By Charlie
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By Charlie
  • Home
  • About
  • Packages
  • Gallery
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us

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stluciaeventsbycharlie

Saint Lucia based 5* events & wedding planning company, owned & run by British event planner of 15 years. Creating magic & delivering dreams!
Instagram post 2154138260153359871_2237463193 Whether you’re in charge of the office party or hosting the family event, its time to get planning but do it with purpose. Whilst the color scheme/theme is the first thing people think of, its key to focus on planning an event that will be enjoyed by those attending and not spend money unnecessarily. For work christmas parties study the ages and personalities of your attendees, maybe create a questionnaire or have a quick meeting discussing ideas and how theyd like to celebrate- you may be spending a small fortune planning a fete in a large venue when all they really want is a lunch in the office or a drink after work. This would afford you the opportunity to maybe give them a gift hamper each or a bonus which will help them over the holidays and still save the company money in the process for something they would appreciate more. For family events try a secret Santa, it becomes costly to buy each and every person a gift as well as time consuming. So each pick a name from a hat from now and set a spending limit. Get creative and make it a party game with each person guessing who got their gift. Allocate a dish, drink or responsibility to each person and come together as a family to enjoy the day. People would much rather have a full bar and full stomach on christmas than 20 random gifts they may never use! If you need to hire additional tables and chairs order them early, many companies get booked up early and close from 23rd december! Also many thanks for your enquiries and requests for us to assist you but we will be closed for Charlie’s maternity leave so will not be taking any events during this period.
Instagram post 2153757744623310156_2237463193 One of the biggest frustrations for destination couples when hosting a wedding here in St Lucia is the wait times to receive costs... this has been and continues to be one of my biggest frustrations also -and even more so having come from London where most quotes are sent the same day or certainly in the same week as requested. I’ve had to accept however that this is neither possible nor realistic here and I’ve posted before about the struggle of being reliant on others doing their jobs to allow me to do mine. This here is a very simplified version of the event budgeting process. These 6 steps may not seem like much... until you appreciate that I have to go through each of them with approx 10-15 vendors per event which leaves me juggling roughly 200 separate quotes at all times (on top of all my other work). We only work with the best vendors on island who produce the highest standard of work, but they all have their own busy event schedule besides ours. This process therefore takes a good amount of time to complete as many don’t and cannot see the urgency of an event 6 months-1 year away. Step 1- this is the start of the entire process once you book with us. We discuss your taste, style, preferences & budget which allows us to design you a custom event Step 2- once you approve /edit this we assess how “do-able” it is vs the budget and from there select the best, most appropriate vendors for your event Step 3- we have to talk to each vendor- either on the phone, email or many face to face to go through the job and ensure they have a thorough & true understanding of the requirements Step 4- the waiting game- this is the part where its totally out of our hands. We wait for the vendor to prepare the quote. Many of them have to collect quotes themselves to produce this (so they are in the same boat as both myself & the client). As I receive first quotes I input them to a budget for a running total Step 5- Its very rare that myself and/or the client don’t have reductions/additions/other requests & feedback for the vendors- we then wait again for a new quote Step 6- once we finally get this we forward to the client and start logistical planning with each
Instagram post 2152400277435868889_2237463193 Due to necessary & urgent construction work taking place here (as in health and safety necessary) we are stuck in at the moment so busying ourselves with calling around to finish gathering quotes for our lovely brides and ensuring we have covered everything necessary at this stage in time. T minus 5 weeks until baby girl is here and we still have an empty nursery and things constantly being added to the to do list for work- the countdown is on and we are getting through everything event by event starting with those approaching immediately. Please remember brides that the quote building stage takes a majority of the planning time since we design and cost each event custom for your style and budget- for this process we are 100% reliant on others and we are working tirelessly to chase & finalize as much as possible but only what actually requires to be done before we take a very short maternity break to recover and bond with baba. Tasks that we wouldn’t have done until January will remain as is and for weddings mid-late next year we will proceed with in January as normal. Next post will summarize the process of budget building to give you a better insight to this process....
Instagram post 2150117999099926430_2237463193 Its always a little hard waking up after a long weekend to get back to the usual routine... but not when you wake up to an email congratulating you on winning the local rounds of the International Wedding Awards in the category of ‘Best Wedding Planner’. Yess we are the winners and will move onto the regional awards rounds later this year. Thank you to everyone who has put their trust in us for their big day and to our wonderful team of partners & vendors 💓
Instagram post 2148992648160423965_2237463193 Sorry we have been a bit quiet on the inspo front but we are super busy getting everything finalised before closing for maternity and preparing for baby girls arrival. The one thing however we have been doing is craving everything autumn/fall. Its unbearably hot & humid on island right now (especially when pregnant and unable to have a chilled glass of rosè) so more than ever I find myself missing the city, cold weather and the cosy nights in that come with this time of year. Recreating this however is at the top of my maternity leave list as christmas approaches and what better way to start off October than with a post on how to recreate this even if you are on a tropical island: 1- Get your snuggly clothes on. Whether it be a pair of pjs or just a nice loose tshirt, shorts and a blanket, get comfortable and curl up on the couch 2- Stock up on your favorite food. For dinner the ultimate go to is a chinese or indian takeout and delicious snacks & treats to follow are essential.... hot chocolate with cookies/sponge cake for me! 3- Movie- a great film or boxset that everyone loves is essential. Something festive is ideal but this comes down to personal taste! 4- Facemasks, hair masks, foot scrubs... whatever at home spa treatment you prefer, pamper yourself whilst you snuggle up on the sofa 5- If you decide a movie isnt for you, pour some wine and get some games going. Monopoly is a classic in this house but there are so many to choose from. Perhaps invite friends over and host a games night.. Happy october all, have a great weekend and for those in st lucia a lovely long weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to u all 😘
Instagram post 2144471218085167744_2237463193 If you’re a past client of By Charlie one thing i KNOW you will remember with a smile are your beautiful flowers so we are wishing our beautiful, fabulous florist, partner and friend @katjoycad a wonderful birthday today. Heres to many more jobs and laughs and cheers to you talented flower wizard xxxxx 💗
Instagram post 2144326906378966665_2237463193 .... we have found it necessary to address this and wanted to respectfully notify everyone that the majority of schedules for 2020/2021 weddings will remain as standard. We will of course work ahead of time and pre-plan for tasks that would have taken place in november/december but planning otherwise will continue as normal from the new year. Whilst we 100% understand and appreciate that some clients feel anxious about us closing for a short few weeks during their planning process, we have set planning schedules which always result in the incredible events you see from us.Being on a small island with limited suppliers and vendors we have restrictions on how early we can book/arrange certain elements as they are busy with other events. We ask brides to rest assured that By Charlie will never deliver an event less than perfect for you, and we are getting through every event to ensure we are as up to date as possible on all within the next 3/4 weeks. Many Thanks, Happy Monday and Have a Great Week
Instagram post 2141126235697493911_2237463193 Follow-donate- support- promote @makeachange.slu
Instagram post 2140803197349192063_2237463193 When you wake up to the loveliest review from the loveliest couple... starts a busy day off well. It was such a pleasure to work with you both and deliver your dream day 💗
Instagram post 2140270560268293008_2237463193 The entrepreneur edit....
Instagram post 2134992887501632569_2237463193 This is our favorite type of weather but for a bride its their worst nightmare. So what to do if rain is due on your big day. Time to action your contingency plan. If you decided to risk getting married outside during rainy season you should already have a plan B in place. Wherever this is, make sure you have set aside money and time for the execution. If you have a planner she/he should have this taken care of BUT if you’re planning it yourself you need to ensure everything is in place. 1- TENTING- ensure these have been put on hold and are still available (vendors will rent them out if they get a secure booking). The decor must also be considered for these tents and your designer informed so they can give you the additional cost, allocate time and prepare materials. You need to keep in mind the walk from vehicles to the tents and between the tents and bathrooms also. Time is also a crucial factor, you cannot put the tents down on the morning of the wedding if rain has already fallen, not only will it delay the whole setup but the ground will already be saturated and everything & everyone will sink into mud. We always erect these 24-48 hours before the event to ensure the ground is dry and solid still for the event. 2- INDOOR LOCATION- should you have the option to move your reception to an indoor venue take it with both hands and thank your lucky stars. Even the most stunning design will get forgotten if guests are cold and wet outside rather than inside enjoying themselves. The big thing to consider here is how you will transfer the setup and decor to a totally new venue. Again plan from early, have the costs prepared and be aware of if this will cost extra for you to do. Many banquet rooms require draping to achieve a final wow which requires pre planning. Don’t expect miracles trying to do everything in the 11th hour, make sure you know your options and related fees beforehand. 3- EMBRACE IT-if its only going to be a light drizzle or later in the night your other option is to just embrace it. Dance in the rain and capture pictures like above . Keep in mind that sound (dj, speakers etc), lighting and catering equipment cannot be exposed to any rain.
Instagram post 2133856705225042740_2237463193 Sunday, 6pm, in Hospital aka By Charlies Temporary Headquarters. I don’t post this stuff for likes or comments and you know if you follow my account that I never post images of myself however this is real life- real unavoidable life which sometimes people don’t appreciate or respect.Recently I like to post not just about beautiful events but also about the reality of being an entrepreneur/an entrepreneur in st lucia and also a mother with it. Here you see me today... 7 months pregnant, sat at the bedside of my sick 4 year old son in a pediatric ward after 72 hours of barely any sleep but STILL working on event designs to ensure clients get their documents. It is not a flattering picture and i look like a wreck but it was sent to me by my lovely father in law who took it of me and sums up life right now. I work non stop and whenever I have the chance to complete a task I take it.... within reason however. This is my life but this is also real life and I continue to work on balancing and juggling these 2 roles both so important to me. I am an honest & bold person, i always explain to people my company is in essence a one woman show as far as the planning of events goes - i work personally with every single client and plan every event down to the smallest detail. I refuse many jobs to ensure I deliver 100% on the ones I have already committed to and always deliver amazing, custom designed and seamlessly executed events. We do not plan clichè or recycle designs and bring 15 years of international experience and a city standard of service to the island which didnt previously exist. The downside to this however is when ‘life happens’ I have to prioritize and find time to manage it all. I thank all my clients that have been supportive, patient and empathetic recently whilst life has been happening and quite frankly- kinda kicking my ass. Hoping to be home in the next day or 2 and back at my desk to complete my mile long ‘to-do’ list before baby girl joins us. I am getting through my events one by one with the immediate events first so keep your eyes peeled all. Love always, charlie xxx
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