How I came up with the idea of becoming a Wedding Designer
I have always loved decorating events. I was always the one taking care of the decoration for family celebrations and meals. Nobody even asked the question, everyone just knew I would do it. I have always loved decoration in general and have always been interested in it. The event world had always attracted me. Six or seven years ago, I thought I might become a wedding planner, but I quickly realized that profession was not for me. In the end, taking your time can be a good thing, because I eventually found my path.
My background before getting started
I first graduated with a master’s degree in marketing and communication and worked for a few years in a national company. I was a marketing and communication assistant and regularly handled internal and external events in our region, which I loved. At the same time, I created my first business, Accessoires & Moi, where I made matching accessories for everyone: bow ties, bracelets, bags, scrunchies and more. So I already had one foot in the wedding sphere. Then, through a series of circumstances, I left my job to devote myself to that business, but after six to nine months, my husband and I decided to launch a new activity based on renting second-hand furniture and decor and offering my scenography services. The idea belongs to both of us, but as my husband is still in salaried work, I am currently handling it alone.
My biggest day-to-day challenge
For the rental side of the business, there were no major difficulties apart from finances and, of course, storage space. So we launched a crowdfunding campaign and looked for the ideal premises, which is much harder, although having any space at all is already good. For the scenography side, the real issue was legitimacy. It is not easy when you have no experience or training. I especially wanted to be sure of myself and not take a path I would regret. I looked for a comprehensive wedding design program, ideally funded through my CPF hours, and after much research, I chose the IWI program.
My agency
Manoir des Rêves truly aims to make our clients dream. Here, I offer scenography services with different packages designed to inspire as many people as possible. We range from decor consulting to fully bespoke A-to-Z scenography, including a halfway package that combines consulting and full support, so that clients can benefit from a professional’s services while still handling the lists and shopping selections we have prepared for them.
We also offer second-hand decor rental. Our goal is not to create more first-time purchases. There are already so many things that have been bought, so many forgotten objects that can be repurposed, so many materials that can be reworked, that we chose to value what already exists and offer it for rent. Our little Ali Baba’s cave showroom immerses people in past and future memories, so that the objects that have already passed through other hands can carry happiness into the stories still to come.
Manoir des Rêves is also meant to grow, because we are opening a professional branch with two other collaborators to offer an incredible immersive and personalized experience based on expressed needs — or even unexpressed ones. Soon we will be introducing the agency 'Im.MERCI.Ve', and of course I will be the scenographer.
What I love about my job
The diversity of projects, the encounters, whether with vendors or clients, and the fact that everything is constantly evolving. You never stand still. You grow with people and feed on everything around you. In short, I would not want to go back, and I love my journey.
My first-year review
Incredible, though difficult at the beginning because I launched right in the middle of the season. Even so, there was a very strong demand for object and decor furniture rental. On the other hand, despite the program, I had a hard time feeling truly legitimate in the wedding design side. I lacked confidence and experience because I had done no internship, so I communicated very little about it. As professional encounters happened, I gradually started applying my ideas, notably through inspiration shoots, and confidence came. Now I speak only about scenography, and I have already signed my fifth full scenography project for next year. I cannot wait.
What IWI brought me
A certain confidence and legitimacy. Knowledge, tools and, above all, methodology. Today I still use the basis of some documents and the templates I created at that time. That training saved me a lot of time.