If you have been following me on Instagram and watching my IG Stories, you know that I went to an event last week for Hitched UK. It was a wedding industry networking event they were putting on in order to connect wedding professionals throughout London and the United Kingdom. I saw this as a great opportunity to met people in the industry (and a great excuse to travel to London!) However, I was absolutely terrified! I mean, attending an event, in a new country, new city; where I didn’t know a soul - and was attending by myself. What is there to be afraid of?
Thankfully, (they served champagne as soon as you entered), and pretty much everyone was in the same boat, as far as wanting to meet other entrepreneurs in the wedding business. In all seriousness, I was thrilled I went because I was able to meet Hattie with Marble Private! She was such a friendly face in a room full of strangers, which was exactly what I needed to make me feel like I belonged. I have been following Marble Private on Instagram since I arrived in England and love everything I see. Their Insta feed is peppered with parties people dream of attending, let alone planning for themselves. Enjoy reading the interview below and their take on what is trending and what not to do for the upcoming wedding season.
When did you begin working in the wedding industry?
Marble Private only became an official business this year; previously we were operating under one roof as Marble LDN, but we decided that we loved the weddings and parties so much we would separate the two businesses - and now here we are!
What are some things you do that keep you interested, inspired and current on the year’s trends?
We use Instagram a lot to reach out to new suppliers and find inspiration for our #MarbleMoodboard, a series on Instagram where we repost anything which we think is gorgeous! For trends, we keep up-to-date with magazines and influencers, with companies like Hitched, Rock my Wedding and Vogue all giving us great insight into the wedding trends ahead.
What services do you offer?
Marble offers an end-to-end service: we do absolutely everything from conceptualization and planning, to project management and creative production, to tech, sound, lighting and rigging. We have a list of suppliers who represent our creative and dynamic brand ethos who we use for things like flowers, live music, and styling.
The important thing to remember, though, is that we don’t have to do it all. We totally understand that couples want to organize their own wedding because it’s their special day, so Marble could simply be brought in to help with staging and tech. Or you could just use our Marble Music service. We tailor our product to every individual client - so just get in touch and see how we can help you!
Why do you love the wedding industry?
The wedding industry is utterly beautiful. Our team have an amazing ability to form relationships with their clients, so we get to know the couple personally and this makes it easier to deliver an amazing celebration. Also, people nowadays are more willing to break from wedding traditions and do things a little differently, which gives us a chance to express our creative flair. We once refurbed an entire Boeing 747 airplane for one couple’s big day… it was awesome!
What’s been your favorite destination wedding?
Destination weddings are so fun because we love to travel, and it’s an honor being invited to go along with couples to make their wedding abroad special. One couple who were based in Hong Kong wanted us to plan absolutely everything, even down to the destination and venue! The brief: easy to access airport, all guests staying in the same hotel, a weekend-long celebration somewhere hot and beautiful… Our team fulfilled every aspect of this couple’s brief and ensured that even in a foreign country, every single wedding guest felt happy and at home. We picked Florence, Italy for a sun-soaked weekend of music, drinks, dancing and delicious food, and the couple were over the moon!
What’s it like planning a destination wedding?
Destination weddings are fun but a lot of work. Luckily we have contacts in lots of different countries that can help us with the finer details, like catering, staffing and music. So far we’ve produced weddings in Italy, France, Spain, Austria and Portugal, but we’re hoping that many more couples will take us abroad with them!
There are lots of extra considerations with a destination wedding, like for example doing site visits… the event producers would usually have to fly out for the weekend and see multiple venues to make sure it’s absolutely perfect for our couple. You also have to consider guest travel and accommodation because they are more than likely to be staying for the weekend. It all sounds very difficult but our team have been in this business for more than a decade and luckily know every trick in the book for producing a destination wedding!
What is trending for the upcoming wedding season?
Sustainability. As a business that is young and innovative, we’ve always had sustainability at the forefront of our brand ethos, and slowly we can see couples are catching onto sustainable wedding trends too.
Flowers are a big one for us - the amount of wedding flowers that go to waste is absolutely crazy! We always suggest that couples use seasonal flowers from local suppliers over consumer flower farms, and one trend we’ve seen this year is dried wedding flowers - bunny ear corns and dried daisies make for beautiful table decorations!
Is there something you would like to see go away from the 2020 wedding season?
Table plans displayed on easels. We love an interactive wedding - it’s big in our minds as Marble LDN is an experiential agency, after all - and there are so many ways for couples to involve guests in the celebration that make the day 10x more memorable! Particular favorite alternatives of ours have included Polaroids with a ‘find your face’ to show people where they’re sitting, and one couple even got their guests’ names drawn onto tambourines which hung from the ceiling - so unique!
Can you describe one of your most memorable weddings you have worked on and explain why you love it?
Earlier this year our team worked tirelessly on a beautiful two-day wedding celebration in the countryside for a couple who wanted us to deliver a Bavarain-themed rural wedding of dreams. Guests were taken on a journey from start to finish: from the ribbon-filled hoops guiding guests to a Bavarian Beer Garden, to the florally adorned church aisle, then on to a beautiful reception overlooking the Hampshire countryside, and finally a secret ‘Dancing Dome’, where they danced into the early hours!
The wedding was a huge success and the couple was so happy, which is always a bonus for us. But just to put the icing on the (wedding) cake, it featured in this year’s Vogue magazine! A perfect end to a perfect weekend celebration. (Read the article here!)
What makes Marble Private successful?
Our team has over 15 years experience in delivering outrageous yet delicately beautiful celebrations, for every occasion. We thrive on building strong relationships with our clients and this is ultimately what makes us so successful. We have such a good rapport with our customers that many have returned to celebrate annual birthdays, their children’s weddings, and anniversaries! We love producing events that make people smile and say ‘WOW!’.
What’s it like to work for Marble Private?
The Marble team is very close. We work in an office in Notting Hill, with 30 young but extremely dedicated and creative individuals from all walks of life. Our atmosphere is friendly and dynamic. We’re the kind of people that work overtime just because we want to, but also the kind of people you’d catch in the pub down the road on a Friday! Our clients love us because they get to know the people behind the brand - we don’t operate like a corporation, and we all genuinely love what we do!
How do you make your clients feel special?
We never say no to a client. Even if their brief is totally outrageous, we’ll always use our expertise in the industry to suggest a (slightly) less outrageous alternative. At the end of the day, we just want them to be happy on their special day!