Lifting the Veil with Studio Sorores

In this edition of Lifting the Veil, we speak with Jessie Westwood of Studio Sorores, one of the UK’s most sought after wedding planners, who specialises in bijoux, design-led weddings that exude opulence from every corner.

With clients across the globe, Studio Sorores’ portfolio of weddings is a jaw dropping collection of the most exquisite nuptials, dripping with style and stand-out beautiful moments, and most often following onto a secret after party, a particular speciality of theirs.

We caught up with Jessie to find out exactly what life is like as one of the UK’s most sought after wedding planners, who her dream client couple would be, and as the authority on all things luxury weddings, who on earth she chose as the caterer for her very own nuptials last year…

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?

A wedding planner will support your marriage journey from engagement to the big day, from finding the perfect venue, budget management and support, design and styling concepts, sourcing of all vendors and suppliers, administrative help (from booking meetings, to contract review and even RSVP collection!), logistical production and overseeing all the details on the day itself. Plus, a lot of objective advice, personal support, and emotional guidance. It’s super comprehensive and allows couples to really enjoy the entire experience, with the knowledge that they have the very best talent and an organised team delivering at the highest level. 

I started out as a wedding planner in 2010 and broke into the scene offering a truly design led approach when nobody else focused on that side of weddings and celebrations beyond very “standard” styling and basic mood boarding. We really do understand how to translate our clients’ story into a visual masterpiece, without compromising on quality and service. 

What do you advise your couples to splurge budget on, for the the big day?

I think there are three things which, if you are going to prioritise budget, I would always put at the top; photography, food and drink and flowers.

Guest experience is always top of my list for budget allocation, and truly having an incredible dining experience and afterparty is so important for all couples now – from bespoke menus to wine pairing and artisan ingredients.

I always think flowers are the one area of design that will add the most impact – by bringing in colour, texture, movement and depth to a space – and anything natural and organic always transcends designs in the simplest way.

Photography is always a key investment, it’s what you will hold on to for generations, images of your loved ones, moments to cherish and look back on for the rest of your life. 

As a wedding planner you’re always looking forwards, what do you see as a big trend for the next 12 months in weddings? 

I’m not one to care much about trends, but I do have a gauge on what’s going to be more popular based around lifestyle, fashion, and interior movements. I think this year is going to be huge for candy colours (pastels like soft lemon yellow, lilac, baby blue, sage green, peach and pink), and you’ll see lots of ruffles and stripes in linens and soft furnishings for furniture rental dressing.

As always, I think natural and organic textures and tones will continue to feature in wedding designs… I always love including greens, nudes, and this year far more brown colours too. You’ll see them entwined with black and white to soften a monochrome fashion look, and I am certain there will be lots of amber and “smoke” colours used in glassware.

I also think big country house garden parties as the sun goes down will be hugely popular, with secret hedonistic after parties (one of our specialisms!).

What is one of the most memorable things you’ve seen at a wedding during your time in the industry?

Oooh tough question…I have seen some wild things in my time, but I am not sure all of them were necessarily good things! I did a wedding in Provence once where we brought in the most incredible live band that started with one lead singer and a love ballad sung to the couple for their first dance,  before the full band came on stage with dancers performing up on the balcony lit up with a bespoke monogram background, and it was just this incredible set that culminated with a famous DJ until the (very) early hours. Honestly, I would have paid to attend that event, it was just such a great vibe. 

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?

Don’t look back, you won’t always get everything right, your brand will change to reflect your service when you figure out who “your people” are as you get older, keep investing and training in yourself and your team, you’ve got this!

You married your husband Henry last year and had two gorgeous celebrations – one intimate day in the Cotswolds where you had your legal ceremony and a garden party which we were honoured to cater (!), and a sumptuous multiple day celebration in Marrakech, which our CEO and Founder Alex Head attended as a guest – how did you approach your own wedding, after having planned so many other people’s? Were there certain things that came easier to you than other couples, and similarly, were there things that you struggled with that you weren’t expecting to?

Honestly it was so hard to be objective and design for myself. So, I centred the styling and concepts around our guests and the locations as much as anything else! 

With our UK wedding it was very much about the children and our closest friends and family, we kept it small and very traditional, all set at our family home in the Cotswolds – kind of a vintage countryside summer garden party. The meal was THE most important thing for me here. We had a small number of guests, so I knew I wanted to create a long, sumptuous evening of fine dining with local and seasonal food paired with our favourite wines. I didn’t even think about an afterparty, we just danced around our chairs under the stars singing songs for hours, it was so perfect. 

Marrakech was a totally different aesthetic and mood. We had guests attending from all over the world, so we wanted to create a magical travel experience as much as anything. We started with rooftop dinner and drinks at El Fenn for my birthday, before welcoming everyone to a white party in the desert with thousands of candles ahead of the big day. We chose a beautiful private home in the Palmeraie with a black-tie dress code and kept everything shimmery and mostly white with rooftop canapes and cocktails as the sun set, a secret dining experience in the gardens, and late night dancing by one of the amazing pool side houses in the grounds – and lots of entertainment, from local performers to fire shows. We then hosted a separate pool party at another location the next day, which was super relaxed and easy going, before a smaller intimate dinner party under the trees as we said farewell on the last evening. It was so much fun, having so many friends on holiday with us and witnessing our own vows made to each other. Precious memories!

If you could plan anyone’s wedding – living or dead – who would be your dream client couple?

Look, if Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson want to get in touch now that they are engaged… I wouldn’t be mad!  Otherwise, my dream couples are those with precious love stories to tell, who value quality and artistry, and who I hope might become my friends one day. They are the very best. 

If you’d like to know more about how a wedding planner can help you with the happiest day of your life, why not check out our 6 Reasons You Need a Wedding Planner? Or how about starting with a Wedding Checklist? Be sure to come back next month for our newest edition of Lifting the Veil!