Good questions.
The things couples ask us most — about scope, booking, our independence, and how it all works.
Full Planning is the whole arc — we design and run everything from your first call to the last dance. Partial Planning steps in once you’ve made a start (usually a venue and a few vendors) to refine the design, finish the team, and produce the day. Month-Of Coordination is for couples who plan it all themselves and hand it to us about six weeks out so the wedding day is run by a professional, not by family.
A signed planning agreement and a non-refundable retainer — typically 30–50% of the planning fee — reserve your date. The balance is billed on a schedule set in your contract, with the final payment due before the wedding. The retainer holds your date exclusively; we take a limited number of weddings each year, so dates are first-come.
No. The Vow Atelier is independent — we are not owned by, and do not receive commissions from, any venue or vendor. Our recommendations are made on fit and craft alone. We’re happy to work at any venue and with vendors you bring, as long as they’re licensed and insured.
By design, around twelve. We work largely by referral and limit our calendar so that a principal is in the room for every celebration and no weekend is ever double-booked. It’s why we sometimes recommend wonderful colleagues when our dates are full.
Yes. Design & Styling — concept, palette, florals, and tablescape — is a core part of who we are, and is included within Full Planning. We have an in-house floral studio led by Jonas Rivera, working garden-gathered, seasonal, locally-sourced stems. Florals can also be booked on their own.
Gladly. We design and produce full destination weekends across the Lowcountry, the Southeast, and abroad. Travel and lodging for our team are billed at cost and scoped transparently in your proposal. Most destination clients engage our Full Planning or Destination Weekend service.
Yes. The Vow Atelier is a licensed South Carolina business and carries $2M in general and professional liability insurance. We also require the vendors we work with to be licensed and insured, and we provide certificates of insurance to venues that request them. (License and figures shown here are illustrative for this template.)
Our planning and design fees begin at the numbers shown on the Investment page. Your total wedding budget — venue, catering, florals, music, and the rest — depends entirely on guest count, season, and taste; our Charleston couples most often invest from the mid-five figures into the low six figures all-in. Part of our job is stewarding that budget so it goes where it matters to you.