I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Canada of First Coast Weddings and Events, Inc.. What’s most clear to be about Heather is that she cares about and gives 100% to all of her clients.
Please provide your business’ mission or vision statement.
First Coast Weddings and Events was founded in 2002 with the mission to create stylish, fun, and memorable weddings on Florida’s First Coast. We realize that every couple is unique, and every wedding should be too.
What do you love about what you do?
I love making every event unique, I think that any celebration, whether it is a wedding, birthday party, or even corporate event, should have it’s own identity and reflect the guest(s) of honor.
How did you get into doing what you do?
I have a degree in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations. My original goal was to work for a corporation planning events like trade shows and media events. When I graduated from college, I took a job at a resort in Orlando to get some behind-the-scenes experience, and really loved it. When the hotel’s wedding specialist left her position, they asked me to take over, and I have been doing weddings ever since! When I moved to Jacksonville in 2001, I saw a real need for professional wedding planners, and I began doing research. I started First Coast Weddings and Events in 2002!
What do you wear when you’re doing what you do?
My office attire tends to be business casual – I like to look professional, but part of the joy of business ownership is setting my own rules! At events, I tend to wear black so that I blend in with the background – but I usually try to throw in a little accent of the wedding colors somewhere!
What’s a tip you’d give to current couples planning their weddings?
I urge everyone to do their research when hiring any event professional – ask questions about their portfolio, call/email past clients, and ask for references from other vendors too.
If you have worked at a gay wedding, what is one thing you had to change your assumptions about?
I find that gay weddings are usually more moving and sentimental than heterosexual weddings. It’s weird, but men and women (women especially) tend to plan a wedding exactly like their friends or sisters or mothers. They want everything to look like it is from a bridal magazine. My gay couples tend to be more unique in their thinking, and they have such obstacles to overcome in their lives that they want their day to really reflect their love – not just be a great party.
Do you have a favorite “moment” that happens while you’re doing your job?
My favorite moment comes at the end of the night – as the couple is getting ready to leave the reception, and they hug me and tell me how much fun they had. That is always my goal; I want them to relax and enjoy the day, not be stressed out!
Rave time!
“I had the most wonderful experience working with First Coast Weddings & Events! The professionalism and wealth of knowledge about wedding trends and vendors was priceless. I feel as though I lost a friend after our wedding planning ended!” – Kimberly, bride
“I just wanted to thank you so much for all your hard work!!! (and your assistant of course!!) Everything was perfect and I could not have asked for a more beautiful wedding!! It really was great having you there and thank you so much for doing such a fantastic job! I really felt like you had everything under control and I didn’t even think about any of the details, which was great…and neither did our Moms which is always a good thing!! ;) Thank you again, and we could not have done it without you!” – Liz, bride
“You are fabulous! You are calming and soothing and always knew the answers to my questions! I am so happy I made the decision to have you as my wedding planner! In the future, if I need your services again, I will not hesitate to call!” – Linda, mother of the bride
[...] am honored to be in the Featured Vendor Profile today on the So You’re EnGAYged Blog! If you aren’t familiar with this relatively-new [...]
Great feature on a wonderful coordinator! Thanks for posting.
How about one on us?? ;-)
MW Savant, CEO
savvyplanners.com, LLC