Wedding Planning in the US

I was delighted last week to spend a few days exploring a small part of California in the US to visit a friend but also to get some ideas and inspiration to bring back to the UK to pass on to my clients for their own weddings and events. Having been in the US during Halloween and then seeing the shops filling up with their treats for "fall" and the "holidays" it was wonderful to see just how differently the seasons are celebrated in the US. Halloween celebrations are huge in the US with all the children being escorted for a very well organised trick or treat evening with their parents following with tumbler of wine in hand and dressed to suit the occasion - such fun!

We visited a lovely placed called Los Gatos not far from San Jose, California and I was inspired by the beautiful shops displaying wonderful flowers and plants - full of inspiration for weddings.

I also met some American ladies to talk about wedding planning in the US and how different wedding planning is in the US compared to the UK. In the US its pretty much top of the list for couples when they decide to marry that the Wedding Planner is contacted first of all to help assist the couple with their arrangements. Amercian couples fully understand the concept of wedding planning and the invaluable help which the planner gives to the couple due to their experience with planning weddings and events over and over again and being able to plan for every eventuality and to share their design ideas and connections with local suppliers. It seems as if its quite unusual for a couple to marry wedding without a planner being involved.

American brides do not take the chance of their wedding day passing as a "blur" with them trying to ensure that every little detail unfolds as they want it to during their day - they get the professional in to help from the beginning. The services of a wedding planner in the US is not considered a luxury but an essential service.

The US have clearly got it right and whilst here in the UK we are behind the US in this thinking - we are gradually catching up with this concept!