St. Barths Wedding Planner
Becoming a St. Barths wedding planner was something that I had dreamed about for many years. I had it on my radar going back 10 years then again about 5 years ago. Then I got a call in 2017…
St. Barths is where a part of my love for events began. I had a good friend, Melanie Smith, who was a wedding planner on the island and was having great success for 20+ years. Many years ago, I was a photographer’s assistant at a wedding Melanie was planning and I watched from the side lines all that she was doing. Her amazing command of everything that was happening and when things popped up, how seamlessly she made whatever it was not exist. I was hooked. I wanted to be able to do that for clients. I loved the rush of it all. The pure adrenaline of being on these jobs became my life’s passion.
Fast forward 15 years and Hurricanes Irma and then Maria ravaged the islands. St. Barths bounced back much quicker than the Virgin Islands, where I call home and also work in wedding and event planning (Jenn Events). That year I received a call from a friend that said I should reach out to Melanie, that she was ready to retire and was interested in selling her business. I did call her. I began to collaborate with Melanie over the next few years and then the time came in December of 2019 to officially take over EPIC Presentations. An amazing full circle experience that I could have never put together for myself. I am grateful that for all the years I have been in this game I still have dreams about it. I still feel like I want to create and make something fabulous that has not been seen before. That this career/ life’s work is still bringing opportunity. Even though right now events are struggling, I know they will come back and be better then ever.
In 1995 before St. Barths was even a dream, I was lucky enough to have my parents start a destination management company on St. Thomas called Island Meetings and Incentives. It is still in existence today and I learned from the best. St. Thomas is where I got my start. I learned from my parents and another amazing lady on island who has been in the business for a long time and has a great command of her clients, Judi Nagelberg. I wanted to list out some of the basics I learned from her. Here are the things that I learned from Judi:
Never, ever leave an event until the last person is out the door.
Always check to see if someone has left something somewhere, a purse a cell phone. They have. I promise.
Always have staff EVERYWHERE. Even if it is a one second interaction as people are getting into their car. Other than the driver, have a staff person there.
You have to know every detail of the event and work harder than anyone else involved.
Make it your business to know everything you can about the client and the client’s clients.
Always check the restrooms. Not only where they are located but paper supplies, soap at the sink, you name it. Even at five-star hotels all over the world these things often get overlooked. (Occasionally, to the point of being mind-blowing!)
Always have a first aid kit.
Entries and exits, entries and exits! Give guests something special when they arrive and when they leave. You want them blown away, excited on arrival and then thinking about what a special experience it was the following day.
Always use FedEx. Not only when it is urgent. Especially true in the islands, if you don’t need to use cargo shipping, use FedEx.
Cash is always in good taste. Tip everyone.
Send hand-written notes. My favorite stationary and cards to use are from my good friend, Ceci.
Be grateful. This I have learned purely from experience and not from anyone else. Planning events and everything else in life can be sacred work if we allow it. What we do as Event planners is create “once in a moment” events that can never be replicated or replaced for that matter.
Feel the sunshine, hear the music, eat the dessert, smell the sweat from the bodies on the dance floor and don’t stop until the sun comes up!
Hit me up for any other tips of the trade.
Your sandals on the ground,
