Two Be Wed – Boutique Wedding Design
Natalie Dawley is the lead wedding planner and owner of Two Be Wed. She founded the Houston-based company in 2006 with the goal of impacting the wedding industry for good. Two Be Wed evolved into a boutique wedding design and consulting firm.
“At that time, a lot of people were meeting in coffee shops, which isn’t the most comfortable environment,” Natalie said. “We opened a boutique storefront office. It’s one way we could help our clients feel more comfortable.”
Two Be Wed elevates the wedding planning process by being client-focused, with clear, customized event design. “We wanted to build a vision and organize it in a way that fostered great communication with the rest of the team,” Natalie explained. “We put systems into place that organized our processes. Programs like Etsy and Canva didn’t exist then, so we did it ourselves. For example, our design board is a road map for our clients to be able to communicate their vision. We love putting together different design elements for clients. When you are a client-focused company, you are thinking about them first. Their budget, style, aesthetic, personality, and expectations all come into play.”
“The 3 E’s”
Emotion
Two Be Wed begins the design process by focusing on the emotion they want their event to evoke. They do this by conducting what they call “The Color Experiment.”
“We take our clients to a fabric store or a high-end home, and they pick out things that speak to them. We look at color, texture, pattern, or elements that give them a certain emotion. Then, we take those items and play around to create a color palette. This influences every other decision you are going to make when designing your wedding,” Natalie said.
Environment
Next, the Two Be Wed team works with the client to determine the environment of the event. Natalie explained, “Some people might say they want their wedding to be more casual but elevated with good food, great drinks, and relaxed vibes. This is important to define where you want to be and how you are going to include your personality.”
Experience
Finally, clients work with Two Be Wed to define what they want to experience during the wedding day. “Setting your expectations for emotion can lead to what experiences you include. The music, food, and activities you include for your guests will tell a story. You are presenting your life and your marriage,” Natalie said.
Finding the Right Fit
With many planners to choose from on the Two Be Wed team, Natalie pairs each couple who inquires with the planner who best fits their personality.
From strict schedules to being a “best friend”, Two Be Wed has planners for all types of couples. Rachel Johnson, one of the planners under the Two Be Wed umbrella, said, “That is a unique thing about our company. We have such a wide range of planners to fit the couple’s needs.”
Rachel explained that Two Be Wed’s planning process is very client-focused and creative. “I want them to come into the planning process with an open mind and no preconceived notions,” Rachel said. “A huge part of our process is getting to know them and what they like in general, not focusing so much on the wedding. This can help us discover something they didn’t even know they loved, like a pattern or a texture.”
The level of service and customization Two Be Wed provides for their clients is one of the reasons Rachel wanted to work for the planning company. “You can look at the Instagram page or our website and you don’t see a ‘cookie cutter’ wedding. You see the clients,” Rachel said.
Why Hire a Planner?
“Hiring a wedding planner is one of the most important things you can do to have a successful wedding day,” Rachel said. “You can sell your own house, you can defend yourself in court, and you can plan your own wedding. But, you will most likely be more successful if you are working with a full-time professional.”
Rachel explained that one reason many couples find themselves in need of a professional planner is because they can get caught up in details, causing other important elements to fall through the cracks.
“If you’re a bride who is planning the wedding yourself, there might be one detail that is really important to you, and planning for that one detail can get you sidetracked,” Rachel said. “If you are too focused on one task, there are a lot of other things that aren’t getting done. You need someone to pull you aside and help you focus on the other tasks so the event doesn’t fall apart.”
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