Interview of the Best Santorini wedding planners in the island

Πίνακας Περιεχομένου

Why hire a wedding planner in Santorini;

Santorini is a very beautiful place and a popular wedding destination. The unique landscape of the caldera with the whitewashed houses and the 500 churches with blue domes make it so idyllic for wedding shootings that nobody can resist. From the other hand, it is not an easy place to organize a santorini wedding without knowing the local market and the advantages vs disadvantages. There are so many wedding venues and lots of hotels that can host a wedding; each place have specific rules and restrictions that only a wedding planner knows! There are secrets, hidden words and important tips/restrictions that needs years of work and experience on the island to be aware of. A wedding planner that lives on the island and know all vendors is the key to a successful wedding.

What are your biggest strong points as wedding planner. Experience, knowledge, skills creativity, ability?

Our team has the knowledge of the island, the different locations, the unique spots on views. There are important things that due our experience and our skills we solve easily; e.g. the best time for ceremonies due the strong light of the sun and the direction of the sunset during the year. We are familiar with all wedding venues and have the ability to suggest vendors that have different policies and rates. It is a difficult puzzle that we have to put all pieces together for a successful and joyful wedding!

Can you give us an example of when hiring a wedding planner in Santorini can be really effective?

Almost all couples hiring a wedding planner to have a guarantee and stress-free wedding in Santorini. There is only one small percentage of 2% that book everything on their own and unfortunately “on the day” realize that they have made the biggest mistake of not having a wedding planner… Who is going to arrange the paperwork? The confirmation of all services like flowers, decorations, musicians and caterer? Who is giving the signal to start the ceremony? Who is guiding the guests to the next steps smoothly? A wedding planner and coordinator do that as he/she love what he/she is doing

Other benefits of hiring a wedding planner in Santorini? Discounts? Return on Investment?

As mentioned above it is very important to have one or two persons that know the island and all vendors to arrange everything perfect. It is not easy to handle different people/staff when you don’t know them or even when you are not speaking their language! The wedding planner makes all arrangements, bookings and final confirmations. Some times the pre wedding meeting with the couple takes three or four hours to check and confirm all wedding services for their big day. Everything must go due the wedding itinerary and nothing should be missed; it is a wedding and there is no place for mistakes or delays. The wedding planner is there all day for that purpose, to keep everything in place!

How do you get the ideas out of brides so that they describe toy you effectively the vision of the wedding day?

Each couple is unique and so is their wedding. Our team has the knowledge and the ability to make the correct suggestions on vendors due to their style, budget and personal wishes. There are so many wedding vendors in Santorini that many people feel surprised because it is a very small island. Nowadays the wedding field in Santorini is very organized and a couple does not need to bring a photographer or a hairdresser/make up artist from their country. We have all here, several options and your wedding planner must have the experience and the local knowledge to judge and make the appropriate suggestions .. the couple always choose their best suppliers.

How do wedding planners really add a couple’s personality to a wedding day?

When you are hiring a Santorini wedding planner you are sure that everything will run smoothly without bad surprises. You have him/her to keep the schedule and check all details. But the most important is that your planner can save you from wrong choices and help you saving money! He/she can get you special discounts on vendor’s rates and make more personal arrangements as he/she knows and is a partner with them. Sometimes the discounts are small but sometimes really worth!! It is important to know all policies and restrictions on each vendor and work on that without having a headache on your own.. In financial terms Return On Investment is a measure to evaluate the efficiency of an investment that is your one life time wedding!! Must be perfect but not paying a fortune..

What is the rough process?

We have several ways of designing the perfect wedding for each couple. Usually, each bride has a vision on her big day and most of the times the groom is following that with some small touch on more specific services. The easiest way is to find some sample weddings from our portfolio https://santorinimywedding.com/weddings/ or from worldwide blogs and built on that step by step. Firstly we are making a research on wedding venue/location and afterwards, we are working on more detailed fields like decorations and musicians, fireworks, etc.. We have many brochures with suggestions on all wedding services in Santorini and the couple is exploring our experienced work/portfolio/brochures in the easiest way!! We are always on time and contact via email, WhatsApp, Skype.

Can you tell me about the wedding planning packages available to couples?

Our expert team has prepared some wedding packages to help all couples to have a rough/quick idea on each venue and their rates. Afterward we customize the most favorite package due their needs, preferences and wishes. We always intimate each wedding adding or just skipping services that they may not need. It is important to pay only for what you want and not for some “standard” services.. To have a vision please visit Santorini wedding venues

When someone is looking for a planner, what are some good questions to ask the meeting?

That is an easy question; it is very easy for us to find the uniqueness on each couple and intimate all the wedding for them. The wedding venues in Santorini are specific and someone could easily think that “maybe will be a copy-paste wedding?”. My answer is definitely NO! Our team has the creativity and the immediacy to talk in the most honest way with all couples and kindly ask them to express their personality and their character. We don’t want to have a super wow wedding, we want to have the wedding of their dreams that express their personal style and will love it every moment. Every couple is different and we always respect that; we work with passion to fulfill all wishes and make all decorations and entertainment on the day as they worth to have.

Does the wedding planner take referral fees?

Regarding the wedding planning fees they are flexible and due to the number of the guests and of course the special needs of each wedding. Our packages are very affordable and we provide high-class services with two or three wedding coordinators on the day. Nothing is missing and everything goes due the itinerary. There was no couple until now to make a complain or a bad comment on that field; all of them just love our team and speak with us with very kind words. There are several times that they offer us gifts to thank for our job. We are firstly professionals and secondly friends with our clients! No referral fees just a 5-star service.

What happens if they are sick on the day or injured etc?

Well, that might be a problem. We always help in all ways if there is an injury and provide the best treatment if someone is sick. Unfortunately we can not move the wedding last minute (I mean some days prior the wedding day). It is not like we don’t want, the problem, is the wedding venues, the caterers, the photographers and videographers. During the summer season all vendors have daily bookings and if someone want to move a big wedding makes a huge problem on them. If it is a romantic elopement with only the couple and all suppliers agree we can definitely move it to some days afterwards!

Any weird situation?

I remember some years ago we had to “change” the wedding reception to a “divorced” party. If that is not weird what is? That couple was already married in their country and had made the wedding booking in Santorini two years prior the wedding date. Until their big day they decided to get a divorce but they had already payed everything in Santorini. Plus their guests had booked their holidays on the island. SO why not lets have a party…. It is more often to have happy surprises for the bride or groom on guests that supposed not to come for the wedding and made all more emotional; or some tricks with the weather early or late on the season with some quick rainfalls.. In general lines not weird situations on our agency!!

Typical Costs?

Santorini is a very popular island and not a cheap one… Many people believe that some things are overestimated on accommodation and wedding field. That is true in general lines but a Santorini wedding planner can make the best suggestions from small events like a Santorini proposal or large celebrity weddings with complexity and budget.

Also, give options so the couple won’t pay a fortune. There are always small details that someone abroad don’t know and can not find easily. Our wedding packages are the most affordable in Santorini. We are very proud of providing five-star services with the best quality for our clients

Santorini My Wedding is a boutique wedding Agency that consists of an imaginative and a well-organized team. Katerina and Ioannis (Yiannis) and the rest of the team works on each wedding with Passion, Customized Vision and High-Quality Services. The company has been awarded from Wedding Wire Magazine, Little Black Book, Where Wedding and How he Asked.