This month, we talk to Helen Kershaw, Gerri Sweetland, Joëlle Edwards and Jo Neilson, four planners who work for Love&Lord, London’s leading planner for weddings in Italy, about their packed agendas, secret weapons, and worst fears for your big day

ONCE UPON A TIME, planning a wedding probably meant picking out a dress, booking your local town hall and bringing in the caterers. For many modern couples, however, the world is their oyster, and planning a week long wedding event with 200 guests in a Tuscan castle, for example, is a perfectly feasible option. That is, of course, if you have a planner who speaks at least two languages, has a host of local contacts, is familiar with Italian bureaucracy, has the patience of a saint, and, ideally, knows what you want even when you don’t.

Fortunately, such planners do exist. And, unsurprisingly, they are not simply intelligent individuals with an eye for detail, but also well qualified professionals with experience in the events industry. Between them, planners Jo, Gerri, Helen and Joëlle have a variety of degrees in Event Management, with Gerri’s mother already running a wedding catering company, making working as a wedding planner seemed like a natural step for her, and Joëlle having spent time in the events industry where she planned international exhibitions and conferences before going on to do a stint with BAFTA.

PICKING UP THE PACE
The girls work together in the London office during the off season months, when work is steady but stress levels are low.
Then, as spring approaches, work intensifies: there are meetings to be held with prospective brides and grooms, trips to be taken to Italy to visit different venues, town halls and churches and even for food tasting purposes. Love&Lord have many stunning properties on their books, and over the years, each planner has developed a soft spot for one in particular. Jo has fallen in love with Il Borro in Tuscany, which she describes as a ‘utterly picturesque’. Joëlle agrees, adding: ‘It is a special venue, a family estate and working winery with a magnificent villa and private medieval village with a church and village square... it’s like stepping back in time.’

Helen is torn: ‘Il Borro is gorgeous, but I am currently organising a wedding at Villa Balbianello on Lake Como and I am falling in love with this place too. It was used as a set for Casino Royale and Star Wars- it’s amazing!’ And for Gerri? ‘Villa Vignamaggio in Greve in Chianti. It is a beautiful pink villa with stunning Italian the bond that matures between the planners and their couples. ‘You develop a relationship with the couple over the course of the planning process,’ says Helen, ‘so seeing them floating on clouds and deliriously happy gives you heart pangs. You feel proud in the same way I imagine a parent would.’

Gerri thinks the most touching part of every wedding is, ‘the moment when the groom first sets eyes on his bride walking up the aisle – the look on his face is always unforgettable and very special.’ But after so much work, a little recognition is nice. Says Jo: ‘It always seems worth it when the guests commend you for your organisation. I’ve even had a very emotional mother of the bride crying on my shoulder for my hard work!’

And what to say of those Hollywood moments of romance and dashing heroes? There is one moment Joëlle will never forget. ‘At one of my weddings last June we caught the end of a freak shower spell across Europe. Right at the end of an outdoor ceremony, under the shelter of a beautiful arched portico... the heavens opened. The groom instinctively turned to the bride and kissed her ardently on the lips before literally sweeping her of her feet and whisking her inside the castle!’

But it’s not all plain sailing. While the planners have ensured that everything that can be organised, has been organised, there are all sorts of last minute problems to keep them on their toes. ‘Apart from the constant worry of rain, transportation is a concern,’ says Jo. ‘Only once everyone is in one place can I relax.’ She remembers a wedding rehearsal where time the priest’s car got stuck on the steep dirt track leading up to a church in Tuscany. ‘My colleague and I were up there for hours the night before the wedding trying to re route all the sign posts in the dark. My job is never dull!’ Or the case of Gerri’s missing Toblerone. ‘We were coordinating 200 guests arriving into Pisa airport from destinations all over the world when an extra-helpful member of staff at the venue mistakenly sent our boxes of Toblerone to the airport instead of incorporating them into the guests’ welcome packs for their hotels in Chianti. Retrieving our triangular chocolate was complicated by a pile up on the motorway, traffic delays, a baggage handler’s strike, a last minute dash for two extra child seats, and by two guests unexpectedly arriving by helicopter! But luckily the only real consequence was my raised blood pressure...’


‘The groom ardently kissed her on the lips before literally sweeping her off her feet...


ARMED FOR SUCCESS

To be better prepared for problems, each planner has a few favourite secret weapons for the big day which include: spare ribbon, scissors, lighters, mosquito spray, floristry wire, sewing kits, snacks, fully charged phone with an infinity of helpful numbers plus spare battery, tissues, lip gloss for the bride, and, suggests Joëlle, a homing device for wayward priests on vespas. The two items on almost every planner’s list, however, are flat shoes and a sense of humour.

But when the bride and groom have said their I do’s, the guests have returned home and the wedding has been a huge success, what happens to our planners? There are few variations on a theme: ‘have a gin and tonic!’ says Gerri; ‘a great (big) glass of Chianti Classico and a delicious dinner the night the guests have all gone home,’ says Helen, which Joëlle echoes with: ‘I locate any fellow planners, smile, take a deep breath, take off my shoes and find the nearest bottle of Chianti!’ After which, back in the UK, there are nights out with friends and family, relaxing walks, music and even a few rounds of kick boxing for Gerri. But as Jo and Helen remind me, ‘the wedding season is pretty intense so as soon as one finishes you’re immediately thinking about the next. However, we always make time to take advantage of the beautiful Italian food and wines.’

So, after planning so many wonderful weddings for others, how do the girls imagine their big day? Jo pictures ‘a ceremony in the woods with lanterns and ribbons hanging from the trees- both magical and romantic’. Helen has set her sights abroad, perhaps Tuscany, where she is undecided between ‘something rustic – think ceremony in garden with acoustic guitar, a kaleidoscope of colours, barefoot dancing until sunrise, hog roast, improvised music. Or alternatively, something completely high spec., with a traditional format - Ave Maria in a beautiful church, elegant and chic formal dining in an enchanting castle or villa.’

Gerri is already thinking of the Italian countryside: ‘unfortunately England just can’t compare for the weather, welcome or the wine! I would love for my friends and family to join me for a weekend celebration at a beautiful Castello or Villa in the Tuscan countryside. For the wedding itself I would like a garden ceremony with a harpist; for the reception I would love a woodland country setting with amazing food and wine. You would think that a wedding planner would want an elaborate wedding but actually I would keep the decoration quite rustic and simple but with gorgeous flowers and beautiful outdoor lighting’. And lastly Joëlle, who envisages ‘an intimate ceremony, ideally in the open air, overlooking water, followed by a simple reception, sunshine, as many of my friends and family as feasibly possible, taking over a village square with fresh local food and wine in abundance! Live music and lots of dancing... and did I mention food?’

‘I always tell the bride and groom to relax and make the most of their big day


SAGE COUNSEL

When I ask them for a last word of wisdom for brides, Helen and Gerri don’t think twice: ‘Hire a wedding planner! A wedding planner is your friend – fact! We put your dreams into action.’ Jo adds: ‘I always tell brides and grooms to relax and make the most of their big day. Concentration on structure and intense timings can ruin the atmosphere and flow of the day. Relax and enjoy yourself, and so will your guests.’ And a final word to Joëlle. ‘Try not to worry about everyone else on your wedding day and enjoy the attention of your fiancé! Give little tasks to guests and friends so they can help out on the day and make sure your groom to-be has a good team of ushers to look after everyone! Keep the bridesmaids away from the Italian waiters, and lastly, let yourself be charmed by Italy and your man…’

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