Interview with Heidi Hughett of Coastside Couture - San Francisco Weddings

Below is an interview between us and Heidi Hughett of Coastside Couture ... we were so moved and impressed by the Cherry Blossom styled shoot that she designed, we wanted to dive in a little deeper ... into the psyche of this amazing lady and learn a bit more about what makes her such a great wedding coordinator.   Planning brides take note!  This interview is one that you can learn a lot from ... we especially love the answer that Heidi gave for why she was born to be a wedding planner (not everyone should coordinate weddings ... srsly!!!) and what she looks for when choosing the perfect team of vendors for a client.

Q. Why Cherry Blossoms?

The photographer Jill had been dying to do a styled shoot in a cherry orchard, mid bloom. She had done a shoot the previous year and wanted to explore the idea further.

Q.  What were the steps you took to make sure this styled shoot was a complete success?

After Jill and Ingrid (the make-up artist) came to us with the location, Karissa and I came up with the color scheme of blush and dusty grey. We decided to go with a sweet 1950's vintage theme. We thought it would play well against the rustic backdrop. Pink vintage depression glass dishes were the first design detail we chose. We are blessed with great antique resources, and along with pieces we already had the design fell together. We extended the team by bringing in our vendors who fit the style and who we loved working with. We had a mock up meeting, got our ducks in a row and waited for a sunny day that we could shoot on.

Q.  Do you take the same care during styled shoots that you would with a real wedding?

For us the real difference between a wedding and a styled shoot is that styled shoots give us the luxury of time. It's like playtime. We do try to make them as realistic as possible. And a little lived in. The best part of styled shoots is that we have the freedom to play with our vision in collaboration with the rest of the vendor team. With our weddings it is all about the client's vision.

Q.  Why do you believe that styled shoots are worth your time as a coordinator?

For us, styled shoots are a great outlet for our creativity. It gives our clients insight on the type of design we specialize in. It also spotlights great vendor teams and how we all work well together. Our industry is image obsessed, so we feel the need to continually contribute to that. I spend much of my time immersed in inspiration, and it's wonderful to show our designs in these shoots. We try to keep these shoot designs as practical as possible in case our clients want us to reproduce the same feel in their event.

Q.  What does being featured on wedding blogs do for your company? Why do you adore wedding blogs so much? Why should brides continue to visit blogs every day?

I am a total blog stalker. It's the first thing I do after checking my email in the morning. A few minutes of viewing beautiful images and I'm inspired to get into the office. When we get featured it just reinforces that we are putting designs out there that resonate with other people in the industry. For me it is a great compliment. I love when our brides find inspiration on blogs. It helps me narrow down their style when I get visual cues. I do however warn them that not all the details they see on these blogs are right for their wedding and that they need to stay focused on their vision. Sometimes having too many choices makes wedding planning stressful.

Q.  What was your favorite part of the cherry blossom shoot? Can you even pick one?

 
It's hard to pick one! I loved it all really. The pink depression glass was the detail we worked off of, but I loved the cherries, the ribbons in the tree, the Sofia bubbly and the dress! Our Model was working that dress.

Q.  When you are considering the team of vendors you want to work with, wedding or styled shoot. what do you prioritize the most?

It's most important that a vendor will mesh well with the client. I have had amazingly talented vendors ruin weddings because their personality clashed with the client. We match the team based on the clients style and personality. When we do a styled shoot we are basically the clients and so we chose the vendors we love working with who have the style similar to the design.

Q.  Why do you love being a wedding coordinator?

Well, don't laugh but it's a great outlet for all my personality disorders. I am a little hyper, have a terrible case of OCD, and am a bit ADD as well. In other words I love chaos, can do like 10 things at once and am crazy about everything looking perfectly straight. I am also one of those people who stays calm under pressure while my mind goes a million miles an hour. What other job would turn these into positive attributes? Plus I get to help people have the wedding of their dreams which is pretty cool and rewarding.

Comments

[Robin]

Gorgeous!

[Cindy Golightly]

I can't believe how much I love the idea of having a "camping wedding" - If I hadn't seen the photos, I would never have imagined how beautiful it could be. I'm working as a wedding planner, and have been searching the web for the most inspiring sites. Another good site, especially for the practical side of things is this one: http://www.eventleadershipinstitute.com/course-details-Event-Management-Companies-Creative-Within-Budget.aspx - thanks again for the beautiful work