Dreamy Weddings &
Tours is an internet based wedding planning business.
We began operations in the year 2000 and we now operate in 7
islands namely St Kitts, Nevis, St Lucia, Antigua, St Marten,
Dominica & Grenada. Our overall aim is to provide our clients
with a truly wonderful and unique experience not only of their
wedding but their entire vacation.
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CM: How long have you been in the Wedding
Planning business and why did you get into it?
DW: I’ve been in the wedding business
since 1987 with my family’s wedding boutique but I started
Dreamy Weddings in 2000. I had been giving considerable thought
to the idea of opening an internet based business for some time,
as I believe that is the only level playing field for us in developing
or underdeveloped countries.
I wanted to go into a service
oriented business and I realised that lots of tourists viewed the
Caribbean as paradise and looked to honey moon and get married here.
St Lucia was voted as a top wedding destination and this influenced
my decision to focus on the idea of a wedding business. But I never
acted on it until an incident occurred which I view as a divine
intervention.
I received an email from
a gentleman named Mark on my hotmail email address which was my
personal email address asking about St Lucia and how he could renew
his vows. I was so surprised because I had not shared my thoughts
with any living person and so I replied to him asking who had given
him my email address (just curious) and that I could recommend people
to him. He replied saying that he had gone on a St Lucian web site,
which had email addresses of St Lucians and he just choose mine
to send to ask a question. Well Barbara you could imagine my surprise.
I kept asking myself if God was sending me a message because how
could this man pick me from a list of St Lucians. Anyway I sought
the help of my family and some friends to get a package together
for him and since it was a renewal of vows it was much easier to
plan. He specifically requested that the Marriage Officer be Mrs.
Foster because she had performed their wedding some ten years ago.
Anyway, I was able to arrange everything and they enjoyed it immensely.
So that’s how the idea developed, from there I started out
to work on developing a web site and doing some research.
CM: Is there a primary difference in planning
for a Caribbean couple as opposed to say a US or European couple?
DW: Sure it client is unique and coming from
different parts of the world the cultures are also different. Therefore
we take time to learn our clients and to understand their individual
needs and also their background.
CM: The wedding planning business seems
to have gotten reasonably competitive in the last few years. What
have you been doing to maintain growth?
DW: We continue to advertise and try various
marketing tools to further promote the business.
CM: St.Lucia has been ranked as being one of the best Wedding &
Honeymoon destinations in the Caribbean, numerous times I believe…what
would you attribute to St.Lucia’s success?
DW: Ahh!! St Lucia has put a lot of resources
both human and financial to better their tourism product and they
have done that year after year. The people are also educated on
the value of the tourism sector and they are very friendly people
as well.
CM: Dreamy Weddings has been around for
a few years, care to fill us in on a few of the trying obstacles
you faced in the beginning stages?
DW: Like any other starting business, there
have been a few and they still continue but I’d say having
our sub contractors understand the business and being consistent
with their product.
CM: Are there any immediate plans for
the expansion of Dreamy Weddings?
DW: At the moment we have been approached
by 3 islands and we are considering them.
CM: What’s your idea of an excellent/lovely
marriage proposal (without being too mushy eh)
DW: Let’s see for me I think being simple
and classy. Maybe taking a trip together and being proposed to on
a plane or maybe sharing some quiet time and he pops the question.
I like simplicity so my idea may not be too romantic.
CM: 3 Reasons why prospective clients
should choose Dreamy Weddings & Tours first and foremost?
DW: Service, service, service
CM: Of the entire Wedding planning process,
what is your passion?
DW: Dealing with clients’ one on one,
advising them and just listening to hear what they want.
CM: Caribbean men have sometimes been branded as
being commonly less romantic than the male species of other cultures.
Please, offer us a different brighter perspective even :)
DW: Nah, I think we give our men a bad bashing.
It’s really the man and most men are not overly enthusiastic
as women when it comes to a wedding. So far for the weddings we’ve
done, it’s always the women who get really excited.
CM: Natalie, thanks for your time. Care
to leave us with any vows or wise words?
DW: My favorite quotes from the American publisher
Malcolm S. Forbes
“Thinking well is to
be wise; planning well, wiser; doing well, wisest and best of all.”
And also another of my favorites
from Thomas Jefferson:
“Nothing can stop the
man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing
on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
features Caribbean owned/managed
businesses that are on the Verge on making it big, or at the very
least, making a significant impact within the Caribbean.
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