There are so, so many reasons that I'm grateful I had Gina by my side during my wedding planning process, but I'll go into detail about the top three! First, Gina is majorly intuitive: when we started planning together, I honestly didn't have a strong sense of what I wanted from the wedding -- I knew I wanted it to be beautiful, small but elegant, and outside at my parents' house, but beyond that my ideas were vague. Gina helped me solidify them, not by substituting her own ideas for mine (something a lesser planner would have done), but by asking the right questions, studying my inspirational photos, and reading between the lines of all the information I did provide. When she first put all of those ideas together into a design plan, I pretty much cried from joy: the plan perfectly intuited what I wanted my wedding to look and feel like. So, that's reason number one: Gina really takes the time to get to know you, and she will personalize the wedding to your vision, giving you exactly what you wanted even if you didn't quite know how to put it into words.
Second, Gina is really, really experienced. This matters for a lot of reasons, but for me it came into play in one particular way: by making sure my vision as the bride survived the twists, turns, and inevitable unexpected obstacles of the planning process. Wedding planning, even at the best of times, can be an emotional undertaking. There are often a lot of people who have input, and there can be touchy feelings or difficult familial dynamics to navigate. Gina understands and works with and around such dynamics beautifully, which I think is a testament to her experience; believe me, there is no demand, disagreement, or drama you or your family could throw at her that Gina has not seen before, and navigated deftly. She kept everyone on my team not only calm, but usually happy and laughing throughout every step of the process -- and this even during the uncertainties of a busy, global-pandemic-impacted wedding season! She truly made me feel like I had an ally throughout the entire process, and I sincerely miss having the opportunity to work with her and hear from her regularly!
Finally, the third of my top-three reasons: Gina has long-running, time-tested relationships with all the best vendors: she knows everyone, and has probably worked with the best caterers, florists, pastry chefs, stylists, etc. multiple times over. The power of these relationships cannot be overstated; Gina will pair you with the right vendor for your particular vision, and that vendor will deliver at an extraordinarily high level, not only because they are the best, most talented in their fields (they are, of course!), but also because the lines of communication with Gina are well-established and seamless. Plainly put, Gina knows who to work with and how to work with them, and that's a skillset that simply cannot be substituted for in any way. No couple can build that kind of know-how for themselves over the course of planning a single event, which is precisely why it's so valuable to have the guidance and assistance of a professional like Gina.
The bottom line is this: Gina is just an absolute gem, and if you're lucky enough to secure her to plan your wedding, you'll be in the best of hands!