Caribe Cordial

The Weddingparadises.com interview with: Liliana, Caribe Cordial

In which year did you start your wedding planning business and which reasons made you start working in this job?
We started in 2006 focusing on wedding planning . We were organizing events in other cities of the country but the most beautiful wedding destination in Colombia is Cartagena. We decided to focus on that market and create a differentiated offering based on our experience planning events in Spain and USA. We focus on offering value, helping with the planning process and providing tips and guidance to the brides. We also saw the importance of providing a "warm welcome" to every guest and to make their stay in Cartagena memorable. Selecting a destination wedding like Cartagena means that the bride and groom want their family and friends to experience part of the cultural experience and we help couples finding the right mix of cultures based on their guests and the theme of the event.

Do you work alone or in a team?
We work as a team. We want to make sure that there is more than one person following the details of the event and that we can leverage different skills and points of view. That helps us offer a more complete set of ideas to the bride of decoration, set up of the event, etc.. we also have some members of the team that are better negotiators and help the bride and groom get better value from the vendors. We have seen other wedding planners work alone. However, what if the wedding planner gets sick or she/he not able to perform at his best on an event?, we find having a team creates a more reliable environment to deliver 110% in every occasion.

In which languages can you take care of your customers?
English and Spanish primarily.

What are the main regions where you are planning weddings?
We plan weddings in Cartagena, Colombia

What are your personal favourites regarding:
a) a location for a destination wedding in your home region?
We certainly believe Cartagena has the most to offer as a destination wedding in Colombia, great venues, excellent food, music and a very professional set of providers to make the event unforgettable.
b) a location for a destination wedding in the rest of the world?
Greek Islands. We find the location romantic, beautiful and perfect for family and friends.
c) a location for a wedding reception in your home region?
We love organizing weddings at the Castillo de San Felipe. It is a unique location for large weddings. The view, the history, the set up makes it very unique.
d) a location for a wedding reception in in the rest of the world?
The Amalfi coast in Italy is another fantastic location for a reception.
e) a country / region / hotel for a honeymoon?
Blue palace resort in Greece, for a relaxing easy going honey moon
Cala luna, in Costa Rica. Great location, beach and if you want to go around and go horse back riding, visiting the volcano is fantastic! the villas are private and there is fantastic service.

Have you organised weddings for prominent people?
The owners of la Mansion Deko a very large famous company in Colombia. The wedding of Joseph Toledo and Monica Bensour. It was a Jewish wedding with 3 days of events at the Santa Teresa, Santa Clara and the final reception at the Castillo San Felipe with over 170 guests. (two pictures attach)

Have you already organised weddings for couples from outside your country?
90% of the weddings we coordinate are from couples that live outside Colombia. Primarily from US, UK, France, Spain and Australia.

Which strengths of your company would you like to mention?
We have an excellent team that is working very closely with the couple in getting a very good perspective on their wedding vision. We have a very organized plan that helps us track all the details and keep the bride and groom informed. We offer the best selection of photographers (we work with vendors outside Cartagena as well) and decorators and we have novel partnerships with companies in Bogota and Argentina to constantly have novel ideas to help brides personalized their wedding with details. We have a blog with tips and we publish them also based on requests and comments from brides on topics they want us to discuss.

Could you tell us a little story about something special that you have experienced during your work as a wedding planner?
Wedding planners gets you very close to the couples. You learn about them, you get close to them and you want to do anything to help them have the most beautiful wedding event. I find amazing that we keep in contact after years. We feel part of a very memorable occasion in their lives and we remember every couple.

Is there any movie about your work?

You might have heard about the upcoming new yearly event "Weddingparadises.com Wedding Planning World Championship" and the website www.youweddingplanner.com, where all multiple choice questions for the competition will be published soon. - If you could choose one question for this about something special
in your home region: how would this question look like?

What old is the Castillo de San Felipe?
What is a limonada de coco? How do you try it?

+++

Thank you for the interview!

Caribe Cordial
www.caribecordial.com