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| Jazmin Alford |
Smart, funny and passionate were the first words that came to mind when I first met Jazmin Alford a couple of months ago. She came into the store to help a client find her dream dress, and I knew right away that this woman absolutely loves what she does. She provided the bride support, understanding and a lot of laughter; it was probably some of the most fun I’ve ever had during a consultation. When we first started making out a list of vendors to interview for our blog, hers was one of the first names to come to mind.
Right away we found out we had a little more than our love for the wedding industry in common--we’re both originally big city girls (I hail from Los Angeles, while she’s a New Yorker), and we both said goodbye to our urban roots around two years ago. We agreed that the small town charm of Charlottesville was a welcome change after years of hustle and bustle in the city. When I asked what she loves the most about Charlottesville Jazmin said it’s the natural beauty--she loves seeing the mountains and hills through the open skyline, a sharp contrast to the skyscrapers she was once accustomed to. She also loves that everyone in Charlottesville is so friendly and welcoming--it didn’t take her long to feel like she was right at home.
While in NYC Jazmin worked for a property management company, and it was there that she realized how much she loved event planning. She found herself planning corporate and residential events, and loved every minute of it. Upon moving to Charlottesville she decided to give in to her passion for event planning and she started her own business, Anyvent. When I asked what it was like owning her own business, she said that it was a lot of pressure but that she wouldn’t have it any other way. She loves calling the shots, the relationships she builds with her clients and other vendors, and she’s having a lot of fun.
Jazmin gets to travel quite a bit, planning events around the midwest and east coast, but she’s starting to break a little further into the Charlottesville market and loves working with the wide array of venues and vendors. She offers both full service wedding planning and day of coordination, and she really can customize the event to be everything the bride dreams of. I asked her what a typical wedding day for her looks like, and she said that for an evening wedding her work starts at around 8am--she gets to the venue and makes sure the decor is just right, coordinates all of the other vendors, and makes sure the bridal party is exactly where they need to be throughout the day. She handles any last minute issues that come up on the wedding day so that the bride doesn’t have to--she told me about this one instance when she realized that the caterer didn’t provide napkins for a reception, so she had to come up with a solution at the last minute. In the end everything worked out great, and the bride had no idea there was ever a problem.
When I asked Jazmin what advice she has for brides-to-be, she said to get a planner to either help put together your whole event, or at least provide day-of-coordination. Couples often underestimate how helpful a planner can be, and especially don’t realize how much money getting a planner can save you in the long run with their connections to other vendors in the industry. After listening to Jazmin describe all the work she puts into planning a couple’s big day, I begin to see how having an event planner like her on your side is akin to having a fairy godmother plan your wedding for you--all your dreams really can come true!
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