Planner - Janie Haas
- Business: Janie Haas Events
- Location: North Andover, Massachusetts MA
- Experience: 44 Years
- Profile: Janie Haas Events
- Website: www.janiehaasevents.com
1. Introduction: What's your story?
Hi, I'm Janie Haas, the President and Founder of Janie Haas Events, Inc.
My passion for creativity emerged when I was a child when I, along with my sister, would write custom rhymes and song medleys for family and friends’ special gatherings. We decided it would be fun to offer our services to the public and our little enterprise was featured in Parade Magazine! Invitations soon led to the creation of thematic centerpieces, securing rental items such as linens, tables, and chairs, working with talented vendors such as floral designers, lighting companies, etc. Then, as the event industry exploded, my team and I became the source for securing unique products and I became the liaison between the client and all event-related vendors. I've been in the event industry for more than 40 years now...and began my own company (Janie Haas Events) 20 years ago. I love designing and executing weddings for brides and grooms up and down the East Coast and in Puerto Rico. Perhaps the most important role I play when planning a wedding is in assembling their perfect “A-team” of vendors. Each vendor needs to match the couple's style, taste, and budget to create a truly unique and magical wedding.
I have a Bachelor of Arts from Simmons College and a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. I have always been active in charitable and philanthropic leadership, serving as a former board member for the Wellness Community, as a current Executive Council member for the Susan Smith Cancer Center at Dana Farber, and, as an owner and lover of dogs, a continued supporter of several animal-related non-profits, most particularly the MSPCA.
2. What's your experience as a wedding planner? How many weddings have you planned?
For more than four decades, I have been working with brides, grooms, and their families to create fully customized once-in-a-lifetime moments.
In terms of how many, it's honestly too many to count (given the number of years I have been in this industry)!
3. What sorts of services do you offer (month-of coordination, full-service planning, or à la carte planning)?
At Janie Haas Events, we offer full-service wedding planning and design services. We are actively involved with the bride and groom from the time they call us until the last guest leaves their wedding!
4. How do payments work (a percentage of the wedding budget, a flat fee etc.)? What are the different packages that you offer and which one is your most popular package?
We offer flat-fee only. Clients pay us incrementally. There are no packages.
5. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?
I am always the on-site point person at weddings. The number of people on my team then ebbs and flows in accordance with the number of guests in attendance, the complexity of the weekend's events, and the venue location.
6. What happens if you're sick or otherwise unable to be there on the day of the wedding?
There is always a Plan B! Someone on my team, who is well acquainted with the bride and groom as well as well-versed in the details of the production, would be passed the baton in my absense. (That has never happened in the history of my company, by the way!)
7. How many meetings will you have with the couple and how will they be involved?
Our full-service fee includes unlimited meetings with the bride and groom. The couple is involved every step of the way in the decision-making part of the process. We do all of the leg-work with regard to sourcing the vendors and then liaising with the entire collection of vendors throughout the months leading up to the wedding as well as on-site.
8. Will you handle the invitations, from wording and ordering to the addressing and mailing? What about guest list coordination and RSVPs?
We are involved in reviewing all proofs. We do, however, refer all our brides and grooms to our top-notch stationers who provide an entire suite of services so the couple can have a one-stop-shop experience.
9. Do you handle rentals? Will you coordinate delivery, arrival and set up times with the photographer, the florist, the musicians and the caterer/banquet manager?
We oversee the design of the entire wedding including rental partner choice(s). All of our weddings are completely customized to the couple. We assemble a unique group of rental, décor, and furniture companies to create the perfect collection of products for each couple. The various companies then set up and break down all of their elements with our supervision.
Yes! As a full-service agency, we coordinate the entire collection of vendors during the planning process as well as for the complete on-site production.
10. Can you create a timeline that tells everyone involved in the planning process (other pros, members of the wedding party, to-be-weds and families) what to do and when to do it? How will you make sure everyone sticks to the schedule?
We make sure everyone sticks to the schedule by being overly communicative from day one.
We always create a master timeline. It includes the "pre-planning," meaning the deadlines that need to be hit during the months leading up to the wedding for all parties involved. It also includes a minute-by-minute "event timeline" that starts the minute the first person arrives on-site and ends with the last person's departure after break-down.
All vendors and key people (Bride, Groom, MOB, FOB, MOH, etc.) are given a copy of the master "event timeline" so everyone knows how the day(s) will flow. Questions are answered in real-time and trouble-shooting is handled immediately by me and my team. We staff every wedding appropriately so vendors, guests, family members, and the couple all have a point person at their disposal, day and night.
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