Lifting the Veil with JustSeventy
A behind the scenes look at wedding planning for the discerning nearlyweds, with the best in the business.
In this edition of Lifting the Veil, we speak with Laurie Weitzkorn, a founding member of the boutique team behind the industry leading wedding and events company, JustSeventy.
Specialising in luxury, bespoke event management, creative design and production, the team creates memories to last a lifetime, with each event putting innovative, original ideas at the forefront. This results in a catalogue of events different from the rest, prioritising unique experiences that are perfectly tailored to every individual client.
We caught up with Laurie to find out what JustSeventy advises their couples to splurge on, what advice he’d give his younger self and exactly how their events company stands out from the rest…
For someone who doesn’t know what a wedding planner does, can you explain how you work with a couple to plan their special day?
Our team brings with them an expanse of knowledge from doing all kinds of events (as well as having a variety of backgrounds) – from fabulous London parties to extravagant three-day wedding celebrations in Tuscany and luxurious desert island take-overs – so the experience that we can bring to a couple’s day is totally unique.
We collaborate with couples and families to take the stress away from planning their special day. From the first day we become a team and work together to build the couple’s vision. Planning a wedding is hugely time-consuming and this is sometimes underestimated if it hasn’t been done before. So, our role is to guide the couple and their families through the planning process in a seamless manner, we take care of all varying components and logistics, provide them with choices and variety. This leaves the couple to have fun with a clear headspace to make the all-important decisions to create their day.
We also inherently understand our place in the market and pride ourselves on working to exacting budgets. We sit down with our clients and thoroughly understand what they’re expecting from their event, so when we pitch back to them what we can produce on the day, we can be very precise at estimating total spend, and our clients appreciate that.
What do you advise your couples to splurge budget on, for the the big day?
All clients have varying priorities, so we establish what these are at the beginning of the process and apportion their budget accordingly. For example, some couples want to be up on the dance floor all night with their friends and family, so we know that booking a killer band is going to be a top priority. Some couples value the food and beverage really highly, others value lots of detail and personal touches… it’s all really bespoke to every couple.
I like to put it in perspective for clients like this; if you’re going to book Wembley Stadium for your venue, you need to then have someone like Beyonce performing, just in the same way that if you booked your local town hall, having Beyonce perform wouldn’t be right – the lights, the microphones, everything wouldn’t be comparable – and the same applies to all events. We work closely with our clients to ensure the whole thing is cohesive and makes sense to them as a couple and shines a light on what they value most. We have recently planned an event where the client has spent considerably more on the videographer than the photographer which we’ve not seen before, but that’s just one example of a client prioritising what they will get the most value from.
What do you see as a big trend for the next 12 months in weddings?
Although we see trends come and go with weddings, we don’t think we should necessarily follow the trends! A wedding day is a unique occasion and therefore should reflect the personalities of the couple. This makes for a more authentic day and a celebration that feels timeless.
What is one of the most memorable things you’ve seen at a wedding during your time in the industry?
We’ve had all sorts – from doggy ring bearers, to a bride belting out a ballad (which is always fun to see) – but we’ve also been lucky to witness pure raw emotion during first dances, incredible wit in speeches and crowd surfing grooms in Tuscany!
You’ve spent over ten years as a wedding planner, what piece of advice would you give your younger self, when you were starting out?
When I look back at some of the first events we did when JustSeventy was newly founded, I can see how much we’ve evolved. We still put the same huge amount of effort in that we did back then, but how we work has improved, our taste has improved, the overall output has improved and that has come from always being willing to learn. So, that would have to be the first thing I’d tell my younger self; always be open to learning.
I’d also tell myself to not always believe our own hype, it’s so important that you don’t get carried away with it all. You’re only as good as your last job, after all!
Listen more. Be adaptable. Be open to collaborating with competitors… all important lessons I’ve learned over the years.
What one thing would you say is the trademark of a JustSeventy event?
It’s hard to pinpoint just one trademark, as no event is ever the same – we take pride in delivering occasions that are uniquely personal to every single client.
Our clients invest in a boutique, passionate team when they choose to work with us. We all have varying strengths in our team, and each client receives input from all of us during the planning process.
Between us at JustSeventy, we bring a colossal amount of experience, based on the thirteen years we’ve been running, but also our backgrounds before starting the company. My business partner Stas studied TV set design, and I started out as a DJ and also have a huge passion for front of house, including food and beverage. Our Head of Events Rebecca who’s been with us for over 11 years is brilliant at everything to do with the event details, the planning, and making things magical for our clients. We each bring creativity from different aspects and so from both a production perspective and a client-facing perspective, we bring a unique mix of experience that feeds into so many aspects, alongside additional members of the team.
I would also say that the attention to detail we bring to an event is second-to-none. We notice the littlest details that others might overlook and make it our business to constantly monitor every element of the event as it unfolds, for example, ensuring the temperature isn’t too hot, or the lighting isn’t too bright, or even if the compere needs to shift the energy in the room.
We also think it’s super important to have a supplier briefing before every event begins, bringing all they key people from behind the scenes into the centre of the event space and breaking down what the event will look like, and what we expect from them for the evening. I’ve been told by a long-term supplier that ours is the calmest and most organised back of house they’ve ever seen!
If you could plan anyone’s wedding – living or dead – who would be your dream client couple?
George Michael, as both Stas and I are big fans of the late artist. George had great taste and kept company with some very interesting people. A very discreet philanthropist and kind soul, which would lead to a very easy working relationship.
Want to know more about planning your dream wedding? Catch up with a previous edition of Lifting the Veil, or reat 6 Reasons You Need a Wedding Planner. You could also start with a Wedding Checklist! Be sure to come back next month for our newest edition of Lifting the Veil!
