Cosmopolitan - Wedded Wonderland

THE EXPERTS
WEDDING PLANNING TIPS | GETTING-READY INSPO | SKINCARE SECRETS
WENDY
EL-KHOURY
The founder and social media
maven fills us in on the fun, frills
and “fairies” behind her business
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW FINLAYSON/BAUER
This is going to sound clichéd, but
I’ve loved weddings ever since I can
remember. I played weddings all the
time and with anyone who would play
with me as a child, but it wasn’t until I
was a wedding planner that I fell truly,
madly, deeply in love. It was my very
first bride that made me realise I could
have an impact on the most important
day in someone’s life. The rest is history!
My brother bought a wedding venue
and three weeks in asked me to join
him on this business venture. At the
time I was a project manager at one of
Australia’s largest financial institutions.
I was climbing the corporate ladder, but
always knew something was missing. I
quit my job and jumped in the deep end.
Within weeks I had 60 brides on my
books from Ghana, Pakistan, Tonga,
Ecuador and more. I worked as a planner
for two and half years, but because I
wanted to have a baby, I knew that the
weekend work had to stop.
So I began consulting to the wedding
industry and started a Facebook page
called Wedded Wonderland. Just six
months later I had 200,000 followers on
Facebook and was pregnant! I knew I
was on to something being a “wedding
blogger”, so I continued growing content,
listening and responding to what the
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the experts
A typical day in my life goes a little
something like this…
• Wake up with my babies at 5am.
• Check emails and social media
at least twice before 9am.
• Get to work.
• Three to five meetings per day, such
as Skype meetings, event briefs, PR
tracking. An event of some sort (trunk
show, product launch, press dinner).
• Then check emails (about 300) and
social media another eight to 10 times.
• Head home at around 7pm.
• Check emails and social media a
further five to seven times before bed.
The passion and creative energy of
suppliers is one of my favourite parts.
I mean, what other industry has this
many creatives? From stylists, florists,
artists, musicians, designers, bakers,
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chefs and more, weddings really are
the ultimate party. We are so fortunate
to celebrate this every weekend!
My best advice for brides is to stay
true to who you are. Stick to what you
love no matter what idea pops into your
friend’s cousin’s mother’s head. We all
have the ability to get carried away, but
don’t allow that to carry you away into
perfection land. It just doesn’t exist. Like
anything in life, you have a wish list of
what you want, but how many times has
that list of “must-haves” been thrown
out the window?
Plan with your partner in mind – you
have the rest of your lives to have
things your way. And it won’t hurt to
compromise a little with the people that
matter most. More often than not they
just want to feel included and important
enough to have a say.
I was once at a wedding where the
groom presented the bride with a
diary. Every day since he had met her
he had written a love note or story about
her. They’d been together for six years,
and she wasn’t aware of the diary at all.
He handed it to her on their wedding
day… It was awesome!
We have lots of exciting things
coming up. We’ll continue being the
online destination for brides, as well as
a source of inspiration for fashion and
wedding enthusiasts. There will be an
online shopping experience, working off
the back of The Bridal Bazaar. And then
international events are on the cards,
and expanding into the States and the
Middle East… There’ll be new fairies!
Visit weddedwonderland.com for more.
EXPERT TIP!
brides wanted online. I still get thrills
from seeing a “fairy” marry. Yes, we call
our followers “fairies” – because they’d
call me their fairy godmother! They take
us along for the ride, and we love it.
“Be like the Wedded Wonderland
bride – source inspiration from celebs
throughout the ages, and consider
texture, detail, movement and drama
in your dress. Don’t be afraid to make
a statement, and certainly don’t be
afraid to shine!” #
make my day
JEFF TIP:
JEFF SUGGESTS
USING ONE,
THREE OR 15
STEMS IN
A VASE
‘THE
LEATHAM 3’
WHEN IN DOUBT:
Think clean, simple and chic.
Never use more than
three types of flowers.
Never use more than
three monochromatic
colours.
movies. I don’t get inspired by what
other people do, because I think, if
you’re a trendsetter in your industry,
you don’t look to others for inspiration.
Watching movies from the ’60s and ’70s
inspires me a lot. There’s this movie
called A Star is Born with Judy Garland,
and there are a lot of scenes in there
where there are tons of flowers laying
on the ground, or arrangements that
are just so simple. There’s a vase of
just one kind of flower.”
The flower
ROCK STAR
What are your favourite career
highlights so far?
Jeff: “I love the fact that I work with
celebrities, but I don’t think that’s the
most important aspect of my work. It
gains you recognition, but I think it’s
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When did you realise you wanted
to work with flowers?
“My father’s an amazing gardener.
When I was a kid, I used to watch my
dad… But I clearly didn’t want to help
him! I was too busy sketching the new
design for my bedroom and demanding
black-and-white chequered floors, and
my family were like, ‘You’re eight years
old – why do you want chequered floors?’
I was always creative, but I didn’t start
working with flowers until I came back
to Los Angeles after years of modelling
and working in a few corporate jobs for
brands like Gap and Urban Outfitters.
And a friend of mine called and said,
‘You know, I have a friend who has a
flower shop at the Four Seasons Hotel.’
That’s kind of how it started!”
Four Seasons’ flower installations are
always so grand. What’s your inspo?
“Fashion is probably my biggest source
of inspiration, and also watching old
WORDS BY ALEXIS TEASDALE. GETTY IMAGES, INSTAGRAM
W
real people who need the inspiration.
Flowers really do change people’s lives
a lot, so I think that’s really inspiring.”
“Their wedding flower pics are
still some of the most popular
photos on Pinterest”
TINA TURNER’S WEDDING
“We used hundreds of
thousands of stems”
If you could talk to all the brides in
Australia and give them one piece of
advice, what would it be?
“Don’t think too much. As much as
social media is amazing, I think it can
also confuse brides a lot. My advice to
a bride is to stick with your original
idea. Go with your original fantasy of
what you want your wedding to be.
And don’t be competitive!”
Sir Jeff Leatham (yes, he’s been knighted) is a favourite floral
stylist to the stars (think Eva Longoria, the Jenners, Oprah,
Kylie Minogue… the list goes on!)
e sat down with him and
asked how the boy from
Utah became the artistic
director of the prestigious
Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris in
the city of love – and bestie to some of
the world’s biggest stars.
EVA LONGORIA &
TONY PARKER’S WEDDING
Is there one flower or colour palette
that’s totally foolproof ?
“It’s just about being monochromatic;
whites with greens will always look
great. Or if you go for something like
pink, try different hues of pinks, or
hues of greens or hues of whites. It’s
just about sticking to monochromatic
colours and not mixing too many
flowers together.”
FUN FACT:
Since Jeff is Paris-based,
he helped his mate Michael
Patrick King, one of the
directors of SATC, to scout
locations for the final episodes.
To say thanks, he placed
Jeff’s book in this
shot. #cool
Going to see the
flower displays at the
iconic Four Seasons Hotel
George V Paris is regularly
listed as one of the top 10 things
to do in the French capital. Even
Kris Jenner ’grammed this
pic of her in front of one
of Jeff’s displays.
JEFF TIP: “BE EXPERIMENTAL! PUT THE FLOWERS UNDER
WATER OR TRY FILLING THE VASE WITH CARBONATED
WATER SO THE BUBBLES GRAB TO THE FLOWER!” #
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