10 Questions with Tish and Darius

Simone Elise Events

Planner - Tish and Darius

10 Questions with Tish and Darius

1. Introduction: What's your story?

Hi! We are Tish and Darius, the owners of wedding and event planning, event design, and floral company Simone Elise Events. We feel in love with everything attached to the beauty of weddings and planning events with the planning of our very own wedding. We are indeed a husband and wife team who specialize in planning, designing, and executing the dream day. We take away your chaos, uncertainties, stress, and your pressures. We pour our hearts and souls into everything we do because we love ... love. We live to witness your magical journey, as it unfolds from the excitement of your proposal to the explosion of cheers as you drive away as husband and wife on wedding night. We named the company after our two girls and we love how it gives them something for their future, whether that is the company itself, the idea that they can own their own businesses, or just the vision of their mom and dad working together to bring happiness to others.

2. What's your experience as a wedding planner? How many weddings have you planned?

We have been working events together for over 13 years. We started shortly after our own wedding producing events for our church's couples ministry. Once I (Tish) decided to do weddings as a business, it was easy to create a team from what was already being done. We have been side by side in this industry for a little over 5 years now and would not trade it for the world.

3. What sorts of services do you offer (month-of coordination, full-service planning, or à la carte planning)?

We provide wedding management for the couple who would like to be fully involved in the planning of their wedding. We come on board 2 months before the wedding day to ensure you get to enjoy all of your hard work and that you are fully taken care of for your long awaited day of wedded bliss.

We provide full service planning for the couple who just don't have the hours on hours to commit to research, vetting vendors, and figuring out the logistics of the day. We handle all aspects of your wedding planning process, of course, under your advisement. From the selection of other wedding professionals, to timelines and locations, to phone calls, emails, and confirmations, we handle it all. If you want the grand treatment for the planning of your big day, this service was made specifically for you.

We provide event design and wedding florals. We pull on all of your ideas, colors, favorite textures, and any other little thing that makes your eyes light up, to give you what you want to see for your wedding day. We help you experience the daydream by providing design services for both ceremony and reception, and allowing this specific service, which is a separate service from any planning service, and can be used in combination with a planning package.

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?

Our most popular service is our Event Design and Florals service. All of our services require 1/3 of the total for the service and the rest of the balance is divided equally into monthly payments with the final payment due 1 month before the wedding day.

5. Who else is in your team and how many people on your staff will be at the wedding?

We are a husband and wife team and we have an additional team member who assists with our planning services. When we provide design services we bring on an additional 6 to 10 team members to get the job done.

6. What happens if you're sick or otherwise unable to be there on the day of the wedding?

We conduct team meetings months before the wedding day and continue leading up to the wedding day, so that everyone on our planning team is aware and capable of running the day in any team member's absence.

7. How many meetings will you have with the couple and how will they be involved?

We conduct monthly consultations with our clients and their involvement depends highly on the services we are hired for producing.

8. Will you handle the invitations, from wording and ordering to the addressing and mailing? What about guest list coordination and RSVPs?

We do allow a la carte services when needed, which include the handling of invitations, guest list coordination, and much more. These services are given at an additional fee.

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 handle some rentals depending on the level of service secured. We feel that coordinating deliveries, arrival and setup times, as well as the logistics and plans of all of the vendors is an intricate part of a planner's job and so we do handle those specifics.

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 have never done an event without a timeline. We stress to our clients the need for a timeline for the wedding day to happen sufficiently and we ask months before the wedding day that they begin communicating with their wedding party, as we communicate with the vendors, the importance of the day and the timeline. They are made aware of what to do in advance and reminded throughout the wedding day.

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WeddingRule Editor’s Choice 2020