does your byo venue have furniture and amenities on site that you can use? If not, definitely consider the additional cost for having to bring in your own furniture and styling (plus delivery). If you’re on a private property, you might even have to consider bringing in amenities like lighting, bathrooms, and cool rooms.

🍹 Bar + Staff Hire

Soooo who’s going to be serving drinks and cleaning up used glasses? Would you get your guests to serve themselves from the cool room/esky/fridge?

Caravan bars are super popular for BYO venues. The caravan itself would add a little extra styling, and the staff are available to serve drinks, even mix some cocktails, and clean up after. But these costs do add up depending on guest numbers and service duration.

On the surface, BYO venues can seem like a cost saving option and with most being blank canvases, you have creative freedom to really transform the place and serve what you want. We hope this post has helped you consider the additional work and costs before you go down that path!

12/11/2022

It has been forever since I introduced the fingers behind the keyboard and I’ve got so many more followers since! Soooo who is the crazy lady behind attempting to make sense out of the madness of wedding planning?

Hello 👋🏼 I’m Eva and here’s the cliff notes;

🎂 I recently turned the BIG 3 - 0 (where my libra friends at?)

🐕 I have two German Shepherds named after 🐳 whose main mission in life is to destroy my yard, torment each other, and give my vacuum cleaner a rough day in the office.

🥟 I show love by feeding people. My friends know that they will never leave my home hungry.

🌈 This isn’t something I tend to talk about on the socials but we are polyam and incredibly happy. Love is love ♥️

🤓 My idea of a good time is experimenting and playing with and optimising new project management and organisation programs. Our pantry and the contents of our fridge/freezer has been digitised on Notion and I make the family do stock takes - I think they are silently crying for help 🙃

Now I want to know about you - how do you show love?

10/11/2022

Do you prefer neutral, earthy tones? Dark wood or moody colours not really your vibe? But maybe minimalist just feels a little beige to you? We got just the thing. I like to call it neutral plus and it’s perfect for the warmer months.

🎨 Pops of Colour

You have the choice of pastels or vibrant mixes of colour here to add some cheer to an otherwise minimal table scape. While pastels may be more understated, vibrants are loud, proud, and in your face.

Hint: Hit up a colour wheel or palette generator to help you pick your palette. Fair warning that too many colours, especially if vibrant, may end up looking too busy. Unless that’s the vibe you’re going for in which case, go off 🌈

🎨 This or That

To keep everything still minimalist and simple, concentrate your colour efforts into only a handful of accessories while keeping the rest neutral.

Earthy wood tones through your furniture? Let’s get some colourful flowers and candles on there. White table linen? How about some colourful napkins or stationery. Most of all, we want ✨ balance ✨

Even if colours may complement each other, having colour in everything will push you into a whole different vibe.

My pick for adding pops of colour would definitely be coloured candles (which add a whole ‘nother level of fun) and cute flowers.

Wander and Co