Transcript
Speaker: Hi everyone, I'm Molly Carr and this is The Wedding Destination, a podcast for couples and creatives where we discuss all things destination weddings.
Speaker: As a destination wedding photographer, I have traveled the world and had the opportunity to work in some of the most beautiful places imaginable with some of the best and most inspiring wedding industry creatives out there.
Speaker: Whether you are a bride or groom planning your destination wedding or a wedding industry creative hoping to grow your business, welcome and welcome to today's episode of the podcast.
Speaker: As you listen to today's episode, we would love to see where you are and what you're up to.
Speaker: Snap a photo and be sure to tag us at wedding destination podcast.
Speaker: Hi, friends.
Speaker: We are so happy to have you here today and are thrilled to welcome you back after our fall break with a very special guest.
Speaker: The incredible Augusta Cole joins us today, and I truly cannot wait for you to get to hear her story.
Speaker: Augusta is a wedding planner and designer with over a decade of extensive experience producing events across the world.
Speaker: Based in New York and Charleston with a global presence, Augusta is widely respected for her discretion as well as her intuitive creative design, innate eye for detail, and seamless planning process.
Speaker: Named a top planning company by Vogue and Over the Moon, Augusta is a
Speaker: Augusta excels in producing one-of-a-kind occasions for all shapes and sizes, from multi-day destination weddings to intimate dinner parties in some of the world's most exclusive locations, from the Hamptons to San Moritz to Venice.
Speaker: Augusta, thank you so much for joining us, and welcome to the wedding destination.
Speaker: Thank you, Molly.
Speaker: It's so fun to finally be here.
Speaker: I'm a big fan of what you're doing and thrilled to be invited.
Speaker: So thank you.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: I am so happy to have you here, Augusta.
Speaker: Your style and vision are completely original, and I know that our listeners are going to absolutely love getting to know you.
Speaker: So before we start talking all things weddings, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got started in the industry?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So, I mean, if I really think back, getting started in the industry started as a
Speaker: At a young age, I was definitely surrounded by creative entertainers.
Speaker: As a young girl, my mom was a consummate hostess, always being involved in philanthropic events or on the committees, chairing things, and loved throwing a dinner party.
Speaker: And at home, a dinner party wasn't just dinner on the table.
Speaker: There was some sort of typically some theatrical component involved, and it was all
Speaker: very fun for her.
Speaker: And then I think she really caught the bug for entertaining from her mother, my grandmother, Jean Jean, who is just today at 97, still lays the most beautiful tables and cherishes her china and her silver like they're her own, like her children.
Speaker: And she has an exquisite eye, is constantly redecorating even in her late 90s.
Speaker: So
Speaker: And my mother was an interior designer.
Speaker: Jean Jean truly could have been and is in her own right.
Speaker: So I think just being involved in design and entertaining and hospitality, that was something I was sort of raised with.
Speaker: And then prior to that, I mean, after that, you know, as I kind of went down the path of like, what am I going to do with my life?
Speaker: I was one of those very hungry people.
Speaker: even high school students who just really wanted to get involved in real-life work experience.
Speaker: And so I did a lot of internships.
Speaker: Included among those would be working at 18, living in New York City, and working for Leela Rose.
Speaker: So I had the bug for fashion and I quickly learned that while I love fashion, the business side of it or the creative aspect was something I wanted, you know, to be part of my life, but I wasn't going to be purely dedicated to the fashion industry, but it was a great lesson to learn.
Speaker: And I learned so much working in Lila's orbit.
Speaker: From there, then I wanted to work in marketing and PR and
Speaker: I worked for a PR firm in Nashville, Tennessee.
Speaker: I worked for in development and special events for the Cooper Hewitt, and that was an incredible experience.
Speaker: I just tried to get a smattering of opportunities that sort of, you know, showcased work kind of collaborating and working with people, but also with ultimately at the end of the day, a creative outlet in hand.
Speaker: So
Speaker: Those internships sort of paved a path toward figuring out that maybe I wanted to get involved in the wild world of events.
Speaker: And that opportunity happened sort of toward the end of my college career.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: That's amazing.
Speaker: I mean, just with that, I feel like there's so much to unpack.
Speaker: I mean, I think it's incredible that you started off doing these internships before you even went to college and that you moved to New York at 18, that you were working in the fashion industry.
Speaker: And obviously from that, it sounds like really every step that you took
Speaker: looking back had a significant role in developing who you are and where you are today.
Speaker: And I would love to know with those internships, if we have listeners that are newer in their career, might still be studying, how did you find them?
Speaker: Did you seek them out on your own?
Speaker: Did you find them through your university, through your network?
Speaker: I would love to hear a little bit more about that process.
Speaker: Both.
Speaker: The first internship in New York City when I was 18, working for Lila was a really lucky, one of those fortunate experiences in life where a mentor of mine growing up, she was actually my babysitter, kind of like a sister figure.
Speaker: I'm an only child.
Speaker: She had just finished at Parsons School of Design, had just done an internship herself with Lila, and out of the goodness of her heart, invited me to come and live with her for the summer and
Speaker: basically teed up this internship.
Speaker: So that was, you know, you couldn't script that.
Speaker: I'm not sure I could have applied for it and never been given the opportunity.
Speaker: And truly it was the best internship I ever had because I wasn't
Speaker: I was in over my head.
Speaker: I had to really learn and I had to be scrappy and I had to kind of just take everything in like osmosis and just observe how people operated in the real world and the intensity and the pace in which we needed to be kind of delivering on the demands and the asks.
Speaker: There are so many stories I could go into that I
Speaker: lessons learned.
Speaker: But it was an amazing, amazing opportunity.
Speaker: And then just living in New York, being from Nashville, Tennessee, a smaller southern town, and getting that first sort of exposure to what life in New York could be down the road for me was amazing.
Speaker: And then the other internships –
Speaker: were more school-driven.
Speaker: The one was Cooper Hewitt.
Speaker: I was in the arts administration program at the University of Virginia.
Speaker: I was studying art history and architectural history.
Speaker: Also both very influential kind of study paths to take that I actually pull on a lot in my work day to day.
Speaker: But I had started with a program called Art
Speaker: art administration.
Speaker: And it was a burgeoning, now it is a major.
Speaker: It wasn't at the time, but it really was the business of the arts.
Speaker: And that made a lot of sense for my personality.
Speaker: I love the project management, sort of business side of the creative world.
Speaker: So when I was thinking about different internships and really did want to spend one of my summers of college in New York, this opportunity to be a
Speaker: Smithsonian scholar came about.
Speaker: And so I had to apply for it and, you know, through UVA got this great internship opportunity.
Speaker: And my favorite memory from that internship was having my first impression of David Stark because he was doing the National Design Awards, the NDA Gala.
Speaker: And part of my job was fundraising for that gala.
Speaker: And I had the privilege to sit in on a few collaborative meetings about planning and mapping out the strategy for the programming.
Speaker: And I think that actual moment
Speaker: is what sparked this like, oh, there's a big world out there of events.
Speaker: And whatever this guy is doing is fascinating.
Speaker: And he's creating experiences to support this philanthropic endeavor, but he's not purely doing development work day to day.
Speaker: And I want to learn more about this field.
Speaker: And that was really remarkable.
Speaker: And then another, it wasn't an internship, it was a summer job.
Speaker: But
Speaker: I did work in a flower shop.
Speaker: And that was also hugely important to me because I really have so much respect for the industry and what it takes to produce and do and fund the work that they create as floral designers.
Speaker: And it also taught me just the language of flowers.
Speaker: So to be able to rattle off the varietals and seasonality and
Speaker: I did quickly learn I was not to be arranging.
Speaker: Like I can do it for my house, but flowers and masks, not beautiful arranging.
Speaker: I was much better selling and talking through logistics and thinking through what might be good for their home, but actually putting together the beautiful arrangements I left to the real artists in the studio.
Speaker: As you mentioned, all three of these and there were others, kind of each one had a stone that
Speaker: went into the path that ultimately led to me deciding to apply for an internship at Easton events and have an incredible 10-year plus run of working for Lynn Easton.
Speaker: So that was an amazing experience.
Speaker: Wow, that's fantastic.
Speaker: So, you know, it sounds like you really just followed what you were curious about.
Speaker: You followed what inspired you, what excited you.
Speaker: You went down these different paths and had an opportunity by age 22 to work in a vast area.
Speaker: array of fields from PR to marketing to floral design to events and fashion.
Speaker: And I think that's amazing that really it sounds like you just continually were digging into what excited you and what felt like the right path for you.
Speaker: Was there a specific process you followed on this route or was it more just you kind of let your passions go
Speaker: dictate where you would go next.
Speaker: I think the beauty of starting at the age when I started, which no one dictated that for me.
Speaker: My parents weren't like, get out there, honey, and go pursue your business endeavors at age 18.
Speaker: It was just something a bit innate that I just kind of had this instinct.
Speaker: I wanted to get out there and figure out what I could be good at.
Speaker: And I loved performing.
Speaker: I was involved in sports and leadership groups.
Speaker: And I just, I don't know, I
Speaker: I wanted to see what I and the world had to offer.
Speaker: So I don't know that there was a process.
Speaker: I also – I didn't see myself with like an obvious trajectory either.
Speaker: You know, a lot of my friends in college went to the comm school and then they're amazing in finance and business today.
Speaker: Like I had great friends who pursued med school and –
Speaker: They knew they were on the track to be a lawyer.
Speaker: I just didn't totally fall into any particular path, but I had capabilities that suited lots of different things.
Speaker: And what I love about what I do every day as an event planner and a business owner is I wear so many hats on one given day.
Speaker: And I know that can sort of sound like a cliche, but I do a guest lecture for College of Charleston most often
Speaker: That's just the five hats of an event planner.
Speaker: And I'm, you know, I'm working in accounting.
Speaker: I'm working in counseling and, you know, therapy.
Speaker: I'm working in design and architecture.
Speaker: I'm a producer, you know, like a theater or a show.
Speaker: There's, I'm kind of pulling on all of these different components on any given day.
Speaker: So I think that just keeps everything varied and pretty fascinating.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: So then you spent 10 years working with Lynn Easton.
Speaker: And when did you decide to officially launch Augusta Cole Weddings and Events?
Speaker: So it was a tough decision because I absolutely love, love, loved my time at Easton.
Speaker: But there just comes a time in your life where, for me, it was
Speaker: just a crossroads where I saw potentially moving to New York.
Speaker: I saw where I personally wanted to grow and go.
Speaker: And it really aligned with this timing of January of 2020.
Speaker: However,
Speaker: you know, as the world turns, no one knew what 2020 was going to be.
Speaker: So I would say I like officially launched Augustical in June of 2020.
Speaker: But the decision to kind of give myself a shot and go out there and see what I could do sort of came about, you know, with lots of conversation and very positively supported in January of 2020.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: So then when you really officially launched in June of 2020, so three and a half years ago, absolutely incredible to see how far you've come in that three and a half years.
Speaker: As we said, you're on the lists of one of the top wedding planners in the world.
Speaker: Absolutely fantastic.
Speaker: So when you launched in June, what were your first events like?
Speaker: Well, they were very small because that's all we could do.
Speaker: It was COVID.
Speaker: It was the heart of COVID.
Speaker: I was really fortunate, and I share this with a lot of kind of grace and humility, that when I launched, you know, a lot of my colleagues were in the trenches with the worst season of their career, which was rescheduling, postponing, dealing with just monstrous stress that I wouldn't wish upon anyone.
Speaker: And while I felt some of that, and I definitely understand the woes and the struggles that we had to endure in evaluating events in COVID, not nearly to the amount that many of my colleagues had.
Speaker: So I was in this position of onboarding new clients who had heard of me through referral or reputation in the industry from my dedicated time in the past.
Speaker: And I was able to work with clients with this like lens of optimism.
Speaker: So it was really super fortunate.
Speaker: And I was really lucky to get a few referrals, interestingly, kind of rooted in UVA connections, kind of right off the bat.
Speaker: One was for an amazing Jackson Hole wedding where I actually got to work with David Stark as a creative partner.
Speaker: That was in August of 21.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: Like total serendipity.
Speaker: That's incredible.
Speaker: And that was a UVA sorority sister, younger sister was getting married and went through a very great kind of application process and had to make sure I kind of earned the opportunity.
Speaker: But it was an incredible, incredible event experience and planning experience kind of during COVID, you know, with this looming view of it's going to, we'll be in the clear come the time of this wedding.
Speaker: Another experience
Speaker: Great event that was really my first big event post-COVID was in June of 2021 for an amazing family that I'm still very close with today and hope to be for a long, long time.
Speaker: But that was an industry referral that was just so fortunate.
Speaker: And that one did take on, we had many iterations of that wedding from location to guest size.
Speaker: We had plans A, B, and C because we didn't know what the New York
Speaker: kind of limits would be given come June 2020, like 2021.
Speaker: So there was a lot of variation at play on that one, but an amazing wedding.
Speaker: And then I did get to do another UVA connection, a sorority sister of mine who's the founder of St.
Speaker: Frank Textiles, Christina Bryant.
Speaker: She was getting married and wanted to do a beautiful, fully thoughtfully done event
Speaker: in Palm Beach, but only for 15 people.
Speaker: And that really created an opportunity for my design sensibilities to be able to be showcased in the midst of COVID and be able to
Speaker: work with someone who is so creative and help her bring along her vision in a, you know, wedding tablescape and environment capacity.
Speaker: And I was able to really pull on a lot of things that are, I guess, somewhat signature of our work today, which is layered tabletop and residential touches and custom elements because we were kind of hyper-focused.
Speaker: And each detail was
Speaker: I think of like every little component that went into the hand done tie on cushions for her chairs out of the St.
Speaker: Frank textiles.
Speaker: And we had underlay linen that was, you know, a custom gray line linen with the tonal napkins that were tonally embroidered with calligraphy from Stephanie Fishwick.
Speaker: But then over top, I went to Mood Fabrics and hand selected this amazing Oscar de la Renta lace that had this sort of
Speaker: Italian style that she wanted that went over the table.
Speaker: And, you know, she still has that today.
Speaker: And I see her use it for party.
Speaker: So, and then we bought these beautiful Haviland Limoges plates that are called de mousse that were just like, can't find them in the rental world.
Speaker: They're so divine.
Speaker: She uses them so often.
Speaker: So long story long, it was like this great
Speaker: again, unplanned, but opportunity that kind of came together with two creative minds to do something that really represented her brand.
Speaker: And she did want to have it featured, which was also fortunate for me.
Speaker: But so I got to play with her vision, but also layer in sort of signature components of what we do.
Speaker: And then the other fun kind of what were our first events like was a nine person wedding in Sea Island that was for a lovely bride and groom.
Speaker: And that one was just the start of what was later a huge 200 person wedding at Sea Island about two years later with a very international set of guests.
Speaker: So we had to really push that out to be sure people could make it in from all around the world.
Speaker: That was, you know, incredible experience as well to get to design another intimate but really layered kind of personalized table.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: So, I mean, even hearing the way that you talk about your tablescape design process, and we'll get to that in a little bit because to me- Sorry, I kind of derailed there.
Speaker: I mean, it's such an integral essence, I think, of the Augusta Cole brand, but it takes me back to what you were saying in the very beginning about growing up, watching how your mother, watching how your grandmother entertained, how your grandmother has China that is like another child to her and these beautiful silver pieces and-
Speaker: So really, it seems like that layered sensibility, the heirlooms, the custom pieces have just been ingrained in you throughout your life.
Speaker: And how fantastic that right when you launched, you were able to really immediately bring that to your events.
Speaker: And in a way, that was one of the great things about COVID and intimate events is it really gave a
Speaker: us the opportunity to be incredibly creative and not to be executing something on a three, 400 plus person scale, but doing it on a much more intimate level, which in that way, you could just make it that much more special and intentional.
Speaker: So I love hearing about that.
Speaker: And it's especially for your sorority sister, who was the textile designer, that you were really able to
Speaker: have that experience where you were bringing her designs and her vision and her work into her day.
Speaker: Absolutely extraordinary.
Speaker: Well, thank you.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It was an amazing – yeah.
Speaker: It's hard to say an amazing time because it's obviously surrounded with so much sadness.
Speaker: But if you look for the silver linings, there were some very fortuitous things that can happen in the wake of it.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And so with that, it sounds like really from the get-go –
Speaker: you were solely focused on destination events.
Speaker: I mean, you were going out to Jackson Hole, you're down in Sea Island.
Speaker: So from the get-go, Augusta Cole has very much been about events around the world.
Speaker: And fast forward three and a half years, and I mean, you have worked in some of the most incredible and unique destinations.
Speaker: And I would just love to hear a little bit more about your couples and how they end up selecting these locations.
Speaker: Do you guide them into one?
Speaker: I mean, off the top of my head, I know you recently had a wedding in Switzerland that was just published.
Speaker: You worked in Venice.
Speaker: And yeah, I would love to hear more about that process.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So let's see.
Speaker: You know, I have to be very grateful for my experience doing destination work because during my time at Easton, that's really what we became known for or East became known for.
Speaker: So I had a lot of experience to reference of just being able to take on complicated multi-day events all over.
Speaker: And I'm very grateful and excited to be, you know, continuing that in the Augusta Cole capacity.
Speaker: I love storytelling.
Speaker: And I think that's one of the things that destination events really allow to have happen is that you get to play out a location for your guests with a unique lens as to why the couple has meaning with this place or is connected to this place, or even if they are becoming connected to the place
Speaker: What set the spark off for them to say, hey, meet me here and let's have this wedding and celebration here and really unearthing that both experientially and visually and culturally.
Speaker: And I think, you know, art history plays into that and architectural history and just kind of the love of, you know, the different world influences and cultural influences on what hospitality and entertaining is.
Speaker: So with that long-winded answer,
Speaker: My couples are adventurous.
Speaker: They're creative.
Speaker: They love a good time.
Speaker: They typically love things to be – and there is no typical because we love all different types of clients.
Speaker: But there is this sort of discovery sensibility with our clients who want to kind of go beneath the surface and do things that aren't what everyone else or what is apparent to do and
Speaker: Part of the journey of working together is very often couples come to us saying, I know I want to get married in this location.
Speaker: Like I definitely want to do it here, but how we do it, where we do it, that's like for us to determine together and we really want to lean on you and your team's collective insight on that and what you know as good options.
Speaker: And then occasionally they come to us saying, I want this kind of wedding with this sort of feel and
Speaker: and X are our parameters, but where do we go from here?
Speaker: Like, I have no idea where to do this, help guide us, and help us find the right place.
Speaker: And that's another kind of layer of journey that we go on.
Speaker: But, you know, for the, like, once we do determine where, so for the couple that knows, and once we kind of zero in on let's choose this location, we do schedule sort of an initial site visit, which, you
Speaker: begin – which really unlocks like where are we going to do these amazing things.
Speaker: And I love reaching out to industry connections around the world and getting insider knowledge as to what's fresh, what's different, where is an amazing place to work, but really lets you kind of take the reins and do custom things or where is it like so –
Speaker: sort of exclusive, but once you get in, it's just this very special experience to kind of reveal to your guests.
Speaker: And we're always factoring in our clients' personality and budget and taste, but also the logistics.
Speaker: And I think
Speaker: you know, having that creative mind is one thing, but like to really find a great planner, you have to trust that they're always hyper-focused on the logistics and the how and the guest experience.
Speaker: So for us, like a perfect site, you know, might mean there has to be thoughtfully handled and, you know, individual boats arriving logistics like in Venice, but it can all be managed smoothly with the right infrastructure so that the journey to get there doesn't
Speaker: you know, outweigh the experience once you arrive.
Speaker: But we love just helping our clients kind of decide what type of weekend are they trying to host and what is the cadence of the weekend, you know, from the first impression to that sort of last experience with obviously the big wedding day sort of culminating at the top as the crescendo.
Speaker: So from there, once you're able to really guide your clients into selecting a destination, how do you start moving forward with selecting their creative team?
Speaker: I know that you said you really have connections and creative artisans that you work with around the world.
Speaker: Do you typically work with mostly local creatives?
Speaker: Are you mostly bringing in a team from across the world?
Speaker: How does that flow for you and your couples?
Speaker: That decision is largely based on clients' preference and financial comfort zone.
Speaker: And overall,
Speaker: kind of the ethos and aesthetic that the couple is going for.
Speaker: So I do love leaning on local resources when possible.
Speaker: It doesn't mean it doesn't make my job a little bit more complex because these are brand new, fresh relationships that I'm fostering in this, you know, let's say year we have to plan and develop it.
Speaker: But I think having local insight is so important
Speaker: reflect, like it reflects really authentically on the place and on the guest experience.
Speaker: But that can be very cherry picked, like where it makes the most sense for the best quality and the best outcome for your client.
Speaker: I would say in general, you know, we are trying to be smart and kind of value engineer this decision making with our client as to where are they going to get the best impact and where, you
Speaker: Does it make sense to source and resource and bring in or to lean on local options?
Speaker: So often it's a pretty balance just depending on how far afield we are.
Speaker: Regardless, though, I do find even if we are...
Speaker: you know, totally staying local, you know, we're often kind of enhancing it with, you know, maybe it is the photographer that's being brought in or we're custom sourcing some components or bringing in linens or we're doing things that layer on just sort of their special touch.
Speaker: And then obviously, you know, getting to work abroad with creative partners that you know is wonderful and a luxury and,
Speaker: You know, we love the opportunity to travel with our team too.
Speaker: So it just – it really is a balancing act.
Speaker: And where local is additive and kind of creates even a better sense of place with, you know, on par quality and service, and I think it's excellent to do.
Speaker: But there's also time and place where, you know, there's certain people who are skilled and gifted in certain things, and it's worth flying them in for it.
Speaker: And the client values it that much, which I think is great.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I mean, like you said, there is something truly magic about being able to take a team when you have the right opportunity that you've worked with before, that you have that level of trust that you really are already a team and travel with them internationally.
Speaker: And you're often in environments where things are incredibly unpredictable.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And you're working in places where there are more challenges than having a local wedding where you're working with the same rental company.
Speaker: And really, it's kind of a similar plug and chug process.
Speaker: So when you have that opportunity to travel with a group of trusted and tried creative partners, that's a special kind of magic.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: No, it really is.
Speaker: And then even then, though, I think an important role of international...
Speaker: weddings is that you have to know, or even working out West versus being from the East Coast, like you have to know to ask the locals and ask for insight that just may not be regular to your day-to-day planning.
Speaker: Even if you do come in with a totally out-of-town team, you
Speaker: having somebody on, you know, boots on the ground or somebody that is providing a layer of infrastructure for us on the planning side or from catering side or rentals that is going to kind of keep you abreast or like, this is how things roll here.
Speaker: It's always important to have that sort of trusted touch point at the location just so that you avoid, you know, pitfalls that just might not be
Speaker: anything that you've experienced before because you haven't worked in that place.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: And I think we've talked about it a little bit so far, but for me, one of the elements, Augusta, that just really stands out about you and about your brand is the consistency of your designs.
Speaker: Even though you're creating these really, really unique, one-of-a-kind events that
Speaker: In incredibly special environments, I mean, a Venetian palazzo, dude ranch, places that feel and are very, very different culturally, aesthetically, somehow every one of your events feels both completely true to the place.
Speaker: but also feels undeniably Augusta Cole.
Speaker: And I think your work is that type of work where if you're scrolling on Instagram, you see before we even see your name, oftentimes I can tell Augusta did this.
Speaker: And to me, I think that's really extraordinary that you're able to balance those two so well and that every one of your events does feel completely unique to itself, but also feels very true to you.
Speaker: So I would just love to hear more about your design process.
Speaker: How do you get to start to understand your client's vision?
Speaker: How are you inspired by the wedding destination?
Speaker: Gosh, and everyone is so different.
Speaker: And I appreciate that entry and that note that's really kind of you.
Speaker: And what's so important to us is that these events do stay individual and true to the place and true to the couple or the client.
Speaker: designing for them is what we're hired to do, but with this sort of like undercurrent of quality and complexity, whether that be all neutrals or it's lots of color, which obviously we're not afraid of.
Speaker: So how do we get there?
Speaker: I mean, I think there is this part of working with a couple or a brand, which is understanding like a little bit of like a strategy session.
Speaker: Like, who are you?
Speaker: Let me get to know you.
Speaker: Where do you love to go out to eat?
Speaker: Where are your favorite hotels?
Speaker: If you were to travel anywhere tomorrow, where on the map would it be?
Speaker: Why?
Speaker: What's it like to have dinner at home, like with your family?
Speaker: When you always go out to dinner, what's this, like what do you order?
Speaker: What's the feeling?
Speaker: What's the energy like?
Speaker: And making sure to like kind of listen to those contextual clues, the sort of, the sort of essence of all of that.
Speaker: Like we're not going to, you know,
Speaker: say, okay, let's go replicate that restaurant.
Speaker: But that says, oh, of course they like that place because it's X, Y, or Z. And you can start to kind of pick up on through lines about their life and their style.
Speaker: I also think seeing images of interior spaces that our couples are drawn to, or even how their family's homes are decorated or their homes are decorated, that kind of sheds into like, are they into things feeling more cozy and approachable?
Speaker: Do they like clean lines and tidy and
Speaker: more airiness.
Speaker: And then also just, I also have amazing clients that have just great design sensibility that, you know, their home may be completely opposite of this like location, but they're just completely and utterly obsessed with where we are.
Speaker: So how do we bring the elements of where we are into play to create an overall vision and design?
Speaker: We do a lot of mood boarding.
Speaker: So we love to start with sort of a dashboard, a mood board,
Speaker: of just images and color palette and tone.
Speaker: Sometimes it's kind of like the weekend vibe.
Speaker: Others, it's, you know, we do them specific to each event.
Speaker: And then, you know, the paper suite is always the kind of first launching point for us of, you know, a point of view on aesthetic.
Speaker: Sometimes I think the save the date is the most challenging thing.
Speaker: piece of the paper suite because it's so soon and it's right out the gate.
Speaker: And with our designs, it takes some simmering and some thinking through and really getting connected to the location and the clients.
Speaker: And we really delve deep, deep into the design process sort of six months out.
Speaker: Like it's all being thought through and considered, but really making commitments and deciding and moving into custom production.
Speaker: I don't like our clients to, you know, commit too early to a design direction because these runways for weddings are so long now with, you know, 12 plus months.
Speaker: But you might go to another friend's wedding and it's, you know, vibrant coral and you're like, whoa, we've got to rethink this.
Speaker: So kind of committing to the plan a little closer to is always a good method for us.
Speaker: But I think...
Speaker: That consistency really comes in on not just accepting what's available to us.
Speaker: So, you know, recently this wedding in Switzerland, you know, there was a really fabulous rental company.
Speaker: They have beautiful things, things we don't get to work with all the time.
Speaker: And that's exciting.
Speaker: Like, oh, yeah, I love these plates, love this flatware.
Speaker: But the tablecloths, like, weren't what we're used to.
Speaker: And the outlets for tablecloths, like, are a little bit more limited and it's sort of developing things.
Speaker: from a rental perspective.
Speaker: So that kind of pushes you into the custom realm.
Speaker: And that's when, you know, maybe we, we don't mind kind of going that extra mile to be sure that we really affect, we don't mind, we love it.
Speaker: to be sure that even if, you know, the region or the location doesn't have exactly what we need, then we make it and we create it.
Speaker: In Venice, we went through every, every rental company trying to find, you know, a pretty Murano glass because like we had to have Murano from Venice.
Speaker: So in the end, we produced them.
Speaker: We produced Murano glass, two very different ones.
Speaker: And I now have an amazing relationship with this, you know, couple glass makers in Venice that I'll hope
Speaker: continue to work with down the road.
Speaker: But it's just these opportunities, if you can't find it, create it.
Speaker: And obviously finances and clients' comfort zone weighs in on that and they're very involved in that decision making.
Speaker: But I think that sort of intentional where
Speaker: What guests are going to touch and feel and visually experience is so important to us.
Speaker: But then it extends out from there.
Speaker: Like the table is one very narrow piece of the puzzle.
Speaker: Like what isn't showcased as broadly on our Instagram as I should work on it for the future, but it's just how these events feel and how guests are led from experience to experience and the music that carries them from environment to environment.
Speaker: and sort of the pacing of the day so that it just sort of feels like you have a gentle, you know, a light hand on your back sort of like nudging you through the day without you even knowing it.
Speaker: That sort of seamlessness is also sort of part of the orchestration that is so fun in what we do.
Speaker: Gosh, I mean, there's so much there.
Speaker: I, first of all, am just absolutely blown away by the fact that you had –
Speaker: Murano glassware custom designed for your client's wedding in Venice.
Speaker: How incredibly special.
Speaker: So was that something that – did they bring some of the pieces home with them or was that – Yeah, they're going to have a long life afterwards.
Speaker: That's incredible.
Speaker: That's all part of it too.
Speaker: Like there is an upcycling nature to investing in things that you own.
Speaker: Like there is a – you know, I think –
Speaker: And it's something we do explain like the other day one of our clients, we did this beautiful entry table with this ferric mason linen.
Speaker: And I saw literally last night that she had it on her dinner table and had a dinner party at home last evening.
Speaker: It was just so fun to see like, okay, that's why we did this because like memories are going to live on and you're investing in these pieces, but they're going to be a part of impact your life in the future.
Speaker: Like I mentioned with Christina, with St.
Speaker: Frank, like her, you know, she'll like would put on Instagram and I can see her wedding plates being used.
Speaker: And on a bigger scale, you know, gifts can be given out.
Speaker: Sets can, like they're all smart strategies that can be made if you do choose to kind of bring them home and share them amongst your friends, your family, and just the added meaning that comes to play with that.
Speaker: So yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And to me, I think this whole element of custom personalization to me feels like such a integral part of your brand.
Speaker: And I think one of the things that really sticks out for me is that elements like that really are what make the weddings that you produce feel almost like an extension of your client's entertaining style.
Speaker: Basically,
Speaker: They're throwing the chicest, most fabulous dinner party imaginable.
Speaker: And I know personally, I work a lot in Europe.
Speaker: And typically, I would say the rentals aren't always, we don't have access as much in Europe to the type of rentals that clients might be used to here in the US, especially on one of the coasts.
Speaker: And that can be a real struggle, I think, especially for wedding planners who routinely work in one or two of those markets.
Speaker: who maybe are based in France, based in Italy, they really are kind of having to use the same pieces in different ways from their rental companies.
Speaker: So I think the fact that- And to me, I'm like, we're just one step closer to the people that are producing it.
Speaker: So like, let's go straight to the source.
Speaker: And if it makes sense, or maybe a rental company will buy it back, or the caterer will want to own these pieces.
Speaker: Like there's all just, you got to kind of, if you think-
Speaker: If you think narrowly as to here are my options and I have to pick among them, it's very hard to create, you know, uniqueness among all your work.
Speaker: But when you start to say, okay, this is going to take 10 to 15, maybe 20 more hours out of my life to make this happen, but the end result is going to be so much more exquisite and so much more fascinating and have a life after this one event –
Speaker: let's do it.
Speaker: And that there's this sort of kind of artisan collaboration.
Speaker: And I think, you know, I don't know if you ever read David Stark's The Artisan Table, his book that's out, not plugging his book, happy to always plug his book.
Speaker: But he talks about that relationship with the artist and that what we do in like creating events isn't just, you know, re-kind of
Speaker: recycling the same things just in different varieties.
Speaker: Like we do have the opportunity to kind of create new experiences and design fresh ideas.
Speaker: So yes, I agree that maybe the resources are a smidge more limited on the rental side of things.
Speaker: But then there is this sense of like, well, I'm already across the pond.
Speaker: Now I'm just, you know, a train ride away from this adorable town that does this amazing pottery.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Well, you know, I would love if maybe we could dig into that a little bit more.
Speaker: So if we have planners that are listening,
Speaker: that, you know, see your work, that see, I mean, I think about the wedding at Bad Roots Palace that, you know, you had that amazing Jaliska.
Speaker: I think it was the, was it the country estate dinnerware that you used?
Speaker: And that was sourced from the state.
Speaker: So that was a rental, you said, right?
Speaker: That's amazing.
Speaker: And then you had- That was a purchase.
Speaker: The family- Oh, okay.
Speaker: Purchased.
Speaker: But we did rent-
Speaker: I have a wonderful relationship with Jason from Small Masterpiece, and he has the most exquisite heirloom silver and most exquisite, I think, there are other rental companies I love.
Speaker: The Art, Casa de Peron, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: Yes, yes.
Speaker: I could give you a whole list.
Speaker: But Jason has an amazing collection of china and historic pieces that he will small batch out occasionally.
Speaker: So we did rent
Speaker: for the wedding dinner.
Speaker: But that rehearsal dinner night with the all kind of like the moody neutrals was a client purchase because they wanted to own those.
Speaker: And then we had the linen made from the Schumacher Hollyhock.
Speaker: And then we did bring in the chargers, but the flatware
Speaker: was this amazing like wood spindled handled rental option from Options in Switzerland.
Speaker: I'd never seen it before at rental.
Speaker: It looked exactly like Ellen's San Juanes pattern.
Speaker: And then the glassware was the exquisite stemware from, you know, Bedruz.
Speaker: It was so beautiful.
Speaker: And that smoky glass was the glass of Ignib, the restaurant.
Speaker: So it's just sort of this, you know, combo platter of what's beautiful and what can we keep locally versus –
Speaker: What do we need to bring in or purchase for them for the future?
Speaker: So for pieces that you are doing more custom, like the Schumacher linens, like the Murano glassware, how have you gone about making those relationships with, for example, finding those amazing glassmakers and creating that relationship with them where you were able to have them make something truly bespoke and one of a kind for your clients?
Speaker: Instagram is a powerful resource.
Speaker: You can do a lot of deep diving to find out like the root of certain creations.
Speaker: Another resource is that local connection we always have and not being afraid to ask those questions that, you know, some people may think, oh, they're not going to want to, you know, share that source.
Speaker: And they're like, why not?
Speaker: Like the more we support our local artists, the better we look because we referred you to them.
Speaker: And
Speaker: So I would ask – it's being inquisitive, being kind of willing to keep digging, and being resourceful overall.
Speaker: I think that's really such incredible advice that – and I think, as you said, so many of your couples are able to
Speaker: take these pieces and turn them into heirlooms, that they become a part of their family and their story and their life.
Speaker: And even when approaching bringing up the concept with clients, I think that in itself is such a unique concept that oftentimes they might not even be thinking of right away when you're thinking about it just from
Speaker: a spreadsheet, line item, budgetary perspective, of course, is going to be typically less to rent from a local rental company.
Speaker: But like you talked about the upcycling element, I think that's a really unique perspective that will be so insightful to many people out there.
Speaker: And it doesn't always make sense.
Speaker: So I'm not trying to paint the picture that, you know, we love great rental resources too.
Speaker: And
Speaker: I think fabric travels well.
Speaker: That's why linens are a bit beautiful napkins, like things like that.
Speaker: It's a little easier to pack.
Speaker: I mean, plates are harder for sure in quantity.
Speaker: Glassware is harder for sure.
Speaker: But if you have lead time and it makes sense when you're evaluating the other alternatives, it's not as out of the box as it may seem at first.
Speaker: But things to think about is, you know, how is it getting there?
Speaker: And how are these things going to arrive to you?
Speaker: How many days do you need to unpack them?
Speaker: Where are they going to go afterward?
Speaker: How are they going to get home?
Speaker: These are all very fragile elements.
Speaker: So there isn't just a like, ta-da, there is a whole...
Speaker: you know, process on the front end, process on the, you know, departure end.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: To be weighed into the equation.
Speaker: Oh, well, I think really, I mean, from your work, it is obvious that it's worth those extra 15, 20 hours.
Speaker: Like you said, I mean, you can- And they might be more sometimes.
Speaker: That was just- Yeah, I'm thinking of packing all of the glassware and shipping it back from Venice.
Speaker: That was really more of my just communication time with me in the front end.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Well, I love that you – I mean, you clearly – you love what you do so much that you are – you just inherently want to go that extra mile.
Speaker: You want to create something truly special, one of a kind for your couples.
Speaker: And it just shows in your work and your ethos.
Speaker: Well, and we surround ourselves with creative partners who also love what they do and –
Speaker: without asking intrinsically go the extra mile because that's what feeds their souls in addition to feeding what their client's expectations are.
Speaker: We had a sweet story where we were working with an incredible caterer in Venice, Alimo, and they just do an exceptional job on the cuisine side and service side of things.
Speaker: And
Speaker: We were working in this really ancient palazzo, and it was the rain plan because we were meant to be on the roof of the Peggy Guggenheim and then pivoted because of weather.
Speaker: But all of this was mapped out as an option, not a sudden change.
Speaker: But when we got to the site, or actually right before dinner service, obviously we've been there many hours a day, the
Speaker: director of the catering company wanted us to go down and meet the chefs in the secondary kitchen.
Speaker: And he walked us in there and said, you know, the guys got here at 5 a.m.
Speaker: this morning with special – with special permission to start working on hand rolling the raviolis.
Speaker: And they've been here all day to create these.
Speaker: And then within about an hour, we tasted them.
Speaker: And it was the most delicious bite of pasta.
Speaker: like maybe I've ever had, but it was so telling the effort and the intention that went into – it wasn't just, you know, a catered job to them.
Speaker: This was their art.
Speaker: This was their craft.
Speaker: And they were going to put in the extra time to make it like just right.
Speaker: So I don't know.
Speaker: It was a lesson to me and a really beautiful moment for events, I thought.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: Well, and, you know, with that – so –
Speaker: I think like you said, it's really key to work with people that just have the love of the events and have the love of their craft and the artistry.
Speaker: And I'm sure a lot of wedding creatives that are listening to this episode would absolutely dream of working with you, Augusta, and being able to collaborate with you, being on the proverbial list.
Speaker: It's always a question so many people in the industry are curious about
Speaker: how to make relationships with amazing wedding planners, how to potentially have the opportunity someday to work with someone like you.
Speaker: So I was just curious if, you know, whether it's networking, personal branding, you have any recommendations for people on how to form authentic relationships and, you know, what's something that you really seek out when seeking out your creative partners for events?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's a good, it's a really good question because it is this sort of delicate line of like, if I don't reach out, maybe they'll never know me.
Speaker: But if I do reach out, I'm going to come across as like assuming or too hungry.
Speaker: And I'm going to start with something I would advise not doing.
Speaker: And to anyone who I have gone for a cup of coffee with, consider yourself really lucky.
Speaker: And I'm not trying to be, you know, you re, I clearly went for a reason, but
Speaker: I sometimes get outreach of like, I would like to take you to lunch or I want to go to coffee and really want to get FaceTime with you.
Speaker: And our days as planners, and I know photographers and all creatives in this field are so stretched.
Speaker: Like there are not enough hours in the day to do our creative thinking, our collaborating with our creative partners and our client interfacing.
Speaker: So the idea of just popping out for a coffee and a chat and then like popping back into your real life and the pace of your day, especially in season, is really hard.
Speaker: And often I think I respond to those inquiries, you know, with a more immediate like, no, not that I don't like the person, but just because it's just it's not convenient.
Speaker: And I appreciate the outreach, so I handle it delicately too because I know they put themselves out there to even send the email.
Speaker: So things, how do we connect otherwise?
Speaker: I think, you know, I've seen success and I just want to put it out there.
Speaker: This is speaking more photography.
Speaker: lens, but if your team ever needs headshots, if you need your office photographed, if there's a paper suite that you'd like me to shoot for you that you didn't get at another wedding, I just want you to know that I'm here.
Speaker: I love your work.
Speaker: I'd love you to see me produce something for you.
Speaker: And I'm happy to just offer that time to kind of get a foot in the door.
Speaker: I think that is really valuable for both parties, more so than just a chat.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: I think, honestly, DMs are great.
Speaker: You know, being steady fans of people you want to work with and just commenting, you know, with intention when you like the work or messaging, like, I just want you to know this really spoke to me.
Speaker: You know, I hope you'll keep me in mind sometime.
Speaker: Like, it is top of mind.
Speaker: You do see these things.
Speaker: And then I think with just other creative partners, you know, outreach is important.
Speaker: If you don't reach out, you might never be on their mind.
Speaker: So take the risk and do it.
Speaker: But if there is a way to kind of inch your way in with an offer that's no skin off of anyone's back and no obligation of the other person's time,
Speaker: Like that could be a smart – like even a florist, like, hey, do you have a client meeting coming up?
Speaker: I'd love to just do an arrangement for you.
Speaker: Oh, I love that.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: I mean, and I think we're all busy and –
Speaker: You know, I know that I have to be delicate when I want to stay top of mind with my clients because we love running a legacy business.
Speaker: And it's important that we foster sort of ongoing relationships with our clients.
Speaker: And, you know, we don't want to bother them or pester them, but we want us to be top of mind when they're thinking about their next, you know, birthday party or milestone event.
Speaker: So kind of checking in on Instagram occasionally or sending a thoughtful note, like hope you had a wonderful holiday.
Speaker: you know, looking toward – all of it's just staying relevant.
Speaker: And I think the request for something in return is where it's sometimes met with a no.
Speaker: But just being present in front of people you want to work with, but then also that idea of like a subtle gesture is nice too.
Speaker: I think that's such great advice.
Speaker: I mean, really approaching everything with a very soft touch is
Speaker: And like you said about people reaching out to buy you a cup of coffee or to buy you lunch, of course the intention is good.
Speaker: But really it's about that setting boundaries and understanding that if you went out to lunch and coffee with every single person that reached out to you, you would not have the time in your day to fulfill your client's needs and to execute your job.
Speaker: So I think that is completely – I think a lot of people really should
Speaker: keep that in mind.
Speaker: And like you said, I think Instagram is still a very, very underutilized resource.
Speaker: I mean, in the end, it's a social network.
Speaker: And like you said, you found some of your amazing creative partners, like the artisans and even from that side of the business through Instagram.
Speaker: So I mean, I think that's a very nice approachable way to stay top of mind, to have that soft touch, but to, like you said, let them know that you're there and
Speaker: just approach it from a place of giving versus taking?
Speaker: So there is vulnerability in every outreach and persistence is important.
Speaker: And I think it just has to balance on the line of like respectful persistence and knowing sort of what the value proposition is for each other's time.
Speaker: I completely agree.
Speaker: I think that's such wonderful advice.
Speaker: And
Speaker: be really helpful to our listeners.
Speaker: And I know we've talked a lot about some of our favorite destinations.
Speaker: I feel like Venice has been very top of conversation for us.
Speaker: Personally, Venice is one of my favorite places in the world.
Speaker: And I think it's still kind of a little bit more under the radar when it comes to wedding destinations.
Speaker: And partly I think that's because it is a more logistically challenging destination than other regions of Italy, like Lake Como, like Tuscany, like the Amalfi Coast, where even Sicily.
Speaker: But personally, I think I just love Venice.
Speaker: So I know we've talked about it a lot, but I would love to know if you have any favorite wedding destinations or destinations that are on your bucket list that you haven't planned an event yet, but you're really hoping to go.
Speaker: So honestly, and I thought, I've thought about this question because I do get asked like, what is your favorite?
Speaker: They're all favorites for different reasons.
Speaker: And I know that's like, okay, come on.
Speaker: Like you can't love all your children equally or I mean, hopefully you do.
Speaker: I don't have children yet.
Speaker: But like, I guess they really are loved for different reasons.
Speaker: And
Speaker: you know, the, the destinations of this year, you know, were so fascinating.
Speaker: Like Switzerland was sort of like unearthing the character from something that just, it's a beautiful place, but like, what is Switzerland and what is, how are we going to define this week, this weekend for this couple?
Speaker: And, um, our bride had personal ties to the place.
Speaker: So that really helped us sort of kind of
Speaker: go along the journey of her favorite spots from childhood and trying to bring them into the experience.
Speaker: Like one of our favorite parts, which we haven't showcased on Instagram or anything, but we did a,
Speaker: a buyout of this nightclub that used to exist when she was in like high school and college.
Speaker: And like they would all party there and it was called the red and we like brought it back to life for the wedding weekend.
Speaker: And it was like, you know, her high school friends and, and for her and being able to do that, those kinds of things.
Speaker: But, um,
Speaker: I think with Venice, the storytelling seems a little bit more obvious, but then it was how do you kind of put this client's lens on the place?
Speaker: So, and then I love, you know, we're working on a project.
Speaker: I know we bumped into each other in St.
Speaker: Barts and how, what kind of approach the island is this couple going to share?
Speaker: So I don't know.
Speaker: I don't, I think some of my favorite destinations or like some of my favorite projects are,
Speaker: The outcome is so fabulous, but maybe the journey getting there was the hardest, but that's kind of how it goes.
Speaker: And sometimes I love certain destinations because, God, like it was so smooth working there.
Speaker: It was seamless.
Speaker: And I love the outcome, but there is this sense of like almost the harder it was, like the more well-earned the outcome or something.
Speaker: But I don't know.
Speaker: I really don't have a favorite.
Speaker: I just feel so lucky to get to go to all the
Speaker: amazing and beautiful places that we, our work travels us to.
Speaker: So.
Speaker: Amazing.
Speaker: And then I would love to know just completely off topic, what you're most excited about as we enter the new year personally and or professionally.
Speaker: Hmm.
Speaker: Let's see.
Speaker: We have an amazing year next year, so I'm very excited about where we'll be traveling and the types of projects that we're going to be doing, so that's exciting.
Speaker: We have a little bit of downtime in the office in the first quarter that
Speaker: we didn't have this past year because our season started in January.
Speaker: And I'm really looking forward to some just like internal teamwork in a great way.
Speaker: Just, you know, refining the systems, you know, tweaking and dotting the I's, crossing the T's and having a little bit of internal, you know, work focus to just refine and be ready to like launch forward into the season when it starts.
Speaker: So
Speaker: I'm not looking at it as downtime in terms of, you know, not working, but some time actually in the office together, honing, honing our craft and, um, refining our process and just kind of taking all the kind of learning experience that we've collected over this past pretty amazing travel year, um,
Speaker: and applying it forward.
Speaker: Incredible.
Speaker: Well, Augusta, I know that many of our listeners already follow you, are already fans of yours, but for those who may have just met you, where can we learn more about you and follow you online?
Speaker: So you can follow us on Augusta Cole, at Augusta Cole on Instagram.
Speaker: Our website is kind of quiet and doesn't showcase much, but you're welcome to check us out at AugustaCole.com.
Speaker: And if you have any questions, you can reach out to contact at Augusta Cole and our team will get back to you.
Speaker: Amazing.
Speaker: This has been absolutely incredible, Augusta.
Speaker: You are such an inspiration.
Speaker: You have such a unique vision, I think.
Speaker: You have shared so much uplifting, informative advice for people in the industry, for couples planning their weddings on how to have a more thoughtful, a more intentional wedding and event.
Speaker: And from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker: And thank you for sharing your story here on The Wedding Destination.
Speaker: Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker: It was a lot of fun.
Speaker: And I wish you a very happy holiday ahead.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: I can't believe it's already December.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: Amazing.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Thank you all for listening to today's episode of the wedding destination podcast.
Speaker: I'm Molly Carr and you can follow me on Instagram at Molly Carr photography and the podcast at wedding destination podcast.
Speaker: We hope you will leave us a five-star review on iTunes and join us next week for a new episode.
Speaker: We'll talk to you soon.
