That’sAmore is formed by Eva and Sarah Samoré; colleagues, sisters but most importantly the best of friends. As sisters, we have always loved doing things together seeing as we bring out the best in each other. We have always been the entrepreneurial type and have always been up for a good challenge.
We come from a multicultural family with a travelers’ spirit background. It all began when our mother Joaquina (Spanish) met and later married our father Francesco (Italian) in Switzerland.
After visiting and living in various countries, they ended up in Montreal, Canada, which is where we were brought up. Anyone who knows us can tell you that our family is vital to us; they are the basis of the values behind the That’sAmore team.
Where and how does the That’sAmore Team begin?
Sarah’s wedding is a milestone for us, that has created a before and after in our lives. The “before“ was an enchanted garden that we found in Cadiz and from which we conjured up a wedding location that will remain unforgettable for everyone present. Together we had planned everything down to the smallest detail and absorbed everything like two inquisitive sponges. The “after“ was the beginning of That’sAmore.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced while planning an event and how did you overcome it?
One of our biggest challenges was having to bring in people from 7 different countries to a venue we had found, literally, in the middle of nowhere. They were all people that did not know each other and weren’t staying in the same hotels or houses. We had to take care of all of the logistics because people were arriving and leaving on different days but we came up with a great transport route to have all of the guests picked up and dropped off each where they were staying. Everything was perfectly timed and the guests did not have to worry about anything. This was a great relief for the bride and groom. Turned out great!
What are 2 trends in the event planning industry that you’re excited about?
Given the current situation, many are going to go for smaller weddings. We are going to see this especially for destination weddings, where there are a lot of travelers involved. Even though events are going to be smaller we are going to make them just as special.
We are also going to see more elopements. Couples that were thinking of having a destination wedding but aren’t comfortable or sure about it due to COVID-19 are going to go for these very intimate and romantic celebrations that can be organized in the most remote places in the world.
Overall we like to think that every wedding gives you something new, something different. We have to create constantly and that is what many couples look for, their own made-to-measure wedding that reflects and tells their story.
What are some tips for creating an elegant and memorable event on a tight budget?
Create a mood board and base your wedding on the color palette that you like best. This is not expensive and gives the event style and elegance. We are also very fond of DIY. There are great things one can make that give a wedding a very personal touch and for couples that like that sort of thing it gives them a chance to work personally on parts of their wedding. Less is more – we actually really like this expression because many times the best weddings are not necessarily the ones that have more elements.
If you had unlimited resources, what would your dream client and event look like?
Unlimited resources or not, our dream clients are those that are dying to get married in Andalusia! We do admit that a client with an unlimited budget is mind-blowing but also having to stick to a tight budget and create an amazing, special wedding out of it, is a part of the challenge behind planning a wedding.
However, a sixteenth-century royal wedding with amazing deco, scenery, and dresses of the time would be an amazing scene to recreate.
How important are your relationships with vendors and what are some ways that you successfully cultivate and ensure good rapport?
Having a great relationship with our vendors is KEY to us. This business does not work if you don’t have vendors you get along with and with whom you have a relationship of mutual trust. We constantly contact our vendors to see how things are going and if they have anything new to offer, to ask what they are working on, etc. We are interested in learning about their products and how they work, we need to know to perfection what we are offering our clients. Giving them good visibility on social media is also important to us and helps us mutually.
What advice would you give someone who needs to plan a fundraiser but isn’t sure where to start?
Please call someone who knows a lot about planning fundraisers.
What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you personally or professionally?
We have a new project in mind but it is still in process… so we have not told anybody about it!
What’s the most surprising or unusual request you have ever received from a client and were you able to fulfill it?
The bride wanted the official wedding ceremony to be the day they were getting married, she didn’t want a symbolic ceremony for friends and family. She wanted for a councilman to marry them at the venue. This is common in Spain but not in the province of Seville because city hall does not allow their councilmen to marry outside of city hall. Our bride really wanted this to happen, it was basically the most important thing to her. The only other possibility was for a notary to marry them but again, this was not possible on a Saturday in the month of August. She was very upset and even told us that if that was not possible she did not want any ceremony at all.
While we were trying to think of a solution the bride called us up one day to ask us if it was possible to rent a boat to bring to the venue so that a Captain could marry them while they were standing inside the boat (in any case this would not have made the marriage legit). My sister and I didn’t stop thinking of how we could make our bride happy so we thought and thought really hard and made a list of all the people we knew, which is a lot, all the people that we thought could give us a hand to resolve this and we remembered a childhood friend of ours that was a lawyer. We explained the situation and he said he knew just the person. He made a couple of calls and got a notary to marry this couple on a Saturday in Seville in the month of August… I know this may not seem much, but you have to understand how Seville works to know how difficult this was to achieve☺
Anything else you’d like to comment on while we have you?
We’d just like to finish off talking a little bit about the South of Spain. In Andalusia the sun shines 300 days a year and with it comes the unique Mediterranean lifestyle. A walk through its narrow side streets in the old town or tapas in the marketplace with locals at sunset: a destination wedding in Andalusia will give your guests memories that will stay with them for a lifetime.
Andalusia offers you countless possibilities when choosing the location for your wedding. Whether extravagant country estates, hidden boutique hotels, a wedding on a private beach, or rather a small, charming Finca – you get to choose from a wide variety of possibilities. You will also be enchanted by the Andalusian gastronomy: high-quality, regional goods are waiting to be put together to create your dream menu. We are here to help you because we know our country and its people. Trust us, you and your guests will definitely be elated to have chosen Andalusia, Spain for your destination wedding.
