Meet the Team: Sr. Event Archtiect Mahvish Bhatty

We are very thankful for our team. Today I'd like you to get to know another of our Senior Event Architects, Ms. Mahvish Bhatty. Mahvish came to Oliveaire with event planning experience, and has impressed her clients with her professionalism and expertise.

What is your favorite part of planning a wedding?

My favorite part is picking out décor with the client. I love to see the wonderful stages and center pieces.


How would you describe your style? Has it changed since you started working in the event industry?

My style is to work closely with the client so I am on top of every detail throughout the wedding planning process. However, this does change when the client wants to take full control.


What has been your biggest challenge in planning a wedding or event?

Getting information on time has been my biggest challenge. The other challenge is making multiple changes too close (less than 2 weeks) to the wedding.


What one piece of advice would you give a newly engaged couple?

Wedding planning can be very stressful and it’s overwhelming when there are many decision makers. Make a plan with your fiancé and families and make one contact person. The less people involved the better, prioritize making yourselves and your parents happy and don't worry so much about the distant relatives.

Put a budget in place and stick to it.

Also, work with your planner and ask for their candid opinion prior to hiring a vendor. We have experience working with vendors and can make suggestions on who we have both positive and negative experiences with. Listening to us and that will make your planning smoother and successful.


Do you have a favorite wedding moment or event (i.e. first dance, when the groom first sees the bride, parents reaction, etc.)?

I love the entrances and all the announcements. The ambiance is very vibrant and energetic. The couple and the family is entering to their favorite songs and doing a little dance. I love it.


How would you describe what you do everyday?

I not only do I plan the weddings/events, but I also try to advise the clients and to keep them relaxed so they can enjoy this process. Being organized is very important as we’re managing multiple weddings at the same time. I interact with all vendors, develop the wedding paperwork (which consists of timeline(s), checklist(s), menu, diagrams, bridal party entrances, and much more. It’s a very busy position, which is fun but also requires great organization and time management skills.

If you you are interested in speaking with Mahvish about your wedding or special event call her at 847-885-3200 or e-mail her here.



Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, we hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend with your friends and family.

Cheers!
Olivia

Sending the Right Message

Often the first impression guests will have of your wedding will be when they receive your invtiation. To make sure you are sending the right message to your guests we turned to paper expert JoAnna Gibbons of J.Invites and asked her to share a few words of wisdom. Take it away JoAnna...


People say the first impression you give should always be your best and should really say something about you. This guideline holds true for your wedding. Before you see the beautiful bride walking down the aisle, before you walk into the reception to see the fabulous decor, it's the invitation that you see. The invitation is the very beginning of your wedding. It is a glimpse into what your guests should expect, from the colors to the ambiance to the formality.


The invitation should speak volumes through its designs and reflect not only your event but also you - the couple to be married. Below are a couple invitations that do so.

This wedding invitation suite is for a more casual wedding, which is represented by not only the wording and style, but also the layout. A formal invitation usually has only the ceremony information on the main card, whereas this one includes the reception information with the cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing all represented by symbols. Also, the RSVP card is a postcard which is usually less formal than an envelope. This invitation speaks volumes about the couple. They're such a laid back pair, and origami cranes really played a large role in the beginning of their relationship. One year for Christmas when Emmitt didn't have the money to splurge on a gift for Katie, he made a bunch of origami cranes and scattered them all over the house with sweet sayings in them. Ever since, cranes have held a special place in their hearts. They chose this as the focus of their wedding decor.

This couple is very elegant and traditional, but at the time very organic. In this invite, the organic nature of the couple is offset by the whimsical look of the tulle and the graphic elements. The colors, fonts, and wording bring an elegant feel to the invite.

Lastly, Kathy and Andrew wanted their invites to look traditional yet rustic. They used cotton papers and letterpress printing, which are very traditional, along with rustic and graphics. Together, these elements show who they are as a couple.

Thanks again to JoAnna of J.Invites for sharing some invitation design tips with us today. As with all other aspects in your wedding, make sure your invitations are a reflection of you as a couple!

BBFN (Bridal Bliss for Now),
Olivia

Meet the Oliveaire Team: Sr. Event Architect Adel Domingo

It takes a team to provide all of the services we offer at Oliveaire, all of us have our unique roles, personalities and styles. In the coming weeks you will have the chance to meet the team that makes the Oliveaire experience.

Enjoy getting to know Adel Domingo, Sr. Event Architect with Oliveaire. If you’d like to talk to her about planning your wedding or special event contact her at 847-885-3200 or e-mail her here.

What is your favorite part of planning a wedding?
It’s that moment when my bride and groom start trusting me. That means all will be well because we can tackle anything at that point. That trust between the clients and me is vital.

How would you describe your style?
As a planner I love taking care of my clients by simply listening, responding with a real, relaxed enthusiasm, and executing patiently. I’m a calm person and I think my clients and vendors feel it and they stay calm. I do love researching what my clients like and don’t like, I take great interest in each client I work with. After I’m done with an event, I keep a few notes and photos in their file to remind me how unique they are.

What one piece of advice would you give a newly engaged couple?
The wedding of your dreams is possible, just be realistic with your time and budget.

Do you have a favorite wedding moment or event?
It would have to be when I see the couple’s body language when they are announced as husband and wife. They are just so relaxed and relieved that the main part is over. You can feel everybody exhaling.

How would you describe what you do every day?
It’s sort of this crazy job but it takes a sane person to do it. Most of the time during the planning and creative process, it seems like my day is full of phone calls to vendors, email correspondence, reading, research, and making appointments. Creating time lines takes great focus and sometimes I like to do them in the middle of the night when it’s quiet. Despite what people see in the movies, it’s not always glamorous and easy. Time goes fast for planners; we know how much time a task takes even while a couple does not. We treat time like gold. I also know I can’t take being a part of an important event for granted so despite being laid back and calm, I get very serious and nervous and double check everything leading up to an event.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start working in the event industry?
If you don’t like people, don’t do it. Plan several personal events on your own, take a course, get a great pair of comfortable shoes, and work as an intern. When you want to take the plunge, try it out for a year and see if you still love it. If you can answer an emphatic YES, then it’s for you.

What did your wedding meal look like?
My husband and I were young and did not have the wisdom in planning menus and picking a good caterer like we do now. Our wedding meal was a buffet of mediocre roast beef, Spanish rice, and I don’t remember the rest. I do remember our hazelnut-flavored wedding cake being delicious and the German wine was great.

If we ever do plan a menu for a future wedding anniversary party, I would probably do an authentic mixture of Asian and Mexican fare, my favorite kinds of food, with great bottles of wine and beer and a mojito bar.


Thanks Adel for the great interview.

BBFN (Bridal Bliss for Now),
Olivia