From inception up until the setting up process, how did you start your business?
Having had a background in organising parties and events for established premises, I noticed that too much emphasis was exercised by clients and venue owners on cutting costs, as opposed to providing quality service, innovation, ingenuity and offering real value.
Being dissatisfied with the level of service, in my opinion at that time dished out by certain players within the industry, I decided to create an event and wedding planning business that put value and innovation first.
My target market was major corporate and private clients offering boutique tailored solutions.
Secondly, to also meet the needs of clients with smaller budgets with a “less is more policy”, cutting out the fluff and concentrating on the fundamental four elements of a great event: Aesthetics, atmosphere, culinary delights and exceptional service.
From the outset, even before doing the financials, I researched for over seven months, trying to find the best vendors across the industry and also suppliers that provided great value for money.
Starting out in a home based office to keep running costs down in early 1997, I was able to build a reputation and an expectation for real boutique weddings and events in Victoria, Australia and in a few cases in exclusive destinations worldwide.
Has your Greek Australian background played any role in your business?
Being a proud Hellene in Melbourne has it’s advantages. Roughly 10 percent of Melbournians are of Greek descent. Many vendors in our industry are of Hellenic origin.
Familiarity assists in building rapport and collaboration. I must admit, that some of the best people in our industry are also proud Hellenes.
How is business currently?
Despite the financial slowdown, we are as busy as ever. People will, regardless of the state of the economy, value sound and creative advice for their most special occasions.
How do you deal with cross cultural weddings?
Living and working in a complex multicultural society, cross cultural weddings make up more than half of our clients. Having dealt with over 480 couples from diverse cultural backgrounds has given us great insight and introduced us to a variety of traditions that have enriched our lives.
What is your vision for the future of your business?
To maintain our ethos which hasn’t wavered since day one; to deliver real quality customer service, boutique tailored solutions and unforgettable occasions for all parties to enjoy. We expect to grow our wedding and event business laterally, increase the number of students for our wedding planning school and travel to the world’s best wedding and event destinations.
What would you say stands out as the comparative advantage of your business over the competition?
Giving customers what they want when they want it is our main point of difference. There are no packages just individualised and customised solutions. We may recommend certain suppliers more often than others because they are more consistent and reliable and that’s very important in this business.
Your suppliers are by association a reflection of your service. Yet, our large network of vendors for every service type, enables us to provide flexible and numerous options for our clients with the final decision being theirs.