ThankyouforconsideringAlchemyEventsforthisimportanttimeofyour life!In25yearsofbusiness,I’vefoundthatsetpackagesjustdon’tworkfor themajorityofpeople,soeachpotentialclientreceivesacustomized proposalbasedspecificallyontheirwants&needs.
Specializingincustomevents,multi-cultural&uniqueeventsarewhatwe’re knownfor.Travelingthroughouttheworld,AlchemyEventsofferalevelof expertise,designaesthetic&experiencethatisunsurpassed!
“Alchemy–aseeminglymagicalprocessoftransformationorcreation.”
IhavebeencreatingexceptionalexperiencesinLouisiana&aroundtheworldforover twodecadesforclientswhoarelookingforsomethingtrulyunique.Nothingismore excitingthancraftingamagicaleventthatperfectlyembodieswhomyclientsare!
Igettoknowyouintimatelytocreateatrulyunique,one-of-a-kindexperiencefor you&yourguests&incorporatethoselittledetailsthatmakeyousounique.We encourageyoutoembraceyourwildestdreams&letourdesign&stylingskillsmake themarealitywhilealsoworkingtocoordinateallthedetailstohelpyoumaintaina stress-freeexperience.
Iloveworkingwithcorporate&nonprofitclientsalso,myfavoritebeingmy partnershipwiththeHumaneSocietyofLouisiana,whoseBoardofDirectorsIam alsoapartof.
Featuredinmanynational&internationalpublications,IwasalsotheCreative DirectorforNOWWeddingsmagazineforseveralyears.Istartedmyprofessionallife inevents&25yearslaterithascontinuedtobemypassion&lifelongcareer.Ilove helpingothers&wouldlovetohelpyoutellyourstoryasyourguestscelebrateyour uniqueevent!
Full-ServicePlanning&Design:
Ourall-inclusiveserviceswillgiveyoueverythingyouneedforyourevent! Wewillworkwithyoutolearnwhatexperienceyouwantforyourself& yourguests.We’llgettoknowyouintimatelysowecanbrainstormideasto makeyoureventauniquereflectionofyou&somethingneverbeforeseen byyourguests!Designideas&sketcheswillbepresentedtoyoualongwith optionsfordécorasweworktogethertocreatetheeventofyourdreams. Ourweb-basedclientportalwillhelpyounavigatetheplanningprocess witheaseevenwhenyou’reonthego.
Howdidyougetstartedineventplanning?
-Ibeganmycareerworkingincorporateeventssuchastradeshows& wasthenrecruitedtoworkforaweddingplanner.Ithenlaunchedmy owncompanybasedonafoundationoftransparency,specializingin unique,luxuryevents.Intheearlyyearsofmybusiness,Iwasalsothe in-housecoordinatorforseveralvenuesinNewOrleans.Ihavealso helpedwiththeplans&designfortheopeningofanotherlocalvenue& helpedtraintheirstaffforseveralyearswhentheyfirstopenedtheir doors.Venueconsultationisstillavailableonaverylimitedbasis.
I’vebeentoldthatmostcoordinatorslimitcommunication.Does AlchemyEventslimithowoftenIcancommunicatewhetheritbevia phone,emailortext?Whataboutafterbusinesshours?
-No,themorecommunication,thebetter!Ourclientsarefreeto contactusasmuchasyou’dlike!Additionally,asweworkwithclients aroundtheworld,differencesintimezonesareoftenafactor.Wealso knowthatclientsareoftennotabletodiscusspersonalmattersduring theworkdaysoweareflexibletomeetourclientsneeds,whateverthey maybe.
I’minterestedinhavinganeventinNewOrleansbutdon’tlive there.AmIabletoshipitemsaheadoftimeandhaveyoureceivethem, thenshipthembackafterourevent?Howdowehandleselectingour vendors?
-Yes,shippingitemsissomethingwehandleforourout-of-townclients frequently.Whenitcomestovendorselection,wearealwaysableto dolivevideositevisitsatvenuesortakeyouaroundNewOrleansif you’dliketomakeatripduringyourplanningprocess.Wewillwork togethertocoordinateyourschedulewithyourvendorsandoncewe havethatconfirmed,ourclientstypicallybooktheirtravel.Alternatively, someclientswedon’tmeetinpersonuntiltheycomeintotownfortheir event,sowearecomfortableworkingeitherway.
IwouldliketoworkwithyouinalocationotherthanNewOrleans.Do youchargetravelfees?
-No,wetypicallydonot.However,thatisdependentonlocation, amountoftravel&staffingrequiredforyourevent.Mosteventsoutside ofourhomebaseofNewOrleansrequireseveralplanningmeetingsin thelocationaswellastravelthereforeventexecutionforus&ourstaff.
Howdoyourpaymentswork?
-Wefollowtheindustrystandard,requiringa50%depositatthetimeof bookingwiththefinalbalancebeingduenolaterthanthreeweeks priortotheevent.Paymentstowardyourfinalbalancemaybemadeat anytimeorsetuptoautomaticallyprocessviaourprivate,secure systemintheclientportal.
Doyouchargelessforanintimateweddingthanonewithalargeguestlist? -Pricingisbasedonthequantityofworkinvolvedandnotnecessarilythe sizeofyourguestlist.Wehavehadeventsforlessthan100gueststhat haverivaledmuchlargereventsintermsofbudget,numberofvendors, detailsinvolved,staffingneededtoflipaspace,etc.sothenumberof guestsisnotalwaysafactor.
Doyoureceivereferralfeesorkickbacksfromvendorsyourecommend?
-Weonlyrecommendvendorstoyoubasedonourexperiencewiththem, knowingtheywillbethebestfitforyourstyle&budget!Wefeelstrongly thattransparencyiskeysoallcontractsarebetweenyou&thevendors themselves,youpaythemdirectly&youcanbecertainthatany discountstheyoffertoyouasanAlchemyEventsclientarejustthat-a discount.Oftenvendorstellusthattheyknowworkingwithuswillbe muchlessworkontheirend&assuch,they’regladtoofferourclientsa discountedrate.Weareheretohelpourclients&dowhat’sbestfor them!Ofcourse,evenifavendordoesnotofferdiscountedrates,you canstilltrustthatyouaregettingthebestservice&qualityavailable basedonouryearsofexperience!
Howdoeventplannersdeterminetheirpricing?
-Accordingtoarecentstudy,moderncouplesnowspendanaverageof 528hoursofplanningontheirwedding!Considerifyouareplanning somethingmoreelaborateorarehavingamulti-dayaffairhowmany morehoursittakes.Additionally,full-serviceplannersareoftenputting moredetailintoitthanyoumightrealize.Thus,thecommitmentinvolved alongwithourlevel&yearsofexpertisearefactoredintoour pricing.Additionally,AlchemyEventsgetstoknowourclientsonan intimateleveltocustomizeeachweddingtothespecificcouple,sowe arealsoofferingalevelofservicenotprovidedbymostothersinour field.Withallofthisinmind,weofferafreephoneconsultationtoeach potentialclienttogetanideaofthelevelofservicethatwillbeinvolved& thensendyouacustomizedproposalasastartingpoint.Mostcouples shouldexpectroughly10-15%oftheirbudgettogotoplanning&design services,dependingonyourspecificcircumstances.Consideringthatyou arepayingsomeonetoworkforyouforayearormore,entrustingyour budget,emotions&everyaspectofoneofthelargestinvestmentsyou’ll evermakeinyourlife,it’saninvestmentworthtakingseriously!
Howmanyweddingsdoyouplanayear?
-Iamdedicatedtogivingyoutheexperienceofalifetime!Assuch,I typicallyplannomorethantwoeventspermonthtogiveatimebuffer betweenevents,however,thatnumberisdependentonthescopeof eachevent.Ouraverageistypicallysixtoeighteventsperyear&Iam personallyinvolvedwitheach,notoneofmyassociateplanners.
Thereareamultitudeofonlineplanningtoolsoutthere–butwhynot usethosecreatedforandmaintainedbyaprofessionaleventplanner? Eachclientisdifferent,andweareabletocustomizeourplanning toolstofityouruniqueneedsandtimeline.Thismeansthatyou’llstay ontopofyourto-dolistandensureeveryoneisonthesamepage,to ensuretheutmostorganization.
Ourchecklistsarecultivatedfromyearsofexperienceandarecompletely customizabletoyouandyouruniqueneeds.Youcanassigneachitemtoamember ofyourplanningteamandcommentwithupdatesorquestions,tokeep communicationconnected.
EachCalendariscustomizedtofityoureventtimeline.PaymentRemindersare automaticallyaddedwitheachvendorandAppointmentsareeasilyaddedtokeep trackofyoureventscheduleonallfronts.Checklisttaskscanalsobeaddedtoyour calendarforspecificdates–andreminderswillbesenttoallonyourplanningteam.
Timelinescanbeedited&sharedwithdifferentviewsavailablefordifferent vendorsormembersofyourplanningteam.Wantfamilymemberstoonly seewhatpertainstothem?Noproblem!
OurDesignStudioprovidesaneasywaytoshareinspiration,sketches, floorplansandfavoriteimageswithallofyourplanningteam members.Palettescanbecreatedfortheoverallevent,butalso individuallyforbridesmaids,centerpiecesandmore!Addyourown imagesorselectfromimagesintheinspirationgallery.
OuronlineGuestListtoolallowsyoutokeeptrackofeachinvitation,allguests included,children,anonymousguests,RSVPs,mealchoices,foodallergies,gifts, thankyounotes–practicallyanythingyoucanthinkoftoensureyouareproviding theabsolutebestexperienceforyourguests.Thistoolfullyintegrateswithour Seatingtool.
Manageeveryaspectofyourguestlistincludingtrackingthankyoucardssent, dietaryrestrictions,whicheventstheyareinvitedto&muchmore!
Whenyoumessageyourguests,youcanselectwhicheventstheycanonlineRSVPto.
GuestswillreceiveanemailrequestingtheirRSVPorcanaccessitviayourprivatewedding websiteweprovide.Theycanlistanyfoodallergies,highchairneeds,submittheirRSVPsfor eacheventtheyareinvitedtoaswellasmakemealselections.Theywillreceiveaconfirmation emailoncetheyhaverespondedandtheycanupdatetheirRSVPsanytime.Allofthisis automaticallyappliedtoyourguestlistintheclientportal.
Thelayout&seatingfeaturesallowsustoimportavenue’sfloorplanorbuildoneby havingthedimensionsofthespace.
OurSeatingtoolallowsyoutoquicklygroupguestswhohaveRSVP’dateachtableand makesurenoguestsareleftunconsidered.Usingthegroupsfeature,youcan highlightrelationshipsandrelatives,assuringafabulousambianceateverytable.
Yourfloorplanwillbetoscale&automaticallyhasmanycommontable,chair& otherdimensionsprogramedintoitforustoeasilydropintothespace.Ifyou areassigningseating,youcanthenuseyourguestlisttoplaceeachguestatthe tableandchairyouwant.
Keepingtrackofyourbookedandpendingvendorscouldn’tbeeasierwithour Vendortool.Easilyuploadrelatedfiles,contactinformationandenterininvoices andpaymentbreakdownsthatwillautomaticallyaddtoyourbudgetandcalendar foreasyreminders.
Afully-integratedbudgetingtoolmakessureyoudon’tletasinglepaymentslip throughthecracksorputyouoverbudget.Easilysetupyourgoalsatthe beginningoftheplanningprocessandtracktheadjustmentsasyoudesign, bookandpurchaseyoureventservicesandaccessories.
OurNotesareaholdsmanyofourtemplatesandtrackerstoensurewe areabletoactasyourbestadvocateonyourweddingday–fromMusic CheckliststoaPackingInventory,wehaveyoucovered!
OurCategoriesareakeepsallyourotherdetailsinorderfromadditionalevents,suchas rehearsaldinners,todetailsliketheweddingrings,childcareoryourceremony.
Apersonalizedwebsiteisalsoavailableaspartofourclientportal!Include informationaboutyouasacoupleaswellasdetailsontheevents(afterparty, brunch,etc.),hotelroomblocks&giftregistries.
AbrandnewfeaturewasjustaddedallowinggueststoRSVPdirectlyviayour websitealso!
Documentssuchasproposals&contractscanalsobesentviatheclientportal.You canelectronicallysignyourdocumentand,aswithmanyofthefeatures,youcan alsodownloadthedocumenttosaveoutsideoftheclientportalorprintforyour convenience.
InvoicesforAlchemyEventscanbesent&paymentsareavailabletobebrokenup orpaidinalumpsum,dependingonyourpreference.Scheduledpaymentsboth forAlchemyEventsaswellasyourothervendorsautomaticallygointoyour calendarontheclientportal.
Onlinepaymentscanbemadethroughthesecurepaymentprocessingsystem.As always,wedonotpassalongthecostofpaymentprocessingtoourclientsandwe donothaveaccesstoanyofyourpersonalfinancialinformation.
