Planner - Lorin Murray
- Business: Events by Lu
- Location: Cleveland, Ohio OH
- Experience: 7 Years
- Profile: Events by Lu
- Website: www.eventsbylu.com
1. Introduction: What's your story?
Hi I'm Lorin Murray, founder and lead planner at Events by Lu. My journey in the wedding industry began a little over 8 years ago when I started in the hospitality field. Two years ago I decided to officially become a certified event and wedding professional & one year ago I started my small business. I have one assistant planner, Maddi Phral and we are in the process of expanding our roster due to high demand! We cater to everyone and any event but we always strongly encourage sustainable/eco friendly planning any chance we get.
2. What's your experience as a wedding planner? How many weddings have you planned?
My experience as a wedding planner has been short lived so far. I studied events for about a year before receiving my certificate, then launched my business in the middle of a pandemic. At first I had six booked couples in my first year, but that sadly went down to one because of the cancellations and postponements. I bounced back quickly and this wedding season I was fortunate enough to book 21 amazing couples.
3. What sorts of services do you offer (month-of coordination, full-service planning, or à la carte planning)?
We offer everything from month of coordination to full planning and design!
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?
For most of our services it is a flat fee but we also offer hourly wages for 30 day planning. We try our best to accommodate to everyone as much as we can!
We have a wide range of packages!
1. Emerald - also known as 90 days coordination
2. Ruby - also known as partial planning
3. Sapphire - also known as full planning + design
4. Diamond - our Diamond package is basically our Sapphire package fused with a home life style advisor from a company called Neat Method. They specialize in luxury home organization! (Such a great way to start off married life)
Some a la carte options they can add on is a design package that includes a wide variety of decor rentals, mood boards, & styling expertise. Lastly, we also offer custom 30 day planning packages with hourly rates!
5. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?
This year we have one assistant planner and two interns. The number of staff we bring depends on the number of guests at the wedding. We always have two people on but sometimes we have up to four!
6. What happens if you're sick or otherwise unable to be there on the day of the wedding?
My assistant planner would step in to take my place.
7. How many meetings will you have with the couple and how will they be involved?
The number of meetings depends on the package that you book.
1. 30-90 day planning is usually 1-2 meetings
2. Partial planning is around 4 meetings
3. And full planning is pretty unlimited, it basically just depends on the couple.
Every package receives unlimited phone and email contact within our business hours from the time of booking!
For our full planning packages I have some couples that are super involved and others that leave most of the decisions entirely up to me, it really just depends on the couples discretion. We have a vendor recommendation list that we offer to all of our couples but for the full planning ones we specifically handpick vendors who will jive best with their wedding day vision.
8. Will you handle the invitations, from wording and ordering to the addressing and mailing? What about guest list coordination and RSVPs?
All of those elements are included in our full planning packages!
I have done everything from invitation design to invitation management!
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?
Yes! With every single one of our couples I create a vendor contact list. Once that information is received I send out introductions to their vendors and begin gathering information like; set up locations, arrival time, departure times, and any other related details I may need. We are the main source of contact for all of the vendors involved in our couples weddings.
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?
Yes!! We love a good timeline.
We create 3 timelines for every wedding we work.
First is our vendor timeline + event logistics -This will include vendor arrival times, set up times, start times, ETC.
Second is our couples timeline - This includes all event details that involve the couple.
Third is our wedding party timeline - This is just a super condensed version of the overall timeline.
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