Ask the Expert | Palmera Design & Events

Today we are lucky enough to catch up with mother and daughter duo from Palmera Design & Events to find out more about their amazing wedding planning business. They have the inside track on what’s on trend and some top tips on wedding planning. Let’s handover to the lovely ladies from Palmera Design & Events.

Tell our brides-to-be a bit more about your company and how long you’ve been in business for?

Four years ago, my degree in Interior Design was the kick-start to my journey of wedding planning. It has taught me to appreciate every detail in design, art, and planning to bring everything together in unity. With a background in design and a passion towards managing and planning, Palmera Design & Events was a dream that came to life two years ago in Dubai. It’s a family business that started with a mission to support brides on their special day and bring families together. Because Palmera is a mother-daughter business duo, maintaining an atmosphere of family, love and comfort within the process of our work is very important to us. We aim for each project to have its own unique identity throughout the theme and decor set up, which is achieved by working closely with the client to understand their personality and their creative vision.

Tell us about yourself and your experience with wedding events?

As a designer and an obsessively detailed planner, I’ve always had the urge to thoroughly plan everything around me and make sure things are perfectly set. I’ve always had the passion towards art, design, and creating something out of nothing. I enjoy connecting with people around me and understand their story or their vision towards certain things, so I think that works perfectly when it comes to learning about new brides and getting to know what they love! I’ve never thought of being a wedding planner but somehow everything came together and I found myself right in the middle of a career where I instantly felt is a perfect combination of all things I love doing. My partner Niveen has also had her fair share of event planning throughout the years as she had worked on events in Bahrain; from weddings, parties, to fully organised fashion shows. With both of us having a background in design and planning, starting Palmera as a family business felt like a natural step forward and it continues to be very important for us to carry through and reflect the essence of a mother-daughter bond into the work itself.

My experience with weddings has changed in different ways over the past 4 years. Wedding planning started off as something new and exciting for me to be able to use the design skills I learnt from interior design and incorporate it into decor set ups of the different events I was working on. It instantly became something much more than just a career of planning and designing. Connecting with new clients and being a part of something very special and memorable is something that I became very passionate about. Managing and designing weddings became like second nature to Niveen and me. We constantly are on the look out for new and exciting trends around the world and explore the market on a weekly basis to be able to create innovative decor and set ups.

What sort of services does Palmera Design & Events provide?
Palmera Design & Events mainly provides wedding services from A-Z however we also work on styling events as well as graphic design projects (wedding stationary, invitations, printing and production). Staring with the first half of our services, Managing & Planning the event, we firstly consult with the client to learn more about their requirements for their event. We then advise our clients on venue options and general budget management. Next, we handle the coordination between the venue management and the vendors, along with supervising the event from start to finish to make sure the program and timeline runs smoothly. The second half of our services includes the full decor and design of the event; from organising the layout placement of the set up to the smaller details of the tabletop decor and beautiful florals, we make sure the chosen theme is translated throughout every decor element of the event.

What’s the most popular trends/themes you’re working with at the moment? As the UAE’s weather has been perfect for outdoor events, we are working on many projects that include more natural decor set ups such as beach or garden settings. We also love to include fruits and other accessories within the floral decor to create a variety of textures and tones within the centrepieces.

What new trends can we expect to see in 2020? We are hoping to work on projects that include a lot of mixing and matching to create dynamic set ups, whether it is done with the furniture, florals, colours or fabrics. Using unusual elements within the decoration is also something we are working on bringing out in 2020, time to think outside the box!

Where are some of your favourite venues/settings in the UAE? Our favourite venues are usually the hidden gems around the UAE, we like to work in venues that aren’t over used within the market. Outdoor venues such as Al Bait in Sharjah, Al Noor Island also in Sharjah, Oberoi Zorah Resort in Ajman, The Farm – Al Barari and Magnolia in Jumeirah Al Qasr. Indoor venues include the ballrooms of W Hotel, One & Only Royal Mirage, Versace Hotel and many more!

With your experience, what small detail can make a big impact at a wedding ceremony or reception?
A small but important detail to take into consideration while planning/designing a wedding is to maintain the same feel or atmosphere within the set up. Tiny details of elements matching throughout the event set up creates a big impact. For example, a thin gold rim on the dinner plates matching with golden cutlery and golden candlesticks. Many times brides like a variety of different ideas and themes, and it’s our job to bring these ideas together in a way that makes the set up feel united and coherent.

Do you have any top wedding tips you would like to share with couples?

Come to a planner with an open mind towards expectations and budgets. We find that many clients are surprised by budgets as they are not so familiar with the market of weddings in the UAE. Couples should come with an idea of what they want to help build a vision or a proposal based on their requirements, but if they aren’t sure, we’re here to help guide the couple through the process, step by step. Another important tip is that everyone involved in the planning (the bride and her family, the planners, the vendors) should be on the same page at all times. Don’t over stress about the little details, as planners, our job is to make your life easier, let us know what you like or don’t like and leave the rest to us!