Vendor Spotlight: My Beloved Events, Lauren Gallarini

Let me tell you a little about the talented Lauren Gallarini of  My Beloved Events, she is apart of a new series that will showcase all of my favorite vendors! If you have been following me, you know Lauren. I shot her wedding a few years back and she is also a great friend! One of my favorite things about Lauren is her attention to detail, amazing patience and her creativity!

For me, as your photographer, I LOVE when my couples hire a wedding planner. Overall, it just makes the day go much smoother without having to keep track of the couple, the timeline and everyone else too! I highly recommend finding some room in your budget and invest in a planner.

I don’t know if you knew this fun little fact about me, but I was totally one of those brides without the “bride gene”…A tomboy and at heart, it literally took a village for me to get my act together for our own wedding about 6 years ago. I had absolutely NO CLUE as to what I was in for and what a wedding entailed. Funny how much that has changed. Back then, I had Lauren, my sister Starr and my two talented aunts to hold my hand through the process. So if you think you may need a little hand-holding, Lauren is your girl!

Tell me a little about your background, when did you decide Wedding Planning was for you? What made you want to be a wedding planner?

I knew I wanted to be a wedding planner as soon as I saw the movie ” The Wedding Planner” with Jennifer Lopez. But what girl didn’t after watching that movie? I started off on the catering side of the wedding and event world and quickly knew I wanted to be more hands-on with couples and be more creative with different venues. So I stepped into the Day of Coordinating world with an amazing company Pop the Champagne. Then my love for weddings grew even more and I found myself wanting to be involved more and more. So I decided this was the year to start my own company My Beloved Events which specializes in Full Planning and Design!

What is the best part of the wedding day or planning process?

I absolutely love customizing each wedding for each couple. It’s so much fun to get to know a couple and designing their wedding to be totally them!

What trends do you see in 2018? Does the Pantone color of the year play a part in the upcoming styles?

I think more patterns and textures will come to play when designing a wedding. Also, I think that color will make it’s way back into the wedding world in 2018. We’re moving from a very neutral pallet (nudes, greenery, and white tones) to incorporating more color this next year. It will be really fun to incorporate more color this next year.

What is the difference between Day of vs the whole shebang? What type of bride needs these services?

Day of is for more of the hands-on bride. She is the one doing all the work with booking the venue, vendors, and coming up with the overall look of their wedding. She basically is hiring someone to set up everything and coordinate the day of. Whereas Full Planning and Design is really for a bride that has a vision but doesn’t know where to start. Full planning is literally hiring someone to help you through the whole wedding process. We help find the perfect venue for them, design a beautiful overall look for their wedding, and really help them with every little thing along the way so it’s a seamless beautiful event.

I loved working with Lauren for Julie and Damien’s wedding..more on that soon! By the way, behind the scenes photos for my vendors are ALWAYS A MUST!

A little MORE about Lauren..

What do you like most about owning your own business?

I love the relationships I get to have with my couples. I chose to own a wedding planning company because I am passionate about people and their marriage. I truly invest in my couples to make not only their wedding day beautiful but also pour into their marriage as well.

What do you think your biggest strength as an event planner is..

My biggest strength would be staying organized, open communication with my couples, and overall design for a wedding.

Where do you draw your inspiration?

I really draw inspiration from upcoming fashion trends, home decor trends, my personal life and the couple.

Do you believe in “the ideal client”?

Yes! An ideal client for me would be creative or not afraid of creative ideas, open communication, organized, strong relationship with their fiance, and who really wants to enjoy their wedding day!

That time she helped plan my sister’s wedding.. Don’t worry, they are besties!! I was busy being a bridesmaid that day as well <3

Photo Credit goes to Kristy – My partner at Dear Diamond Weddings.

The last thing you’re DYING to know…

Let’s say a bride doesn’t hire a planner, what are your words of advice for them?

Make sure you are a very organized person if you’re typically not you better get organized really fast! Do your research on vendors, a day of timeline and get yourself set up with a great pre-wedding checklist to keep you on task for your wedding. Make sure you have someone who will take charge to set everything up for your wedding and keep you on time with all your events throughout your wedding day. This person should not be a guest at your wedding but someone who will focus just on you two!

Thanks Lauren for answering all of our burning questions!!

It truly does take a village to get the wedding of your dreams! The vendors you choose will definitely make a difference in the process. Many of you have never done this before, this is more than likely your first and last wedding. So let your vendors educate you through the process, be open and honest about things like budget, style and of course expectations! Thankfully, I was super lucky with the talented crew of ladies that I had in my life. So much so, that I became inspired picked my camera back up again and forged my way into the wedding industry.

Lastly, I have a ton of tips for you and planning your wedding, however, I will just start with this one: Don’t play in the pool till all day on the same day of your wedding..you may end up a little lobster-ish. Which Lauren TOTALLY warned me about..but did this Jameson drinking excited bride listen? No! By the ceremony, my makeup was literally melting off my face too hahaha but guess what? It still doesn’t matter because this photo proudly hangs on my wall in my living room. Cherish the memories people! Mistakes and all! No one can ever take this moment of happiness away from us regardless of my lovely tan lines!

Photo Credit goes to the lovely Kathryn Colby Photography.

Before I forget, I wanted to share some photos from our annual session together! Here are some recent photos from a shoot we planned for the fall this past year…Lauren and Geoff (the hubby) just melt my heart everytime I get to photograph them. I feel so lucky to get to continue to be apart of their lives each year when I take their photos for the holidays. She chose to go a little boho with deep tones – LOVE IT!! Enjoy!

You can find Lauren on Insta: mybelovedevents 

Also her website: https://mybelovedevent.com/