I cannot wait until it is safe for everyone to gather again and celebrate the love of two people coming together.

Tzo Ai Ang

Owner / Principal Planner

Location: New York City

Established in 2011, Ang Weddings and Events is a boutique event planning company founded by Tzo Ai Ang and based in New York City. Tzo Ai (“Zo-Eye”) has planned intimate affairs for 40 guests to more elaborate weddings for 300 guests. She has worked at venues such as the New York Public Library, The Plaza, Rainbow Room, Weylin, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Cipriani and Mandarin Oriental. Ang Weddings and Events has been named a top wedding planner by Martha Stewart Weddings, one of the best planners in the U.S. by BRIDES and an expert by The Knot. Tzo Ai’s work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Harper’s Bazaar, The Knot, BRIDES, Grace Ormonde and Style Me Pretty.

With a focus on client service, she aims to provide personalized attention throughout the planning process. She will use her keen organizational skills and calm demeanor to make sure everything is executed flawlessly. She wants to help you to create a truly memorable event. Tzo Ai loves the personal relationships she forms with her clients. A wedding is such a joyful and emotional celebration. The privilege of helping couples plan their weddings is something she finds very meaningful and rewarding.

Tzo Ai has a diverse background, having lived in four countries over three continents. Her passion for traveling and different cultures are tools she uses in planning unique events for her clients. She enjoys helping couples personalize their weddings with thoughtful details and has worked with many multi-cultural couples.

Previously a Vice President at a global investment bank, Tzo Ai managed relationships with some of its largest clients. She brings the same commitment to professionalism and a strong work ethic in planning weddings.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced while planning an event and how did you overcome it?

There are two things I can’t control and that is the weather and traffic. For a Blue Hill at Stone Barns wedding, the rain forecast was running around 40-50% all day. It isn’t a great place to be when you just don’t know! Plan A was to have the wedding outdoors in the courtyard. Plan B was to use the reception space as the ceremony area and flip it during cocktail hour. I knew how much the bride and groom wanted to be married outside, so we pushed the decision as late as humanly possible.

In the end, we went for a third option and set up the ceremony under the café awning just adjacent to the courtyard. It still felt like the wedding was outside, but everyone was sheltered from potential rain. Thanks to the wonderful team at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and our amazing floral designer, Poppies and Posies, it all came together beautifully at the last minute.

For a Wave Hill wedding, there was horrendous traffic due to road closure. Two out of three of the large buses coming from the city were over an hour late. We ended up flipping the ceremony and cocktail reception. The guests who had already arrived enjoyed the cocktail reception with food and drinks. As they did so, we waited for the buses to arrive. After the buses arrived, we started the outdoor ceremony, just before the sunset! This was followed by an elegant dinner reception at Wave Hill House.

How important are your relationships with vendors and what are some ways that you successfully cultivate and ensure good rapport?

My strong relationships with vendors are incredibly important and part of why couples choose to hire me. Weddings are a collaborative process. We work with a large team of different vendors contributing in various ways to create something truly magical for the couple. I prefer to hire vendors who have a similar mindset to mine. They are professional, experienced, kind, creative, hard workers, and ultimately they really love weddings.

One of my favourite floral designers tells me she still gets a little nervous before each wedding, despite having done this for over 10 years. That is the same way I am too. I truly care about each and every one and work with vendors who do as well. Like-minded people work well together! Many of these vendors have become my close friends over the years. They are smart people that I truly respect and admire.

What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you personally or professionally?

The most exciting thing for me right now is when we can gather again. In New York, we are currently deep in the COVID-19 pandemic and have stay at home orders. I have been busy rescheduling spring weddings, which has been upsetting for couples who have been looking forward to and planning their weddings for over a year. I cannot wait until it is safe for everyone to gather again and celebrate the love of two people coming together. The weddings will be that much sweeter.

It has been a tough time for New York, but also inspiring to see how people are helping others through this difficult time. Dress designers are sewing masks for people that are severely lacking in supplies. Caterers and restaurants are preparing and donating food to those heroes on the frontline (hospital workers and EMTs).

We are New York tough and we will get through this!

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?

I used to work at an investment bank. After several years, I realized I really wanted to do something that was more creative and meaningful for me. After working for a large corporation, I also wanted to work for myself and face the risks and rewards of running my own business. Personally I knew I wanted to start a family at some point. I wanted to have flexibility in my work schedule and find balance between my professional and personal life.

It took about 1-2 years to start attracting a client base. My first wedding was through a friend of a friend. I worked the wedding for free! That wedding was shot by amazing Jen Huang Photography and was picked up by a wedding blog Once Wed. I pitched New York Magazine on my business and they listed me under their pick of wedding planners in 2012! That was a huge win for the business and inquiries quickly started flying in. Back in 2012, New Yorkers read New York Weddings like the wedding bible for vendor recommendations.

What’s the first event you can ever remember planning and how did it go?

The first event was a wedding at New Leaf Café. Looking back on the wedding, I can’t believe I ever attempted to do it by myself! Now I always have 2 assistants with me on wedding day. It was just me working on the wedding back when I started. It was super challenging given the ceremony site in Fort Tryon Park was a good walk up a hill from the reception space, New Leaf Café. The delivery of the ceremony chairs was late and I had to spend some time on the phone with the rental company trying to track them down. It was a stressful start!

In the end, they did arrive and I had to beg vendors to help with the setup so that we could all do it really quickly before guests arrived. We managed the setup in the knick of time! Everything else went smoothly and it was such a beautiful day.

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