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Advice from KC’s best wedding planners, Madi Sanders

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August 1, 2013

Advice from KC’s best wedding planners, Madi Sanders

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World travelin’, sustainability guru, humanitarian, foster and adoptive mommin’, photographer, photobooth-er, educator, multiple hat wearing entrepreneur. This girl’s love language is hugs and her tank is filled by serving others. You can find her under a palm tree, on a mountain, renovating a vintage trailer/house or running through the sprinklers with her husband, two boys and three fur babies.

My little lunch interview with the spunky Madi Sanders.. one of my favorite wedding planning teams.. Soiree Event Designs.. left me burning calories of laughter. Such a fun girl. And I’ve loved getting to know this team at Soiree over the last couple of years. They have some fantastic advice for the planning bride and groom and ways to make your wedding day a breeze. Learn about Madi below..

Name: Madi Sanders

About: I’m really nerdy at heart and get excited about things that most people don’t. I love calligraphy, velvet ribbons, peach tea and home renovation projects. I’ve been married for 7 months. Our wedding date was January 12, 2013. Our family is hoping to grow by 1 in this next month as we look to adding a black lab puppy in the mix!

Soiree Event Designs, Best Kansas City wedding planners, Bella Bridesmaid, Madi Sanders

What do you consider your job title? I am the Lead Wedding Coordinator with Soirée Event Designs in Kansas City. I also work as a sales consultant for Bella Bridesmaid and spearhead the social media for both businesses. They are separate businesses under the same ownership.

 When did you realize you wanted to get into the business? There have been little steps along the way that have led me to where I am now. I first knew I wanted to work in the wedding industry at the start of my sophomore year in college. I got really into “blog-stalking”, specifically Southern Weddings Magazine’s, and became obsessed with wedding films and cinematography. I loved the idea of working behind the scenes to create these beautiful events for couples to look back on for years to come.

How did you get into the business? My first real step was shadowing a wedding coordinator in Dallas/Fort Worth. I so vividly remember the first wedding I worked, it was at the Fort Worth Club. I worked the entire day and was so exhausted but at the same time I was so pumped up and excited about what I had just done. I couldn’t wait to get back to the sorority house, where I was living at the time, to talk to my friends about the experience. It was so cool to think that I had a part in that couples’ start to the rest of their lives, Then, the summer before my senior year of college I applied for and was offered an internship in Chapel Hill, NC with Southern Weddings. Sadly, I ended up having to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with finishing my degree early. That summer I ended up focusing more on my studies as well as working under one of the top Wedding Designers/Coordinators in Fort Worth, TX. I learned so much about the business through working with her.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? Oh, how often I changed my mind! At one point I wanted to be a singer, then a fashion designer, then stay at home mom, the next day an actress. I’ve done little parts of all of these positions here and there which has been a fun way to explore my creativity and enjoy the fullness of life.

What type of couple do you cater to? I wouldn’t say we cater to one specific “type” of client. More so, I think we appeal to brides who are looking for a partner to work with in their planning process…whether that be the entire process as a Full-Service client or just in those last 6-8 weeks with our “Month-of” packages. We like to plan alongside our brides and we truly enjoy our brides being apart of the process. It always helps when we share the same vision for the day. But this does not mean that a bride adopts OUR vision. Instead, we collaborate together to dream up the perfect event with our client’s preferences and wishes being first priority.

What region or area do you work in? We are definitely Kansas City based but we’re always open to discussing options for client’s who are planning a destination wedding or are out of this area.

If you could describe yourself in three words what would they be?

Encouraging

True

Creative

What is your favorite thing about your job? I think there is something awesome about a wedding … but I think there is something even cooler about a marriage. When I have a couple book with me and trust me to help create this incredibly special day for them, it allows them the opportunity to soak in every moment of their wedding day. As humans, it is not a natural thing to plan huge events like weddings. I want to be able to lift a lot of that stress off the shoulders of our couples and allow them to be a guest at their own wedding. It is, essentially, a celebration of the two of you…shouldn’t you be able to enjoy every bit of that?

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Hands down, Mint Chocolate Chip. We keep a gallon in the freezer at all times.

If you can plan your own dream wedding and didn’t have to worry about your budget what would it be like and where? I think I would’ve done something much simpler. I still would want it to feel elegant and romantic. As far as a location, I still would’ve stayed local but maybe outdoor with a big Sperry tent on our family’s property. I would’ve liked to push the boundaries a little more as far as floral goes. But I did love everything about our wedding day. It’s just that when you work in this industry, it is just always evolving so I’m always getting new ideas.

What is the best advice you can give the planning couples today? Savor this season of your life. You’re really learning a lot about each other in this time together. If you set that great foundation for your marriage during your engagement, you’re set to have an awesome time continuing the celebration of your love long after your wedding day. Even as much as I LOVE weddings…my wish for a couple is always to have “a marriage more beautiful than the wedding day”.

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  1. Madi Sanders says:

    You are so sweet to feature me, Jana! Loved you and so looking forward to continuing work with you! xo, Madi

    http://www.SoireeEventDesigns.com

    http://www.madireid.com/blog

  2. […] Coordinator, Madi Sanders, on her blog today!  Be sure to stop by and read Jana’s post, here, to learn a little bit more about Madi and her background in the wedding industry as well as her […]

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