Meet the new wedding planner at 116 Pall Mall
Born in the USA, Rebecca has worked on events at prestigious venues on both sides of the Atlantic including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the Design Museum.
She says that watching the bride and groom’s faces when they walk into a room filled with their nearest and dearest just after tying the knot, “truly makes me beyond excited.”
Here, Rebecca talks about wedding decorations, how she will work with couples to make the big day extra special and why 116 Pall Mall is the perfect venue for a London wedding...
A Personalised Service
The idea is that we want to give more of a personalised, unique planning aspect to a wedding, rather than a couple simply booking the venue and us simply taking the order.
For anybody who calls and makes an enquiry, I will be their point of contact and I will organise the site visits. One of the many great things about working with 116 Pall Mall is that there are so many options and rooms for what size of wedding you want to plan, and so many different ways you can utilise the location.
The Versatile Wedding Venue
If you’re looking to get married in the capital, it has such a great London feel. It’s in the heart of the city but once you’re inside you don’t feel the hustle and bustle. You’re not in a hotel where there could be other people moving around. You get the exclusive hire of a famous London venue, that has different rooms to suit different styles.
Sometimes people might see a fantastic space like the Nash Room which we can decorate and turned into a beautiful room for a classic luxury wedding.
But you don’t necessarily have to think about using one of the bigger rooms upstairs for dancing. I met with a couple recently and they’re going to have a swing band but they might have it in Café Duke.
Why not use the wine bar after dinner? That could be a really good space for dancing and drinks. I love giving couples a few different options and allowing them to think a bit outside the box.
I see 116 Pall Mall as classic London with a modern twist. It’s a venue filled with great photo opportunities. And I just love that staircase!
Planning the Modern Wedding
I got married in London, although neither myself or my husband are British.
What I think has changed most since I moved here is that weddings used to be ‘this is how my parents did it, this is how my cousin did it, this is the package I want.’
What I also originally found with a lot of venues and caterers is that ‘this is what you do.’ But it doesn’t always need to be so traditional. You don’t just hang up bunting because it’s what you’re expected to do.
With the rise of wedding planners, magazines, websites and particularly social media, brides see things they like, things that could be described as very ‘Instagrammable’. They have more ideas about what sort of wedding they would like, and this has really changed the wedding industry.
So, it’s nice to have a wedding planner or stylist to be able to put those ideas together and make them real. One of the big things for me is around adding unique touches to go with the decorations and getting those little details right.
What You Can Expect From 116
From the first call or email, I will always ask the couple if they have a specific date in mind. That is super important. But if they are flexible, I will send the initial rates and start from there.
The next really important thing is to let them see the actual space, meet me and meet the team.
From there we start the planning, the catering, the décor, working with the florists, the colours they want to use, the entertainment they are going to have...
This will all be dictated by the date. So, the couple I mentioned earlier are getting married in July but we have another couple who have booked November 2020.
Benugo is the caterer at 116 and they work with some of the most famous venues in London including the Natural History Museum and the V&A. They are a very talented team.
Also, because 116 hosts more than weddings - from conferences to dinners to parties – this means we have a lot of suppliers to choose from. Rather than just providing couples with one option, we have our ‘Little Black Book’ of suppliers.
Above all, we want to give couples the greatest day of their lives in an amazing London wedding venue.
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CELEBRATE YOUR WEDDING AT 116 PALL MALL
An unforgettable day in an extraordinary venue. 116 Pall Mall is one of London’s most majestic London wedding venues. You’ll be spoilt for choice with our wide range of spaces, all ideal for every kind of ceremony.
You can even hire the whole venue on weekends, with capacities of up to 1,500 standing or 50—250 seated.
Make an enquiry for more information or to arrange a tour.