Frequently asked questions:
Will Stephanie personally be at my wedding? Yes! Currently, all weddings booked receive Stephanie and guaranteed one other associate.
How many weddings do you take a year? We only book one wedding a weekend. We choose to do this because we want to be available to you and your guests your entire wedding weekend. This service limits us to 6 weddings a year.
How many events do you take a year? We do approximately 5o events a year, 6 being weddings. The rest are social events like cocktail parties, dinner parties, bridal showers, baby showers, kids parties, rehearsal dinners, & post-wedding brunches.
Why only 6 weddings? Weddings deserve all of the attention! There are so many moving parts, we want to assure we are available ALWAYS for all of our couples during the planning process.
You aren’t available for my date, now what? We have “Wedding Happy Hours” you can book with Stephanie to get all of your wedding questions answered! We won’t be with you on the day of the wedding, but we will assure you are organized before the big day!
Do you specialize in a specific area? Newport, RI is our niche! Born and raised in Newport, this is Stephanie’s home!
Is this Stephanie’s Full-Time Job? Yes! This is Stephanie’s business and career. Her other “jobs” include but not limited to Wife, Mom, Daughter, Friend, board member, mentor, non-profit founder & classroom Mom.
Can you provide references for your work? Absolutely! We are happy to give you contacts from past clients (that have agreed to it) as well as vendors we have worked with.
Do you offer “Day of” or “Month Of” Coordination? No. We do not. We feel strongly that in order for us to do an outstanding job, and excel at our work, we would like to be involved as much as we can in the planning/design process. We become the architect and foreman of your event planning. We are designers who coordinate events.
What is your payment schedule? We are paid in 3 installments. A retainer, a second payment, and final payment is due 1 month before your event.
Do you have a limited number of times I can contact you? No! No matter what service you decide fits best in your need for planning and design, we are always available to you for etiquette & logistic questions.
When should I book you? Of course, if you need full planning after you say yes to the ring…give us a call! As soon as you realize you need the extra help with planning and design you should sign the contract. You are not locked into a certain service if along the process you realize you need more help, we are happy to add to the current service booked. As was mentioned, we only take one wedding a weekend, so once we are booked, that is it. The longest we have had a wedding client is 2 ½ years before the wedding, the shortest has been 4 months prior. Besides weddings, we plan approximately 60 events a year. Stephanie producing them all.
Will you provide me a timeline? Yes, at Couture Parties we give you a planning timeline, a wedding planning guide, form for out of town bag deliveries, seating arrangements tracker, and a wedding day timeline. All your vendors also receive this comprehensive tool. We promise to keep you organized!
My venue comes with a coordinator, why do I need you? If you need guidance with design, invitations, RSVP tracking, wedding etiquette, overall budget, hotel room blocks, transportation, out of town welcome bags, post-wedding brunch, welcome reception, rehearsal dinners, and assurance your entire wedding weekend plays out to your vision….we have that all covered. We actually love working with venue coordinators, and they with us. It is the entire package of your creative team that is being formed.
I have already booked a few vendors for my event, do you work with people who you have never worked with before? Of course! This is a collaborative effort if you trust them with your special day, so should we! We LOVE discovering new talents that we can share with other clients too.