Welcome to a world of wedding ramblings.
Here you'll typically find an array of topics from fun, inspirational posts to a more thoughtful perspective on something topical.
There's no particular order or continuity to my blogging (sorry!) I just share my thoughts with you as and when they come to me. or I need to get something off my chest.
If there is anything in particular you'd like my take on then just let me know!
I have a confession. Life became busy and the blog became neglected and I’m sorry BUT I am now here and I’m holding myself accountable by saying I WILL be bringing you regular wedding content right here on the blog. There, I said it so now I must do it!
A quick hello if you’re new here, hi – I’m so happy you found me! I’ll keep it brief, but if you don’t know me then my name is Emily and I am a UK and destination wedding planner; I specialise in weddings in England, Spain and Italy and I LOVE it! To my clients I am the one-stop-wedding-planning-shop as I provide Complete Wedding Planning Management, covering everything from the initial wedding search, through supplier sourcing and booking management to on the day wedding coordination. Most importantly, my services are bespoke. Suggestions are tailored to you, based on your requirements, preferences and price point. I’ll give you my guidance and expertise, but the decisions are all YOURS.
Weddings by Emily Charlotte was established in 2015, so I now have nearly 10 years experience planning weddings – doesn’t time just fly?! A lot has changed for me recently, as in October 2023 I gave birth to my beautiful boy Jesse. Talking of time flying, he has just turned 1 which I honestly cannot believe.
I returned to work in May 2024 and I can’t lie, coming back has absolutely been a juggling act and in some ways has been my biggest challenge yet. When I first returned I felt totally overwhelmed. I wondered if I would be able to do my job as well as I could previously. The ability to oversee multiple things at once is a critical skill as a wedding planner, and mum-brain left me wondering if I’d be able to do something that once came so naturally. By nature I’m a control freak (I always say it proudly as it’s a trait that makes me good at my job), I like to do what I want to do, when and how I want to do it. Previously I could sit at a task and continue until I was happy with it, but throw a baby into the mix and that all changed. My schedule was no longer my own and it took a lot of getting used to. Rather ironically, I had to stop this here as my poorly baby was needing a cuddle nap, so the blog post was pushed to the side until 2 days later when I finally got a moment to pick it back up again – a prime example of learning to accept doing what I can, when I can.
I’ve now been back just over 5 months and I can confidently say I’ve found my feet – thank goodness! Whilst all the above is still true, I’ve learnt (and continue to learn!) how to balance things. My schedule may be different, but my attitude and dedication to my couples remains the same and it turns out planning a wedding is like riding a bike – I can still do it! I haven’t lost the ability to think across multiple tasks and most importantly I haven’t lost the love for the job so it’s all systems go for 2025 and 2026.
2025 is going to be a bit of a strange year for me; I’ve been lucky that since I started the business wedding season has been super busy, I’ve not advertised at all and bookings have organically come my way but maternity leave has definitely had an impact on the upcoming season. I made a very conscious decision to down tools whilst I adjusted to becoming a mum. My wonderful team managed existing bookings, but I deliberately put a pause on taking on new clients – I just couldn’t give new couples the experience they should have at the start of their planning, no one wants to book a planner and then do nothing for months, so I knew the enquiries and new bookings would have to wait until I was back in the office. It’s a decision that I stand by, as I could give Jesse my full attention, but it did mean that I was absent during the key enquiry season – October through to May – so I definitely missed the boat on a large volume of bookings.
There are always ‘short notice’ weddings, and I’m definitely still receiving enquiries about next year, so who knows what the upcoming season will bring. The good news is I have much more availability than I normally would at this stage, so if you’re looking for a 2025 wedding planner for your wedding in England, Spain or Italy, or even just an event coordinator for on-the-day wedding coordination then I’m your gal!
I’m very pleased to say that 2026 looks like it’s going to be business-as-usual, with some very exciting enquiries and bookings coming to fruition. They always feel so far away, but experience has taught me the will be here before we know it, so on with the planning it is…