I’ve always been on the path toward being the best wedding planner in Arizona, even as a little girl. I attended every gala, party, and function along with my mother, learning the nuances of what makes an event truly special. I have used that experience since high school in planning countless weddings and parties for friends and family as well as fundraisers and functions in the role of vice president and committee leader for the Parent-Teacher Association.
It never occurred to me that I would eventually turn my natural talents and passion for planning events into a business! Witnessing the focus and attention to detail that I put into planning our wedding caused my husband to suggest that I consider being a full-time wedding planner. After attaining my wedding and event planning certification through the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants in 2009, I started Apropos Creations, LLC to make it official.
Making your wedding dreams come true is what provides the magic that runs Apropos Creations. From stunning Southeast Asian weddings that span several days to lush multi-cultural weddings, my goal is to plan and execute events with the kind of personal service and inspiring ideas that make the journey as easy as possible for you from start to finish.
I provide wedding planning and event coordination services for Metro Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, and Tucson, Arizona. Additionally, I specialize in planning destination weddings for San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco (among other bay area cities) along with the Philippines and other international destination wedding locations.
What are some tips for creating an elegant and memorable event on a tight budget?
Being on a tight budget is not an easy feat but we have all the respect and understanding of making it all work. We would, first and foremost, advise them to be realistic and be open to substitutions.
Second, prioritize what truly is the most important factor they would like to have for their wedding. Once that is figured out, allocate the remaining budget funds to the rest of the vendors.
If you had unlimited resources, what would your dream client and event look like?
Our definition of a dream client is down to earth, easy-going goes with the flow, communicates well their wants and needs, and at the same time, trusts our experience and knowledge.
Also, let’s be real, we all want a client who has a high budget, who doesn’t? But we all don’t get that and have to respect their budget and boundaries. At the end of the night, when a client is very happy with how things turned out, then I can say that was the dream event I wanted.
How important are your relationships with vendors and what are some ways that you successfully cultivate and ensure good rapport?
It is very important to have great relationships with the vendors whether we’ve worked together or not. Although preferred, we would never force our preferred vendors to our clients due to the fact that we highly recommend that both parties vibe well together. We communicate the timeline thoroughly to each and every single vendor and we always inform them that we are a team and we have an open-door communication.
All vendors that we’ve worked with understand that our main goal is to make and create one hell of a memory for all of our clients. This definitely makes working together smooth and stress-free.
What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you personally or professionally?
For the fourth year in a row, I will be attending the 2020 NACE Experience Conference in Las Vegas. With Covid-19 bringing our industry down, I can’t wait to strengthen connections, meet new ones, and further my education with the latest technology, trends, design, and sales just to name a few.
What inspired you to launch your own company in the event industry? How long did it take from initially having the idea to setting up and starting to attract a client base?
My husband was the one who became inspired to push me to become a wedding planner. Ever since our wedding day back in 1998, he had always encouraged me because he saw the passion in my eyes. It wasn’t until 2009 when he finally convinced me and I launched Apropos Creations.
Lucky for me, our next-door neighbor had just gotten engaged and hired me as their wedding planner within the same year I officially started my business. They knew that I was just starting out and fully entrusted me to execute their wedding day.
