Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Weddings, Parties and Conferences
WeddingPlanner Stockholm: Preparing for your best show ever The role of the wedding consultant encompasses that of a facilitator, mediator, money manager, artisan and an architect of dreams. Mariella Gink, who set up WeddingPlanner Stockholm in 2003, knows exactly what it takes. By Emelie Krugly Hill | Photos: kickifotograf.se
Mariella's background is far from the ordinary; she spent 20 years as a ballet dancer with the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm. When she met her husband, it led to a move to New York where she spent several years working as a freelance dancer, which she combined with others jobs, one of them working for a Swedish-American consulting company that arranged exclusive business events. “When we eventually moved back to Sweden, I began thinking about what to do next as ballet dancers retire early. One morning I simply woke up and thought: What if I combine all the skills I have learned and experiences I have gained so far? Right, I’m going to become a wedding planner!” This venture quickly grew and has resulted in her becoming one of the top wedding planners in Sweden today.
68 | Issue 44 | September 2012
“Your wedding day is very much like taking to the stage to deliver your best show ever,” Mariella explains. “My artistic eye and creativity are naturally a great help when attending to all those small details. My experiences combined have helped me hugely, not least living and working abroad, which has taught me to be tough when required. But also the perfectionism, ambitiousness and persistence that ballet demands has helped tremendously. In many ways you need to be a great negotiator and must be able to get the best service at the best price.” The usual planning procedure starts around 12 to 14 months before the wed-
ding day, but Mariella is also an expert in planning speedy weddings and has taken on clients just weeks before the big day. Many of her clients have been multinational couples living in the UK or US, returning to Sweden for their weddings. Over the years, she has faced some great challenges, one of them being a Hong Kong couple who dreamt of a wedding on the island of Gotland. The legal administrative paperwork required by the Swedish authorities turned out to be very complex, and the couple soon found themselves in a bureaucratic catch-22. In the end, Mariella managed to help the couple to lawfully gain permission to be married in Sweden only days before the wedding day. Mariella remarks: “The classes I took in law many years ago proved to be very handy at this point! It was truly a magical day for this couple and a real fairy tale story that made the front covers of both Gotland’s local newspaper and the South China Morning Post.”
For more information, please visit: www.weddingplanner.se