Name: Christina Holt
Location: Cape Town / South Africa
Company Name: Wedding Concepts
Tell us a little about what you do.
I own and manage South Africa’s premier wedding coordination & management agency Wedding Concepts with a wonderful team of 9 – specializing in exclusive destination “designer” weddings to Cape Town. We assist couples who reside overseas to create their stylish wedding by thinking of and coordinating literally every detail you can think of.
Our sister company Travel Concepts is the boutique style travel arm taking care of wedding guest travel from accommodation around the wedding venue to full itineraries across Southern Africa – as well as honeymoons. We tailor highly personal journeys African journeys with a keen eye for stylish yet authentic travel experiences.
How long have you been in business?
I started my business Wedding Concepts in 2004 when I moved from the UK to Cape Town. My international career however has always been in the hospitality and event management industry – it’s a passion.
What inspired you to start your business/studio?
A very simple (and quite romantic ) story – when still living in Germany and holidaying in South Africa, I met my British husband Richard in Cape Town and we decided to get married on the very wine estate where we met. I was the classic overseas bride who needed planning assistance on the ground. This is how I met my previous business partner, who I then started Wedding Concepts with. I now actually own the business with my husband and things have literally come full circle . We met in Cape Town, got married here, moved here and now run the business together. The huge global destination wedding trend has of course helped in creating our offer to this scenic part of the world.
What is your favorite thing about your business/studio?
My business at large gives me a great sense of pride – for having established a successful brand together with fabulously devoted team – based on a simple idea, vision and lots of hard work. We also occupy a stylish space that showcases our work and is simply inspiring to work in. My main passion lies in connecting with people from across the globe and working in a truly multicultural industry….plus I get to market South Africa to the world – one of the most beautiful places for a destination wedding.
Was there a defining moment when you knew you picked the right career path?
My career has never been totally straight forward – it is when I listened to my instinct that I was successful. Specifically that was a moment when I woke up after my first night in Africa 10 years ago – saw the beauty of this country and new it would change my life. Very clichéd – but ever since then I knew I had to live & work here in the Cape. When you are changing your life from the place of “just knowing” – that’s when it works. And it did!
When you built your business what style would you say you built it around? (i.e. classic, modern, vintage)
Wedding Concepts stands for professionalism, sophistication and style with a sense for fun & trends . We interpret wedding visions across many different designs and client personalities. Internally we merge different backgrounds in our multi cultural team and have a real understanding of international design trends. Being a “people business” means that highly personal communication is of course a given.
When working with people how do you help bring the vision for the event to life?
We look for indicators not only in their personalities and personal preferences of our clients: are they fun loving people who love the outdoors – global travelers who reside in 5* luxury – unfussy clients who want a party – interior designers with a lifelong wedding vision etc. Of course we also ask for guidance as to what / how they enjoy, read, eat, celebrate, travel etc. Personal conversations and many, many emails usually paint a brilliant picture!
We then carefully match personalities and the vision of the day to a handpicked group of top service providers. I am also a strong believer in bringing the right personalities together during the months of planning – it is in fact vital!
Where do you go for inspiration? (i.e. blogs, magazines)
More often than not we look for inspiration internally in our “creative team brainstormings”. Thanks to so many creative minds in our business and our industry, we have actually become trendsetters in our field which is such a big part of our success.
Of course personally the smallest “every day” things can inspire me – a napkin fold in a local bistro, an antique vase, a market with seasonal flowers, a friend’s new chaiselounge, a boutique hotel…inspiration can come in unexpected ways.
Is there anything else you want people to know about you and your business/studio?
To all brides out there – think outside the box, consider a destination wedding to South Africa. We are setting international trends here – so dare to experience it for yourself and check out our real life weddings for inspiration.
You can check out more of Wedding Concepts work by visiting their website and their Real Wedding featured here. Also make sure you check out Travel Concepts.
