Wedding Planner Profile: Alicia Keats
I think my heart skipped a beat when I first discovered Alicia’s portfolio.
Not surprisingly, Alicia Keats has been named one of the world’s top wedding planners by Vogue Magazine. To her credit, her press page is filled with beautiful features from the industry’s top publications and blogs.
With nearly sixteen years of experience, she delights in the unique opportunities she has been given to create refined, innovative, and highly personal weddings for every one of her clients. Known best for unforgettable luxury weddings, Alicia has gained a reputation for passion, creativity, and grace under pressure.
Read more in her interview below:
What was your career path and training leading up to launching Alicia Keats Weddings & Events?
AK: I had been working on building a career as a theatre actor in Vancouver and, like many other actors, I was also working at Starbucks to make ends meet while I was auditioning. I had set myself a timeline for becoming a successful actor, and as I got closer to that date, I realized it was time to start looking for other opportunities. At the time, I received an alumni brochure from the local university I had attended, and it had a program for wedding and event planning. As I read the course description, I realized it was right up my alley: I was organized, I loved planning, and I had experience from various planning committees and theatre events I have been involved in over the years.
I took the course, which I loved, and when I graduated, a local weddings and events company in town was hiring. This felt like the right opportunity as it would give me the chance to plan events for non-profit organizations, and do something good for the Vancouver community. They hired me as a wedding-day assistant, and after my first wedding, I fell head-over-heels in love. It was a chaotic wedding—a lot of things went sideways—but it showed me that this was exactly what I wanted to do. It reignited the passion I had when I was on stage, which I thought was gone forever.
When did you launch, by the way?
AK: I was with them for about five or six years, and then started my own company in 2010. The company I was working with was growing a lot, and I was given the responsibility of training new planners. This made me feel less connected to my couples, which is something so important to me. I decided to start a smaller company that would let me give my undivided attention to my couples. Our intention has always been to stay small and provide dedicated customer service.
What do you love about wedding and event days?
AK: I love making people happy—that’s really what it all comes down to. I love bringing joy to people, whether that’s helping a guest feel seen, or helping someone with eyelash glue, or standing with my couples before they go down the aisle. It brings me so much joy to help couples bring their vision to life in a way that reflects their values and who they are as a couple. And it’s so special to see them celebrated and surrounded by joy.
One of my clients once said to me that I’ve dedicated my life’s work to love, and I always thought that was amazing. I have so much love in my heart and it’s so rewarding to be able to take that love and take pressure off of people so that they can enjoy that moment. My favourite part of the wedding day is that moment at the end of the aisle, when everything’s quiet, and the couple is ready to go.
Why do you feel couples need planning or coordination?
AK: It’s a gift to yourself to not have to be in the driver’s seat on your wedding day. That way you can actually be present and enjoy the moment knowing that everything else is being taken care of by someone you trust. It’s truly a gift.
I know I did it for my wedding, and I never thought for a second about the time and what was going on around me. The day goes by so fast, and to be able to be present, soak it in, and really experience it is priceless. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes—hundreds of questions that the planner gets—and that shouldn’t be something the couple has to deal with.
When it comes to choosing whether you need planning support or coordination, it really comes down to how much time you have leading up to the wedding to research vendors, talk to them, and choose the elements that will make up your big day. It also depends on how good a planner you are—if you’re someone who shudders at the sight of a timeline, then it might be better to get some help.
PHOTO BY BLUSH
Do you have a specialty?
AK: My specialty is being invested in my couples and planning with my heart. Unless you’ve met or worked with me, that might be hard to understand, but I’m one hundred percent committed to my couple’s day, their relationship, their family, and their priorities. I specialize in creating meaningful relationships in that planning context, and offering my heart to my couples. I also specialize in creating meaningful celebrations for couples.
How did you go about building your team? What has that been like?
AK: We have stayed small since the beginning. My right-hand woman, Aurora, joined me minutes after I announced my company. I knew her within the industry, and for the longest time it was just the two of us with our wedding day assistants. We have slowly grown since then, but always with the intention of not wanting to produce hundreds of weddings each summer, but rather host a small number of weddings so that we can give those meaningful experiences to our couples.
The pandemic has encouraged us to grow our team a bit more, because we’ve been booked for this year since 2019. These wonderful new planners are giving us the ability to help other couples as they get engaged.
In terms of building the team, I put postings up on our newsletter and social media accounts. By having meaningful conversations with the candidates, I’ve found the most amazing people to join the team. The process takes a lot of time and energy, but it’s worth it. It’s like looking for a planning soulmate. Someone who values the same things that I value. Someone who’s passionate about couples. Someone who’s honest.
How did you incorporate more design services in to your business?
AK: This happened naturally as the industry changed. Planners and designers used to be very separate functions in our industry, but that’s evolved over the years. More and more, couples want a custom vision for their wedding and that might mean relying on more than one decorator. And so, planners have taken on this role where we’re helping couples conceptualize their vision and then bringing it to life.
I’ve spent a lot of time training and upskilling myself from a design perspective, and it’s naturally evolved as one of our offerings. It’s fun and creative and I get to use my imagination and some of my theatre background in that.
Where do you look to for inspiration?
AK: Architectural Digest is a big one. I read Vogue. I love watching fashion shows. Food blogs. Art. Museums. Interior design. These are all external sources of inspiration that feed my creativity. My couples also inspire me. I work hard to find out who they are, what their needs are, what they want their wedding to say—and then combine that with the external inspiration.
What has been the bright side of COVID and how it effected weddings, or is there any lessons learned that you would like to share after two strange years?
AK: It was really hopeful and encouraging to see that love didn’t give up. Early in the pandemic, I had a friend say to me “maybe this is the end and you’re going to have to switch careers.” I was terrified that I was going to have to give up my life’s work. But the resilience and determination of my couples to be married and to have that celebratory moment with their family and friends despite all the odds gave me faith that we would fight through to the end. It showed me that love would conquer.
We did some weddings that were small and intimate, and those were incredible. And then we had some that were allowed to be a bit bigger—and I found myself crying the whole time. Everyone was so happy and celebrating in that social connection. It was magical.
What trends did you love this last season? Or for next year?
AK: Most planners will tell you that we’re seeing a lot of intentional personalization and attention to the guest experience. Everyone has been aware of the struggle and loss that people have experienced, and they want to make the gathering feel warm and celebratory. A lot of the inquiries that are coming in this year are for smaller weddings.
“I think people discovered the joy of small weddings during the pandemic, and they want to have a small group of guests that they can spoil rotten.”
Was there any education or training after you launched that has been invaluable?
AK: Engage, the annual wedding conference, is an important source of knowledge. I try to go every year (pandemic permitting!).
What would you like new planners to know?
AK: Having someone as a mentor can be invaluable in this industry. I personally am really grateful for the time I worked with my first employer. Another option is to check in with other new planners and see if they’re interested in sharing ideas and being each other’s sounding boards. I think planners sometimes feel alone, and it’s so important to have a network of people you trust to help you succeed.