Get to Know Firefly Events: Laid Back Planners Who Offer Brides Unlimited Help, From “Yes” to “I Do”
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Who is the Firefly Events team? That's exactly what I wanted to know after seeing photos from their well designed, Nashville weddings. Turns out, this team is comprised of two, very talented Nashville friends, Samantha and Michelle, who came together to provide full service event planning for Nashville's engaged couples.
They boast a wide design aesthetic and a genial disposition, which is important when you are hiring your wedding team. You want to hire people who are competent as well as likable. This is a team that can easily satisfy both requirements.
Get to know Samantha and Michelle, their company, services and designs via photos from their recent, Nashville weddings.
How many years have you been in business?
Almost 4
How did you get started in weddings?
Samantha got started in weddings the day she got engaged and has grown to love them more and more. She is drawn to the creative side of planning.
Michelle came from corporate planning and first got into catering with her sister, who is a chef. When Samantha and Michelle became friends, Michelle recognized a need for a fuller scope of service for catering clients and saw that Samantha had experience with event planning in the music industry and a knack for weddings. Firefly Events was quickly born and has been growing ever since.
What do you like most about weddings?
We love working with brides and their families during such an exciting time in their lives. Weddings should bring families together, and we have been blessed with amazing clients who aim to do just that. Because wedding planning can be overwhelming and stressful, Michelle and I enjoy taking things off our clients' plates so we can lower their stress and help them to remain focused on enjoying their engagement season.
What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why?
The wedding we are most proud of was the Gibbs-Hendon wedding at Steeplechase last October. As far as we know, it was the first ceremony they have ever had there and only the second reception. The venue came with some very unique obstacles since there is no power, shelter or water access on site.
Classic Party Rentals did a wonderful job in helping us with our tenting needs, and we were able to hire vendors to bring everything from generators and restroom trailers to ice machines on site. What you can’t see in the picture below is the rainstorm coming over the hill behind the photographer. It was a beautiful day for pictures and the ceremony, but we knew we needed to get more than 200 guests into the reception tent on the adjacent grandstands before it started pouring. Michelle and I are known to be very laid back planners, but I will admit that big green, yellow and red blobs on my Weather Channel app can raise my blood pressure on wedding days. As the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife and began to dance down the aisle, Michelle and I were full of joy that their perfectly planned ceremony had gone off without a hitch. The reception was wonderful as well, despite the storms.
What is your service philosophy?
We are at our brides’ disposal from the time they hire us until the wedding follow ups have been handled. We do not limit the amount of meetings, calls or emails that we offer no matter what package a client selects. If a bride needs our attention, we give it to her as soon as possible. This philosophy has served us well and allows us to get to know our clients better.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? Why should a bride hire you?
We plan weddings and events full time and overly prepare for each wedding to ensure that all vendors are contacted and all questions are asked on the front end. We create a thorough timeline, which allows us to be very easygoing on the wedding day. We try to limit ourselves to two or three weddings each month so we can give each wedding the attention it deserves.
What attracts brides to your service/company?
Brides can usually tell that Michelle and I are very laid back planners and want to make the process enjoyable for them. We also pass our vendor discounts along to our brides, which is a big selling point for most clients as it offsets a portion of the cost to hire us.
What would previous couples say was the main reason they selected your company?
Couples love that they are getting two head planners when they hire Firefly Events. Michelle and I work as a team on each wedding so they are getting extra attention as we walk them through the process from day one. We are able to split up if the ceremony and reception are in separate locations, and we typically bring an assistant to help with tasks such as lighting candles, placing favors or place cards, and other such things. This allows us to focus our attention on the bride, groom, and our vendors.
Describe the bride/couple that is most attracted to your service/company?
Firefly Events is highly versatile and cares most about carrying out our clients’ visions and wishes. We love farm weddings with an elegant twist and also jump at the chance to do more weddings at the Hermitage Hotel, Cheekwood, or War Memorial, which can all lend themselves to a more formal atmosphere. Nashville is a growing destination city for out-of-town clients, so we also have many brides who choose to entertain their guests in Music City. It is always a joy to play hostess and tell them all of the fun things to do here in our hometown.
Who are your favorite Nashville wedding vendors based on helpfulness, professionalism and style?
We are lucky to work in Nashville where professional, kind and creative vendors abound. Some vendors that we work with a lot are Dulce Desserts (cakes and cupcakes) because Juanita is fabulous and her cakes are delicious, Nashville Audio Visual (lighting, draping, sound) because of their helpfulness and pricing, Southern Events (rentals) because of their large variety of rentals, Knestrick By Design (floral) because of their style, and Cheekwood (venue) because of its natural beauty and professionalism. There are also many caterers, photographers, deejays and other vendors who we love to recommend to our clients.
Does your company do anything special that a green, eco-conscious bride might want to know?
Firefly Events prefers to do things digitally so we aren’t using lots of paper. We also recycle and are always eager to help eco-friendly brides come up with ideas to personalize their event in that way.
How should brides and grooms contact you to learn about your wedding services?
Company Name: Firefly Events
Main Contact: Samantha Reedy
Website: Fireflyeventsnashville.com
Phone Number: 615-414-5589
Email Address: Samantha at fireflyeventsnashville dot com
Follow them on Twitter: @fireflyeventstn
Become a Facebook fan: Fireflyeventsnashville
Photos by Bethany Renee Photography, Nyk and Cali Wedding Photographers, Evin Photography, Donald Yeager Photography
About the Author:
Ashley King
Hey - I'm Ashley! I started AshleysBrideGuide.com to give Nashville brides, or folks planning a Nashville wedding, a local resource for inspiration and resources. Hope to see you at a bridal show soon! Until then, Find me on Google+.
send
Posted on September 18, 2013 |
Filed under: Helpful Vendor Interviews!, Wedding Planners & Coordinators,
1 Response to This Post
Posted on September 19, 2013 @ 4:11pm