Wedding Event Planning with Diana Sabb
Even though weddings are currently trending towards small, they are certainly no less complicated. Now more than ever the advice of a seasoned wedding planner is a must for navigating the ever changing landscape of Covid-19! We had a great chat with Diana Sabb, the owner of the LA-based company Diana Sabb Events & Designs. Diana brings poise, experience, and a multitude of unique options (think: concierge style covid tests for guests!) for couples who are looking to make the wedding of their dreams come to life, pandemic or not. Read on for our interview where we talk about how she got started, her services, and how engaged couples can utilize her breadth of knowledge in the wedding industry.
Tell us a little about yourself, and how you got started in event planning!
I’m Diana Sabb, and I’ve produced and designed events for couples, creative entrepreneurs and business owners for the past 8 years. But most importantly, my mission is to always leave happy smiles on people’s faces and leave my clients with precious lifelong memories. I strive to make your events streamlined, stress-free, and pure fun! Though I’m based in Los Angeles, I travel all over to tend to my clients’ event planning needs to ensure guests experience something memorable and remarkable. My passion for designing events and weddings came from my first internship while I attended CSUF and worked in the tech industry. But my love for the arts and my creative spirit was always with me through singing, dancing, and playing the piano as I was growing up in Charleston, SC. I moved to Los Angeles at 18 years old and was a part of a performing arts group as a singer.
I moved on from my job within tech and plunged into the world of planning and producing successful events. I’ve had the honor of working with all kinds of events, from UNGA Week in NY, advancing for political events to The World Economic Forum in Davos; from weddings to trade shows, virtual events and pop-ups to galas.
Your plan for engaged couples is so comprehensive. Will you give our readers an explanation of your services, and what your business offers for those in the process of planning a wedding?
We like to meet the customers where they are so we have 3 packages: Month of Management, Partial, and Full Planning. Month of Management supports our micro weddings and elopements, Partial and Full Planning if they are really looking for more in depth event management, design and the overall guest experience. This can include hotel room blocks, gifts, wedding party events, and more.
If you’re in the process of planning currently we want to be able to help everyone during these crazy times so we are offering packages that start at $3997 with full support throughout your wedding process. The team and I really miss clients and we miss being able to celebrate with couples so we created this to take on micro weddings and elopement and we can customize it as needed. We have also added Integrated COVID Testing with our partnering lab, In House Calligraphy, photography, and more….
How early and/or often do you suggest couples meet with you?
I love having multiple meetings with clients just so I can really get to know them, the vision and what they are looking to do. How they want to feel during the wedding and how they want the guests to feel is important in the process so I have an initial meeting within 7 days of booking the client. We will then schedule other planning meetings where we will discuss logistics, design, food and beverages, vendors, etc.
Our company values creating both empowerment and peace of mind for our customers. We know you share those same values! Why do you think they are both so important?
We want to streamline everything for you and your fiance and start with a solid plan to make sure you are set up for success.This is important because we want to make sure our clients have everything that they need. We really believe that clients shouldn’t have to worry about the things that are happening, the vendors that are late or the times for loading in. They should be able to enjoy this moment and the moments leading up to the wedding because it only happens once and it happens so fast. Creating a space for communication, creativity and ease are top priorities.
What are your top tips for getting started in the process of planning a wedding?
You and your fiance should sit down and create an estimated budget or at least have in mind what you would like to spend on everything and write it down as a focal point, figure out the top 3 must haves for the wedding and figure out your ideal wedding. Write down words that come to mind of what you envision!
Sadly, large weddings are still on hold for the foreseeable future. How do you suggest couples best utilize your services during this time?
Planning: Couples have the freedom to choose what they want to do. Many of the couples that I work with have decided to elope or have a micro wedding. Wedding parties are celebrating via zoom and depending on the state virtual weddings are going to still roll into this year.
In regards to logistics: For a couple looking to have a large wedding really look through your guest list and be flexible. Changes are happening constantly so it's important to check in with your vendors if you haven’t heard anything. Check in with your venue to make sure they are still open and what are the procedures they have to follow….so communicate communicate communicate!
Safety more than ever is important. My company and I have teamed up with a testing lab to make sure our clients can have guests tested prior to their wedding for piece of mind.
Last but not least, how can our readers find you? And most importantly, what is the best way for our readers to support you and your business?
I am on Clubhouse and Instagram @dianasevents. We also just started a Facebook Group called Wedding Planning During COVID where we will be sharing tips and advice from me and other vendors to help support during the planning process. Feel free to send me a email to hello@dianasabb.com. My website is www.dianasabb.com.
Thanks to Diana for giving us a bit of her time during the start to a very busy wedding season! Are you planning a wedding this year? Do you have questions about how to be prepared for fashion mishaps with a smaller budget or less help? Drop us a question below and we would be happy to help you problem solve!
xoxo
risa + jess
