Team spotlight - Natalie
A sentence about yourself –
I’m Natalie, I live in the Lake District in the North of England with my Husband, three children and dog Bailey. I have grown up on a farm and horses are my passion when I am not wedding planning.
What is your role at V&V?
I am co-founder and creative director at Veil & Véu. I deal with all new enquiries and I am the first contact you will speak to if you get in touch about a wedding with us. I also take care of the marketing. On the wedding day, my focus is on the bride, ensuring she has everything that a bride on her big day needs. A big part of my role is also looking after the little ones on the day and making sure their involvement runs smoothly.
Which venue did you get married at and why?
I got married at Fountain Lane in October 2019. Chosing between Swan Lake and Fountain Lane was one of the most difficult wedding planning decisions I faced. Ultimately Fountain Lane felt more like ‘us’ (my fiancé and I). I love the character of the buildings and the fountain lined driveway stole my heart. The day was truly was absolutely incredible and the reason I am so passionate about what I do. At eight weeks old baby Olivia was taken to Portugal to see her Mum & Dads wedding venue for Natalie to work at the wedding of Holly and Stuart.
What is your most valuable piece of advice to anyone planning a destination wedding?
Make the most out of having all of your friends and family in one place. The wedding day will be totally breathtaking from start to finish, we know that. But also make the most of having everyone together by planning pre &/or post celebrations. There is nothing better than having the most amazing wedding day and waking up the following morning knowing that you get to celebrate with all of your people once more. I love a BBQ the day after the wedding to continue the celebrations!
What is your most asked question from couples?
‘What if the venue run out of drinks?’ I get asked this on most initial calls because couples are pleasantly surprised that 14 hours of food and drink is included in the wedding package. UK couples as we know like to enjoy their drink so we always get asked what happens if the venue run out. And to answer the question, you do not need to worry about this. They have a very large cellar and are used to the fact that UK couples very much enjoy their drink!
What is your favourite part of the planning process?
I feel so lucky that we get to work with couples throughout the most exciting times of their life. Planning a wedding is so exciting. I have two favourite parts… attending the expo trip in the January/February of the year the couples are marrying. Its so exciting because the couples see their venues again, taste and pick their wedding menu, chose their décor and its always so so exciting, and now only months from the day! My other favourite moment is watching a couples same day edit on the wedding day. This is a short wedding video trailer shown on the wedding day following the cutting of the cake, and it sums up perfectly how amazing the day has been!
Favourite wedding website / magazine / podcast you recommend to V&V couples?
I love VOGUE magazine. Its always so full of the most amazing suppliers & editorials and we also got to feature it in which was really cool!
Ready to begin planning your dream Portugal wedding? Let’s chat!