Time Up With Wedding Planner Catherine Cafui Of JKABRIDAL

Do you need a wedding planner? First, let me make this clear, wedding planners aren’t just for the rich folks or the movie stars or celebrities you see on TV, you also can have a wedding planner. Actually you NEED a wedding planner, you deserve a wedding planner and you should have it. You already have enough on your plate and do not need to add the stress of planning a wedding to what you already have. On a one on one interview with wedding planner Cafui of JKABRIDAL, she gave us more insights into what wedding planning is all about.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? Am Catherine. A Bridal Stylist and a Wedding Planner. I have been doing this for five years and counting. I just love the idea of putting a beautiful look together that works. I am quite quirky, I love working with people, I also love working with colors and seeing how it all comes together. I am quite ambitious, friendly, a Dog-lover and most importantly passionate about my beliefs and everything my heart delights in.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR BRAND. As stated earlier, I work as an event planner and stylist under my company CaAdel Weddings & Events. CaAdel Events is an event planning and styling company which specializes in helping individuals plan their events whilst working with their budgets. I am also a bridal stylist with Jkabridal boutique where we make the dreams of modern and sophisticated brides come true by helping them chose the right dress for their body type and occasion.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO WEDDING PLANNING AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU? Well, I have always been hands-on-person and quite organized like any other little girl. And I was always involved in planning events at school and church. Then someone one day made a comment at an event we organized that if she were to get married she would definitely want me planning it, because of how well I coordinated the event: it was during that time I was trying to figure which career path to take so that comment definitely helped
IF CAFUI IS NOT WORKING WHAT WOULD SHE BE CAUGHT UP WITH? I completed fashion school not so long ago so I would probably be caught either altering a wedding gown or designing a dress for a prospective client if not I would probably be out and about discovering new places as I love taking trips. I am also a family oriented person so I could also be spending time with the family or with my other half.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS YOU TAKE IN PLANNING A WEDDING? First step I take is to figure out a budget with my clients during our first consultation, and then we work out according to their budget the look they want to create. We then move on to discuss intricate detailing such as the need to bring other vendors on board. After these things, we start putting things together working within time frame.
TELL US ABOUT THE PREPARATION THAT GOES INTO A WEDDING BEFORE THE BIG DAY? A lot of preparation. As a planner and coordinator as well as stylist, you need to be at your utmost vigilance because if you are not persistent and organized, it could all go wrong. It takes a lot of great team work to get the finalized look the guests can, appreciate and love. You become a personal bodyguard, a handyman, sometimes a babysitter and more than often even play the role of a personal assistant just to ensure everything stays according to the vision.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE BUDGET TO PLAN A WHOLE WEDDING AND WHATS YOUR HIGHEST AND LOWEST BUDGET YOU’VE WORKED WITH? Lowest budget I have worked with is GHC 10,000 and that was about 2 years ago. The highest was about GHC 60,000 for a couple who had a large guest list.
WHAT ARE THE POINTS YOU CONSIDER WHEN YOU CHOOSING THE BEST DRESS FOR THE BRIDE? First of all I prefer to consider the bride’s personality as most often, the bride’s dress can reflect their personality. Then the body shape is taken into consideration as well, I always advice brides to look for a dress which flatters and accentuate their body. Often times I have brides whose only idea of a color is white but then it becomes my duty to advise them on the color which would flatter their tone.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Love and togetherness really inspires me. How can you not be inspired by love? I am a romantic really! Just seeing people together and in love is something that really pushes me to attain the best.
HOW LUCRATIVE IS THIS BUSINESS AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED? I wouldn’t say lucrative but rather, I would say it can be very rewarding financially if the budget is well maintained and targets are well executed but it can be very challenging with the constant rise of prices on things in the market and having to explain that to prospective clients as to why your prices shoots up is quite challenging. Sometimes you will lose money and you have to work tirelessly outside office hours to get all details accurate. But really, if you love it, then you do it all with a passion.
WHAT IS THAT ONE DIFFICULTY YOU HAVE WHEN WORKING WITH CLIENTS? Hmm mm, sometimes when they get too many family members involved that can be quite stressful, am not saying it is a bad idea to have family members trying to help you on your big day, but it can be quite hard to express the view of “you have employed me to do this so let me do this” without stepping on a few toes. But when the client let the families know that everything is being taking care of and they can probably help by supporting financially, then everyone would be happy.
DO YOU OFFER DESTINATION WEDDINGS? Yes we do. If requested, we can definitely deliver.
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT IT? Same way as planning a non destination wedding. The only difference would be trying to work with vendors from where the couple would be getting married and often times going there to scout locations and to know the area.
WHAT ARE THE 5 KEY POINTS YOU LOOK OUT FOR? The location. Vendors we could work with. Whether there are amnesties we can use to deliver the look. The weather. Making sure our clients are satisfied and happy.
YOUR LAST WORDS TO BRIDES-TO-BE? Ask questions before you choose your planner. Always be open-minded, feel free to allow your mind to be inspired. When it come to your dresses, Shop early. Be experimental, we are in 2017, there are so many styles and shapes with fabrics available… feel free to look sassy, classy and of course elegant.