In The Detail: Dreamboats & Carousels

Dreamboats and Carousels is a luxury wedding planning and floral design business, catering to couples who love all things modern, stylish and fun. Today, we’re catching up with founder Kim to find out more about her stellar service and how she can bring your love story to life…

For UNVEILED Network Member Kim, her love for wedding planning began when she was planning her own big day. As someone who has always been super creative but also extremely organised and list-obsessed – she quickly realised that this career was simply made for her.

Methodical and organised, Kim thrives on planning, sourcing suppliers and crafting timelines. Her artistic and creative side, by contrast, allows her to truly shine when it comes to mood board and concept creation, styling, and floral design. And it’s this perfect blend that lies at the heart of the incredible success she’s achieved so far with Dreamboats and Carousels.

Kim finds great joy in her job, and loves nothing more than bringing joy to the couples she works with, so let’s find out more about how she does it (and read on for a 15% off reader discount)!

Images with thanks to Albert Palmer, Josey Grace Photography, Anna Beth Photography, Kerry Woods Photography, Terri Pashley Photography, Sophie Eleanor Photography, Lucie Watson Photography, Camilla J Hards.

BENEFITS OF A WEDDING PLANNER

The right wedding planner, who you connect with as a person and also trust, can alleviate the stressful elements of planning your wedding. Through enlisting a professional wedding expert, you’ve got someone to go to for advice, recommendations, ideas and just an indulgent natter about your big day.

We’ve got experience and a wealth of knowledge, including a network of fantastic suppliers that we can vouch for and that are tailored to your taste, as well as spreadsheets galore!

By hiring a planner early on, you gain the benefit of their continued involvement, building a strong relationship, and them knowing your wedding day inside and out. At the very least, hiring a wedding planner to coordinate your wedding day is more than a luxury, but an essential for eliminating wedding day stress.

A TAILORED SERVICE

I offer a variety of services and packages tailored to each couple. Anything from hourly assistance to full planning. I can help source suppliers, guide or identify clear concepts and wedding styling, create and execute blueprints for logistical running of the wedding day itself, and also offer distinctively beautiful floral design. I’ve got a full range of clients who book wedding planning, or floral design – or both for their big days.

WORKING WITH COUPLES

Instead of relinquishing control, by bringing on board a talented wedding planner, it should refine the elements of your day and bring clarity to the flow of the day and the styling, while presenting you with other ideas you may not have thought of.

I spend time getting to know you and your partner, including your wedding ‘must haves’, and together we construct a clear vision for your day. After understanding your specific styles and personalities, I can suggest suppliers that suit you and what you both want from your day.

You’ll call all the shots, but I can guide you in the direction of your dream suppliers and styling, and make the whole process slick, smooth, and full of fun! The logistics and less exciting wedding admin can be left in my capable hands too, and you can enjoy the run up to your wedding – designed by you.

SIGNATURE STYLE

Although I advocate creating unique celebrations individual to each couple’s love story, my signature style can be identified as modern and stylish. I’m also super personable and I think my energetic and friendly disposition also forms a fun element to each of my events.

STAYING UNIQUE

I encourage all couples to inject as much personality and sentimental touches as they desire – their wedding is a representation of them: their likes and interests, their outlooks and attitudes, and their personal style. No two couples are the same, so no two weddings can be identical either.

KEY SKILLS

I have strong organisational, logistical and commercial skills which are ideal for the administrative, research-based, methodical aspect of the role. My creativity and imaginative, visual mind is born to design and create! I’m super social and believe that having this approachable character allows not only clients but suppliers to connect with me, work well with me, and to build a collective rapport that allows weddings to be as stress-free as possible, and so much fun (both in the planning phases and on the day itself).

TOP TIPS

Make your own traditions, or at least don’t worry about following existing ones, whether that’s no seating plan, the bride giving a speech, or opting for alternative attire. Your wedding – your rules.

Prioritise your budget based on what is most important to you. Maybe a high street dress is more your vibe but you want to go big on the floral design, or you’d like a smaller guest list to enable you to cover an open bar for everyone, or you’d like to make your own invitations to allow you to book that live musician. If you place your budget in areas you prioritise, you won’t regret it.

Keep planning, no matter what. This past year has been the hardest in most couples’ lifetimes for wedding planning. So much is out of our control and it can be hard to know what to do. Keep planning for your dream day, but plan contingency options in case guest lists have to be reduced and larger belated party celebrations can be planned instead, or in case you choose to postpone to a later date. There is no right and wrong in this crazy time, but we’re at the final hurdle and the light of normality is in sight.

WHERE TO START

Agreeing a budget, choosing a venue, and drafting a proposed guest list are at the top of the early tasks to tackle when planning a wedding. I can help logistically in tracking budget spend or allocation, and further down the line create forecasts which reflect payment schedules.

Based on our in-depth chats and an understanding of your vision, I can source a sample of venues appropriate to your specific needs and desires for you to review and choose from, eliminating hours of research and correspondence with venues, while presenting you with your dream venues.

It’s important in the early days to get a feel for your desired guest list. If you’re wanting a huge hall or manor house but an intimate wedding, we can discuss either a smaller venue option or ways to embrace the scale of your venue without feeling lost in the space.

TREND SPOTTING

Smaller guest lists for weddings taking place in 2021 may not have been chosen out of choice, but as the year progresses and the rollout of the vaccine allows slightly bigger celebrations, I believe many will opt for smaller affairs than once envisioned. The smaller guest list might allow couples to extend their wedding over a weekend to spread out the fun and mark the occasion for more than a single day. People have missed connection, celebration and valuable time together, so the more time that can be spent celebrating weddings, the better.

I also believe videographers will become more of a given for weddings, allowing guests who are unable to attend to be able to watch the wedding video with the newlyweds after the event.

I also think multiple dresses could become more popular, with a day to night transformation, or one for the wedding and another for a large post-wedding party at a later date. What a fantastic excuse to treat yourself to multiple wedding gowns!

I foresee more extravagant styling and floristry, creating a visual spectacle and beautiful celebration, too.

EXTRAS

For couples that connect with me and my brand, and would love some assistance in planning their wedding but can’t commit to my packages – I offer Pay As You Go planning hourly assistance for anything from supplier sourcing and mood board creation to timeline creation in advance of your big day.

SPECIAL READER OFFER

After launching my floral design services in 2020 and seeing lots of interest and success in this area already, I’m keen to offer this service more in 2021 and beyond. I can offer couples who book any of my planning packages a 15% discount on my floral design booked alongside. To redeem this discount, just get in touch quoting UNVEILED15 for your discounted wedding floral design quotation.