4 Burning Questions Answered: Wedding Planning 2024 by Valarie Falvey

October 4, 2023

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I am so excited to share with you my sit down with my long-time friend and colleague, Valarie Falvey, the owner and founder of Kirkbrides. Kirkbrides Wedding Planning & Design creates magical and organized weddings and events throughout the Cleveland area and beyond. With a decade and a half of planning and design experience nationwide, they help couples with every step of the planning process. They do fantastic work and have been on our top list of planners we work with since I started Borrow Curated! We've been dying for them to answer our top 4 questions for event planning advice in 2024~ read on to learn more!

ANN: What are 3 big mistakes you wish brides and grooms wouldn’t make on the big day?

VALARIE: Couples can get the best overall experience for their day by trusting the vendors they've hired and the processes they use to produce fabulous events instead of trying to change and modify how people work. We also hear constantly that Kirkbrides was the best decision they made in the entire planning process, whether for planning or coordination, so we say not hiring a planner is a big mistake! Lastly, worrying incessantly about things no one can control, such as the weather, isn't suitable for anyone. We highly recommend making the best effort to participate in your enjoyment of the planning and the weekend because this usually only happens once for people so it's essential to try to let the little things slide and be grateful for the true meaning of the celebration no matter what happens.

Planning + Design; Kirkbrides Photography: Tiffany Joy Photography

Floral Design: Molly Taylor + Co.

ANN: What are a few ways to customize your event and make it feel special you like to recommend to clients?

VALARIE: Personalized decor - there are so many ways now that you can personalize your day including beautiful signage, custom dance floor wraps, personalized bar or DJ booth decor wraps and thoughtful stationery for the day including seating assignments, menus, programs.

Thoughtful music choices - think about all of your song choices for the ceremony, cocktail hour, reception events like first dance, cake cutting and so on. Take time to make this the soundtrack to your relationship!

Allowing personal touches from friends and family who may give a special toast or share a special talent. We have seen amazing moments at weddings when this happens!

Planning + Design: Kirkbrides Venue: The Madison Floral Design: Molly Taylor + Co.

ANN: Kirkbrides has always done an amazing job with organization and logistics. What enables you to be so thorough for every client?

VALARIE: Thank you for your kind words!! We have a tried and true process that all planners on our team utilize including our meetings with clients, timelines, venue walk-throughs, confirmations and staffing for the wedding days. We have been operating in Cleveland planning and coordinating weddings since 2005. Since then, we have added to and modified our process to suit the trends and shifting landscapes of weddings and our planning team collaborates together consistently to learn from the 100+ weddings our team coordinates per year and share specific information to the Cleveland area's venues and vendors. I personally enjoy managing our team of 35 employees on the back-end working with hiring, training, scheduling and team communicatio

Planning + Design: Kirkbrides Floral Design: Plantscaping + Blooms Venue: The Cleveland Museum of Art

ANN: What are your top 5 favorite reception spaces to work in Cleveland and why?

VALARIE:

It is so hard to pick just 5! I truly feel that a big strength of the Cleveland wedding market is our wide range of amazing venues available to couples! Here are a few of our favorites:

Union Club - we have been doing weddings here since our beginning in Cleveland! We love that the entire club is closed so the wedding takes center stage on that day. There are so many different picturesque spots for the ceremony and I believe our team has done all combinations there! Not to mention they have amazing food!

Ritz Carlton - everyone feels like a vip when going to the Ritz and Cleveland's boutique property is no exception. This is another long time venue for us, as they have several spaces for the different celebrations. The service is impeccable and the food and beverage is always top notch.

The Country Club - a long time classic favorite. Amazing service, gorgeous setting.

Club Hillbrook - a fairytale location hidden up in the woods. Can't beat the magic of this venue!

Gordon Green - one of the newer Cleveland venues very close to downtown. The staff has worked hard to create an upscale trendsetting venue and GG can also take on a wide range of design concepts.

Cleveland Museum of Art - Feeling like you're outside in the atrium event space in one of the most stately and vast venues. Couple amazing food and drinks with the outdoor setting for photos and/or ceremony and the grandeur of this whole venue is hard to beat.

The Team of Kirkbrides