Naomi Bennett Design

I said this to a recently engaged friend who just started planning their wedding so thought I should also share it here 👇 The reality is, your wedding is going to offend somebody. In some way, someone will find something about your wedding that they don’t like. It could be as simple as.. A destination wedding An outdoor wedding Physical invites A buffet meal A cash bar A non- traditional registry No bouquet toss A private first dance Your wedding will offend someone and that’s okay! The sooner you can accept it, the sooner you can get back to enjoying your wedding planning journey! You can’t manage every single emotion of 150+ people. We of course want to make it an incredible day for everyone but you’re not responsible for how someone reacts to the wedding and design that YOU love!! That’s my lil wedding tidbit for you! Happy planning y’all!!! 🫶🫶 . . Wedding Planner & Designer: @naomibennettdesign Cover Photo: @mandaweaver

The number one asked question is “Have you worked at my venue before?” The reason I chuckle is because 90% of the time I’ve never worked at your venue and 100% of the time it has never mattered! Every Planner is different, but if you are a dedicated, experienced, professional, always go the extra mile Planner, then I’ll be at your venue 3-4x before your wedding weekend! So having prior experience at your venue doesn’t actually matter because I get to know your venue VERY WELL!! In fact, they’ll probably be so over me by the time your weekend comes along. Here’s the typical standard process between me and a venue: 1. Email introduction 2. Venue walkthrough 3. Emails, emails, emails going back and forth on the design / details 4. Mockup or tasting at Venue 5. Final Venue walkthrough and production meeting 6. Emails, emails, emails to finalize all details 7. At the Venue for Rehearsal 8. Early Arrival at Venue for Wedding Setup So, should your Planner have prior experience working at your venue?! 👇 . . Orange County Wedding Planner, SoCal Wedding Planner, California Wedding Planner, New York Wedding Planner, East Coast Wedding Planner, Connecticut Wedding Planner

Your wedding isn’t a neighborhood block party or an open house viewing. It’s actually one of the most private, deeply personal and heartfelt celebrations. 🥹 The most sacred oath you will vow to uphold. Normalize telling people “no” when they ask if they can come to your wedding. That neighbor you lived next to in the 3rd grade but haven’t seen in 20 years? Or that coworker from 5 jobs ago? Not obligated to invite!! Invite the people who you cherish most. The ones who have been in your corner and supported you individually and as a couple. The people you want to dance the night away with! The best friends getting into the photo booth with you! The first one to cheer during your grand entrance. The one wiping their tears as they watch you say “I Do”. Invite the people that matter most 🤍 . Planning & Design: @naomibennettdesign Stationery: @olumiscalligraphy Blooms: @angelicalflowers Flatlay Styling: @theluminarie.co Surface: @chasingstone . . Orange County Wedding Planner, SoCal Wedding Planner, California Wedding Planner, New York Wedding Planner, East Coast Wedding Planner, Connecticut Wedding Planner

It’s no secret, wedding planning brings so many different emotions — joy, excitement, elation, stress, overwhelm, sadness, grief. ✨ Just the thought of starting wedding planning can be so overwhelming and daunting It’s okay to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. For a majority of couples, this is their very first time planning a wedding. Whereas we’ve planned hundreds, so let us take on the burden. ✨ You sacrifice what you want to appease everyone else It can start to feel like everyone and their mother has an opinion on how your wedding should look and feel. They may villainize you and pressure you into choosing something that’s not you just so that they get the wedding they’ve always dreamed about. Stay true to YOU and your partner — remember: this is a celebration of your love!! ✨ How lonely & isolating the process can feel If you’re planning your wedding alone without the support of a planner, every spare minute is devoted to wedding planning. You eat, sleep, work, plan, repeat. You stop hanging out with friends, stop going out, stop having fun time or me time. It’s okay to ask for help from your support system. And it’s okay to step away for a day to relax and truly just enjoy your engagement. ✨ How much pressure you may feel You may hear “your wedding will be the wedding of the century”. There’s this overwhelming amount of pressure to choose all these interactive stations, late night snack bars, entertainment and experiences to make the day incredible or “viral”. Your wedding starts to feel like a circus act and not a celebration. All of these big feelings are VALID and you’re not alone!! It’s okay to go through these feelings, it doesn’t mean it’s a mistake. It’s just a really daunting task that you need to process! We’re here for you though! If you need a guiding hand or a shoulder to cry on. Think of us as your new best friend!! You got this 🫶

Your wedding florals are absolutely main character energy!!! It can set the tone for the overall thematic of the day and it aids in bringing the concept to life! Your florals.. ~ Can bring any space to life ~ Create very specific themes ~ Fill in any blank space ~ Add the perfect amount of romance or bring the right amount of balance to a space ~ Hide negative features about a space ~ Bring an outdoor garden or forest inside (a very common request for us! And yes it is possible but requires a LOT of florals 🤪) So choose the right floral designer who has the experience to understand your theme to a T and bring in the right florals to execute your vision flawlessly! Hope this tip helps!! Sound off below if you have questions, you might just see it in my next helpful tip 🤍 . Planning & Design: @naomibennettdesign Photography: @lorinkelly Cinematography: @rickymeyerfilms Floral Design: @angelicalflowers Rentals: @catalogatelier + @adorefolklore Violinist: @virtuousviolinist Fashion Styling: @styledbynbd Beauty: @kyleehudsonstudio Cake: @mcakessweets Gelato Cart: @gourmeletas Vespa Bar: @salud_vintagemobilebar Gown: @wona.la Reception Gown: @watters Shoes: @jimmychoo Tux: @friartux Flatlay Styling: @theluminarie.co Stationery: @olumiscalligraphy Styling Surfaces: @chasingstone @oliveandoakmat Rings & Jewelry: @susiesaltzman Venue: @maisondesoliviersofficial

The danger of giving me complete design & creative direction control is that your event will be highly cohesive, intentional, elevated and detail-rich!! This Tablescape is now and forever king of my heart! More to come about this day and design but for now I’m sitting deep in my feels with so much gratitude ❤️❤️❤️ . Planning & Design: @naomibennettdesign Photography: @lorinkelly Cinematography: @rickymeyerfilms Floral Design: @angelicalflowers Rentals: @catalogatelier + @adorefolklore Violinist: @virtuousviolinist Fashion Styling: @styledbynbd Beauty: @kyleehudsonstudio Cake: @mcakessweets Gelato Cart: @gourmeletas Vespa Bar: @salud_vintagemobilebar Gown: @wona.la Reception Gown: @watters Shoes: @jimmychoo Tux: @friartux Flatlay Styling: @theluminarie.co Stationery: @olumiscalligraphy Styling Surfaces: @chasingstone @oliveandoakmat Rings & Jewelry: @susiesaltzman Venue: @maisondesoliviersofficial Couple: @jas.brewster @noahhoman Wedding Designer, California Event Producer, California Wedding Planner, California Wedding Designer, Destination Wedding Designer, Destination Wedding Planner

Day in the Life of a Professional Eater aka wedding food tasting at @jayscatering Taste of Jay’s 😋 This event was so much fun with all of the interactive food stations like poke bar, bao bar, street tacos, carving stations, custard Kouign-amann and so much more!!! Something really special was the live and custom favor stations — on-site hand engraved keychains, screen printed reusable bags, cigar bar, permanent jewelry and perfume bar!! Taste of Jay’s allowed couples to try out various cuisines as well as imagine what their guest-tailored experience would be like!! Thank you Kristine and the @jayscatering team for having me!! What an incredible event! 🤍🤍🤍 Venue: @executivehangar Catering: @jayscatering Rentals: @abovethetopevents Florist: @_everbloom DJ & Live Music: @soundwavepros Engraving: @darlingdaydream Cigars: @cigar_haus Screen Printing: @cactusviewprint Jewelry: @parkerj.pj Fragrance: @tfblagunabeach . SoCal Wedding Planner, CA Wedding Planner, NYC Wedding Planner, Wedding Designer, California Wedding Cover Photo: @lorinkelly

Asking for greater accountability. If you are a publication, magazine, blog or inspiration page, please give credit where credit is due. Especially to our incredibly talented artists who work so hard on every wedding, event and editorial. I’m hoping we can avoid this in our industry moving forward. I see this happening way too often and that’s not okay. I also want to note that I appreciate that WS did not delete or hide the comments from vendors calling them out 🤍 And they did amend the post 🫶 Again, as an industry I’m asking for accountability and respect towards our work.

If you’re considering hiring a content creator for your wedding.. wait 2 seconds while I say something controversial 😅🤭 The content they capture is not what you will be printing and framing on your walls!! I said what I said 🤷‍♀️ So before hiring a content creator, you should be asking them this: 🎀 What is their experience working weddings? && 🎀 How well do they work alongside a photography and videography team? The advice I offer is never to bash another vendor but to give you insight from an experienced Planner! I think having a content creator at your wedding can be amazing and it’s always so fun to see footage from the day that very same night! BUT you want to choose a BTS content creator who specializes in weddings and not just someone who knows how to take videos. Weddings require collaboration from all involved, communication, teamwork and understanding the flow of a timeline and working within a certain timeframe. Which is why it’s incredibly important that you hire a content creator that knows how to work alongside the photo/video teams and not in front of them (ie, please don’t step in front of them during the first kiss or any major “first”!! 🤦‍♀️ We can’t get those moments back..) It’s important that your content creator (just like any other vendor) is a team player throughout your wedding and understands the natural flow of a wedding day! I’ll end this with a bonus tip: if you have chosen to hire a content creator, please be advised that additional hours for your photo/video teams will be needed as that’s 3 sets of teams capturing your day. Certain poses, stylings, moments, setups, etc will need to be staged multiple times. Lastly, bonus, bonus tip: Please be sure to communicate to your planner, photographers and videographers when a content creator will be on-site. Communication is key to a successful wedding and this may be unexpected to your photo/video teams! Are you hiring a content cr