Getting to Know - Lamare London - The Wedding Community

Company Name: Lamare London

Interview with: Liesl Lamare

Location / Coverage: Based in London, planning weddings across Greater London, the Home Counties and the Cotswolds. Lamare London can also plan further afield upon request.

What does Lamare London do?

Lamare London is a leading, luxury wedding and event planning company delivering exceptional and unforgettable events for their discerning clients. Our speciality is really getting to know our clients and personalising their wedding to meet their unique requests, styles and tastes.

We like to think we add TLC to each of our events through our creative expertise and attention to detail to give them that wow-factor which expresses our clients’ personalities — the ‘TLC’ at Lamare London stands for Touches of Luxury and Character.

No two weddings are alike in our portfolio, and we like to push the boundaries of our client’s imagination as to what is possible.

How did Lamare London come about and how long has the business been going?

I started my wedding planning business to break the ‘package’ mould offered to couples in the UK which I found limiting and impersonal. Instead I wanted couples to experience tailor-made luxury weddings, unique and reflective of their own personal style.

Who works at Lamare London and what are your roles?

I am the creative director and founder. I personally look after each and every one of our clients, pulling in a team of crème de la crème event professionals which I carefully select to match each couple’s personal style and vision for their wedding day.

Have you always been interested in weddings and wanted to be a wedding planner?

Having worked in corporate events for many years, I made the decision to start planning weddings soon after my own wedding planning journey several years ago.

Weddings hold a very special place in my heart, and it’s a joy and privilege to be part of such an important occasion. I enjoy taking a couple’s brief, interpreting it and bringing it to life while working with exceptionally talented suppliers on new ideas at fabulous venues. Weddings give me immense personal satisfaction from seeing clients and their guests enjoy themselves.

Which areas of the UK do you cover?

Based in London, we plan weddings across Greater London, the Home Counties and the Cotswolds. Lamare London can also plan further afield upon request.

What services can Lamare London offer to couples planning their wedding?

We have a Full Wedding Planning Service as well as a Partial Planning Service.

Full Wedding Planning includes everything from start-to-finish, carefully taking the couple’s brief, dreams and what makes them tick into account. We help the couple find their perfect wedding venue as well as introduce them to the best suppliers for their budget and style. We are also there on the wedding day until the last supplier leaves to oversee and manage the nitty gritty logistics to ensure the couple can fully enjoy their special day.

Partial Wedding Planning is a bespoke service, depending on how much the couple have been able to plan on their own. This service is perfect for couples who may feel under time pressure or be stuck on what to do next and need unbiased guidance to plan the final elements of their wedding.

For both services we encourage our couples to be as involved in the wedding planning process as they would like, or are physically able to be. Whatever their involvement they can be confident they will remain in complete control of final decisions.

Do you offer any services other than wedding planning?

Yes, we can also help with any corporate events as well as private parties.

Why should a couple choose you to help them plan their big day?

The weddings we plan are luxurious, personal and stylish. It is very important to us that we get on well with the couple and have a deep understanding of what they like and dislike. We may be the wedding planner who will guide you through the process, but the day is all about the couple and making the wedding planning journey as fun and seamless as possible.

Have you taken part in any wedding planner training or courses?

Yes, I have been trained by leading wedding planners both in the UK and South Africa (where I’m originally from).

Which part of helping to plan a wedding do you enjoy the most and why?

I don’t have a particular favourite part of planning a wedding. I feel everything plays such a vital role in delivering and exceeding my client’s expectations for their magical wedding day. That said, I do enjoy getting to know my clients really well — what their favourite restaurants are, their hobbies, where they like to travel, amongst other things, so I can inspire them to weave personal details into making their day unique to them.

Do you have a specific style of wedding that you like to help create?

Absolutely not. Lamare London does not offer any cookie-cutter packages where it’s a one-size-fits-all. We love getting to know our clients for their individuality as well as their interests as a couple, and so no two weddings at Lamare London are ever alike.

What is your most memorable experience of planning one of your clients’ weddings?

This is a very difficult question! I have so many favourite moments from so many weddings that I simply cannot choose one in particular. This may seem like a cop-out answer, but no two weddings I’ve worked on have been the same, so it’s impossible to compare any of them.

With that said, some of my favourite moments from weddings include:

A walk-through Narnia wardrobe lined with faux fur coats to enter a Winter Wonderland themed wedding for a movie-loving couple. This wedding had a magical light dusting of snow fall during the first dance!
The beauty of a fabulously long bespoke wedding dress train that took up a considerable length of the wedding aisle. The bride wanted the magnificent drama of a long train and had it elongated during the alteration process!
Secretly converting a wedding’s elegant, white and traditional drinks reception room into a dramatic and sexy Speakeasy, complete with chesterfield sofas, gramophone and Tiffany lamps for the evening party — all while guests were having their dinner, none-the-wiser of the transformation.
When a bride gave her speech (I love brides that do speeches!) in Portuguese after months of translating, practising and checking her pronunciation, all for the benefit of her Portuguese groom and his family. The guests each had discrete envelopes on the tables which when opened revealed the English translation of her speech. The groom was so touched by the gesture that I witnessed the tears in his eyes, which was incredibly moving.
The fountain sparklers added to a fabulous wedding cake, adorned in edible sequins, as a surprise to the bride and groom as their wedding was on the 4th July (the bride and her family were American).

What’s your top tip for planning the perfect wedding?

Planning your wedding can be very time consuming on top of your work and life commitments. I may be biased, but I would advise you to strongly consider hiring a wedding planner to eliminate all the stress out of planning your wedding.

You want to look back at your wedding planning journey and wedding day itself with fondness rather than resentment or relief that it’s all over if ‘wedmin’ starts to consume your life.

Just be sure to choose a planner you connect with and who understands you, so you can work together with their professional guidance and impartial advice to achieve an unforgettable wedding that reflects you both.

A wedding planner could pay for itself in the long run by avoiding any costly mistakes, and a planner will always take your budget into consideration when carefully matching you to the best suppliers your money can buy.

What are the top trends for weddings in 2017?

After Pantone announced their colour of the year as ‘Greenery’ we predict a lot more green and the use of foliage at weddings. We also shared our other predicted wedding trends for 2017 in this post on the Wedding Community.

Describe a typical day in the life of Lamare London

No two days are alike at Lamare London HQ! But generally my days start early as I have a young daughter and three dogs (a Beagle and two Maltese) that need feeding and fuss. Thankfully I’m a morning person! My mornings always consist of coffee whilst I catch up on social media, read through emails and plan my action list for the day.

During the week my day starts with responding to emails, which is often followed by meetings with suppliers in Central London — whether it’s to see a venue, florist or stationer, for example. My afternoons are usually back at my desk planning clients’ weddings and/or prepping for a wedding that coming Saturday.

I always aim to finish work by 6pm, but I occasionally have an evening consultation with prospective or existing clients, so the odd working day could finish around 8pm.