If you are planning a Charlottesville wedding, finding the right Charlottesville Virginia wedding planner is the first step! There are SO many incredibly talented Virginia wedding planners, so I thought it would be fun to feature some of the best here on the KWP blog!
Meet Mallory with All The Dainty Details: Charlottesville Virginia wedding planner. When she’s not working, you can find Mallory busy playing mom. She loves staying active by work outing or going on walks daily. She also loves to read and pick out books from her local library! Let’s get to know her!!
Describe your dream wedding day: I would say my dream wedding day (to plan and design) would definitely take place in the fall with views of the Virginia mountains. I would describe it as a modern, but whimsical wedding. Dressed in a neutral palette with pops of bright autumn colors. It would be an intimate wedding, probably 50 or so guests. With a huge emphasis on personal details and the dessert! I’d be working with all my favorite friendors to make the absolute dream team.
What makes a dream client for you? Our dream couples don’t look a certain way or even have to share a similar wedding day style that we do. Our dream couples are ones that share the same vision as us, that are super excited about their wedding day because it’s a day that they get to celebrate their love and ones that trust in us. Our dream couples truly value what we do as planners and know they can sit back and enjoy their wedding day, because we are by their side. Our dream clients are ones we make a connection with and feel like friends!
What is the most popular service you offer? Our most popular package is our partial planning package. This package allows the most flexibility, because we give our couples the opportunity to tell us where they need the most assistance throughout the planning process. Couples are able to select services a la carte and therefore this package is completely customizable.
How many weddings do you take on per year? Our team takes between 20-25 weddings a year. I am the Lead Planner for around 15 of them, give or take.
How far do you travel? I am based in Charlottesville and travel quite a bit around the state of Virginia. Our two other Lead Planners are based in Northern Virginia and handle the DMV market. We love to travel and a destination wedding is certainly not off the table, we are just waiting for that perfect opportunity!
Do you specialize in any particular type of weddings? We are definitely not a one size fits all. We work with couples that have different budgets and styles!
Do you offer any services outside of full planning? We offer three packages:
Our Wedding Management is for the couple that is confident in handling the planning on their own, but wants a sounding board and be able to hand off the details as they get closer to their date. We manage the vendors, logistics and orchestrate the many details on the wedding day.
Partial Planning is for the couple that wants a more customized experience. Assisting couples in the areas that may be causing unnecessary stress.
Full Planning is for the couple that wants a dedicated professional to ensure every aspect of their day has been beautifully designed and expertly managed from start to finish.
Do you offer services on non-wedding days? We love to assist with other wedding related events, such as showers, luncheons, rehearsal dinners, etc.. We can add this on to any wedding package.
What are your top 3 favorite venues and why? Oh this is such a hard one. We are so lucky to have worked at so many! I will say that the top 3 venues we are at consistently throughout the year are: The Mayflower Hotel (DC), Sequoia (DC) and The Riverview at Occoquan (VA). We absolutely love being at all three of these venues. Each one very different than the other. The staff is amazing and that makes it easy for us to keep saying yes when couples come to us for one of these spots.
What would your advice be to brides who don’t currently have a planner? Hire one! Hahaha!! You want a professional on your side. They are your sounding board and your biggest advocate. You want someone with experience and knows how to produce an amazing event AND also knows what to do if something goes wrong. Seek out that planner whom you trust and you will be in great hands!
Why did you decide to be a wedding planner? Short answer: Out of college I had the opportunity to be an Event Manager with Marriott and handled all types of events for 7 years, including weddings. After that I went to an association as an Event Manager. I thought I wanted the Monday through Friday lifestyle, but I ended up hating it. It was very boring and every meeting was exactly the same. I missed the connection with couples and the creativity and fun weddings brought. I started All The Dainty Details as a side gig, but I eventually knew that weddings were my passion.
What is your favorite part about wedding planning? The actual wedding day. There are so many great moments to witness, like the walk down the aisle, special dances and even the toasts. Even though we are probably tired, hungry and sweaty, these moments put the biggest smiles on our faces, because we helped get them to this point and it’s such a rewarding feeling.
One piece of advice for current brides wedding planning: Take deep breath! Everything will get done. And trust the professionals!
Favorite current wedding trend: A wedding trend that I am loving is individuality. It’s wonderful to see so many couples completely ignoring traditional wedding standards and making their own rules. We are huge advocates of doing what feels right to you!
Favorite drink: I love Chick-fil-A sweet tea. Might be my weakness. Always a fav for a wedding day!
Favorite thing to do when you’re not working? If I am not working, I am busy playing mom. However, my twin boys are just starting kindergarten this year, so I’ll have a little more free time on my hands. I love staying active – I try to work out or go on walks daily. I also love to read! I must go to the library to grab a handful of books every couple of weeks.
Thank you Mallory, for this amazing interview and expert advice from a Charlottesville Virginia wedding planner!! Wishing you the best wedding season!!
Brides, are you looking for more wedding inspo? Check these out:
Vintage Inspired Tented Reception
With love,
Katelyn Workman
