Where were you born? Just north of Toronto, in Uxbridge.
What was your first job? Not including babysitting? Working with my dad in his office stuffing envelopes!
How long have you been in the business? 11 years.
If you could have any job in the business what would it be? Wedding and event coordinating in a resort…but if I were to stay here in Canada, I’d like to be a sales rep for a hotel chain or tour operator. But I do love my job!
What was your best FAM? I’m going to go with my Karisma FAM – gourmet inclusive. Karisma does it so well – they’re an amazing chain. I’m still impressed that I was on the 2nd floor and there was a plunge pool on my balcony.
What drives you crazy? A lot of things… People who expect you to be mind readers. There are a lot of couples who think you should know everything about them and their group.
How do you convince the couple to choose you? It’s building the relationship with them, making sure she doesn’t feel like bride number 35, and making them feel like you’re as excited as they are. I’m not a high pressure sales person for sure!
Do you have any time management strategies? I’m a list maker. Lists help a lot! And sometimes I’ll let the client know that I haven’t forgotten them but can’t get back to them for a day or two.
What trends are you seeing in the destination wedding business? We’re seeing the group numbers grow – in the past it was often just immediate family - to larger. We’ve seen up to 100 people. And we’re also seeing a greater interest in more “expensive” destinations such as the English Caribbean.
What’s the average planning time these days? We see couples starting their research two years out. And the planning process these days, I’d say averages 9 months.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received? You know what? This might sound hokey but it’s “Be yourself.” People will like you for who you are, not who you are pretending to be.
If you had to spend six months in a destination, which one would you pick? Can I have two? (laughs) Definitely Mexico, I lived in PVR as a destination rep for Signature and also somewhere different and crazy like Brazil.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? Probably something with kids. My mum did in-home day care and I’ve always loved kids.
If you’d like to be featured in Up Front, please email martha@gk.openjaw.xyz.
