Marie Chicchirichi: wedding planner in Provence

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Marie Chicchirichi: wedding planner in Provence

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Wedding planner in Provence for 8 years, Marie Chicchirichi has established itself among the key figures in our industry.

Today we welcome him to Madame C's Blog for an exclusive interview. She takes us into her daily lifehigh-end wedding planner in Provence. Thank you Marie for revealing to us the behind the scenes of this very demanding profession.

Can you tell us about your background and what led you to get into Marriage?

“I wanted to be an interior designer, but my parents thought it wasn’t a “real” job, and they directed me towards studying law. So I trained as a lawyer, which didn’t suit me at all!”

I explored other avenues and became interested in the profession of wedding planner when I was organizing my own wedding. I really liked this world and the creative professionals with whom I had the opportunity to work on this occasion. I then followed a training course and created my wedding planner agency end of 2016. »

What are the major trends you observe in organizing a high-end wedding in Provence?

"I observe a return of retro/vintage style, with some bright and bold colors. The trend is also to mix and match, we dare to use strong patterns to bring character to the event. I think that couples want to have fun and to create a unique and personal experience, they want to please their guests.

How do you work with couples to create a unique and personalized vision of their wedding in Provence?

"I have several meetings with the couples I support, this allows me to get to know them better and better. For them and the success of their event, I tend to create a “dream team” of professionals who have the same vision of marriage, and who will be able to work well together. I choose professionals according to expectations and also the personality of the couple, you also need a good feeling! It is essential to trust your wedding planner when choosing service providers, because it is the key to the success of their wedding. 

The more the couple wants refining the details, the happier I am! I ask them to tell me everything they have in mind, and I also make suggestions. 

More and more, we are looking at the experience that the bride and groom want their guests to have. This allows us to plan activities, such as the presence of a calligrapher who is present on the day of the event and for guests to have objects personalized, such as fans or umbrellas for example.

Can you give me details on the different stages of support that you offer to your clients?

I try to make the experience of planning their wedding as easy as possible for them! 

Here are the main steps:

1| Budget organization and monitoring

I offer a complete wedding planning service to ensure the success of their event.

I create a folder in a Cloud where I put all the documents concerning their marriage: retro-planning of preparations, budget monitoring, estimates, contracts, photos, scale plans, sketches, schedules, etc. 

I also give them matrices of documents to complete to organize things, and guides to help them (some are to be shared with their guests). I like Excel files, so I use it a lot with couples! 

I obviously have regular appointments with the future bride and groom, and advise them throughout the organization process. I accompany them during key appointments, such as the visit to the reception venues, the tasting at the caterer. 

2| Reception venue and service providers

I propose a selection of the best locations and service providers depending on the project. I act as a liaison between the couple and the service providers throughout the process, to centralize all information to ensure the success of their wedding. 

3| Design

One of the most fun things! I offer a creative direction of the event, each element is carefully chosen: flowers, stationery, lighting, furniture, table linen, tableware… The goal is to create a unique atmosphere and to offer them things that they don't necessarily think about. I'm there to guide them and bring their project to life.

4| Production and Coordination

I take care of all the logistics as well as the coordination of the event days. This includes the technical visit before the wedding with the service providers who intervene on the day. The future bride and groom can thus fully enjoy every moment with their loved ones!

5| Guest management

I can manage the creation of the wedding website, manage RSVPs, shuttles and suggest accommodations for guests. I also offer a concierge service for couples who want more services. 

What advice would you give to future brides and grooms when they choose to get married in Provence?

To pay particular attention to the choice of their reception venue ! Because it is a crucial choice, especially in relation to the budget: access to the venue, parking, logistics, outdoor lighting, the existence or not of a plan B… are all factors to take into account. For example, renting a tent in case of bad weather can very quickly double the budget, so you need to ask yourself the right questions when choosing your reception venue to avoid disappointments.

My second piece of advice is to always have a plan B, and a plan B that pleases the future bride and groom. Because even if it is a wedding in Provence, the weather is not guaranteed (we don't always think about the wind, but it's often worse than the rain!). So, if plan B has to be activated, it might as well please the couple so that it doesn't spoil their enjoyment of the day.

In your opinion, what are the undeniable qualities of a good WP? Where does your work begin and end? Are there any tasks that you refuse outright?

Broad topic ☺ 

I would say that'A good wedding planner listens to his clients' and supports them with complete transparency, we form a team. Good communication is important, in the same way empathy, kindness, patience, advice… You also need to learn how to supervise and guide your clients so that the preparations go as smoothly as possible. This requires know-how and interpersonal skills.

Personally, I learn from each season, and I try to learn from it to improve my way of doing things. For example, at the beginning I said yes to all requests, which is clearly not the right method! Today, there are things I say no to: we are not jack-of-all-trades, it's to each his own job. For example, I do not personally provide transportation for guests, and do not do any handling; the future bride and groom use specific service providers for these tasks. I know that future brides and grooms often have difficulty understanding this, but for us it is our daily life, the seasons are exhausting and we manage several events, several couples, so we have to succeed in balancing things in order to "survive" and continue in this sector.

The concept of budget is essential in the good management of a wedding, how do you manage each budget?

I take stock with each couple before starting to support them in organizing their wedding. This allows me to establish a budget estimate for them, which will evolve as the preparations progress according to their choices. Prices tend to change a lot, especially since Covid. The budget is updated regularly: when the bride and groom sign a quote, I add it to the budget tracking table so that they can see where they are at.

How many weddings do you organize each year?

I am organizing a limited number of weddings per year, on average 5, because I favor quality of service and I prefer to be available to spend time with each couple and advise them as best I can.

Your best memory/nightmare or wedding planner laugh 

It's hard to choose, I think all service providers in the sector will agree that we can write a new book of our adventures every year! For my part, I easily melt at the moment of the couple's first dance, seeing them fulfilled and happy after the months of preparations spent together fills me with gratitude.

If a professional dreams of working with you, how should they approach you?

It's always a pleasure to discover new talents. The ideal is to send me an email - when it's personalized it's even better!

Your mantra/philosophy

Carpe Diem ! 

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Follow the news of Marie Chicchirichi

Website > www.marie-chicchirichi.com
IG > @marie.chicchirichi
Pinterest > mariechicchirichi
FB > @mariechicchirichi

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Credits

Photographer – Franklyn K 
Videographer – The Cherry Pair 
DA – Marie Chicchirichi wedding planner 

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TO BE CONTINUED…

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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

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