Pretty, Please is an event planning and design business with big dreams, run by Londoner Holly Poulter and American expatriate Colleen. Since launching under the name Nearlyweds in 2008, we have grown close links to talented suppliers to provide clients with the best service possible. A combined background in film, television, fashion and PR means that we are meticulous in detail, creativity and dedication for any event, no matter the size or budget.
We believe there is a gap in the market for wedding and event planners who cater to clients with average budgets; many of these clients don’t have the time, skill, or industry connections to pull off a beautiful and seamless event, but they are unable to hire someone to do it for them because most planners will not work with clients whose budgets fall beneath the ‘luxury’ market. This is because a planner will put the same amount of time and energy into planning an event, regardless of budget, and will sometimes have to put in even more time if they are having to do extra leg work to stay within budget. We, however, believe that this is an unfair system: a bride should not have to plan the most important day of her life on her own, regardless of her budget, and she shouldn’t have to compromise on design and quality. By working for affordable flat-rate hourly fees (as opposed to a percentage of the client’s total budget), our hope is that this business will bridge the gap between luxury and DIY, granting even the most budget-conscious clients access to planning and design help when they need it.
Holly Poulter, Creative Director
When I planned my first event at the age of 15, the local paper ran the story under the ever imaginative title ‘Girls Just Want to Plan Fun’ – clearly not a lot happened where I grew up. I was planning a Valentine’s Day Ball fundraiser for my embarrassingly named events company ‘Shindigs and Shenanigans’. I was going to take over the world with clipboards and spreadsheets.
Ten years on and I’m still as passionate about events as ever; I’m just a little bit taller and I have a business plan.
After graduating in Film and Television Production, I started giving away my services for free to build up a portfolio of weddings and events, which you’ll see in the video above, and to definitely make sure I definitely loved doing it. Thankfully, I can’t get enough.
I love the thrill of getting a brief for a new event, working with clients to make crazy ideas reality, seeing it all come together, mood boards, phone calls and yes, spreadsheets.
Seeing this business get off the ground is the most exciting thing to me, and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to include other people in doing that.
I live in Surbiton, Surrey with my wonderful husband and bi-polar cat. Big fan of popcorn, coffee and duvets.
Colleen Yates, Designer and PlannerAs a linguistic anthropologist with a keen interest in fashion, I never imagined that I would one day find myself planning events; I was the little girl who grew up dreaming of jet-setting to exotic destinations instead of settling down and getting married to prince charming. Once I got engaged and started planning my own wedding, however, I found myself begrudgingly loving the outlet for creativity that the planning provided. As someone who enjoys fashion and design, I reveled in putting together the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of the day, and I discovered that my slightly anal-retentive approach to details and organization was actually useful.In the planning process, I also became familiar with the incredible stresses of coordinating such a momentous event whilst also holding down a job and trying to make everything come in on budget. At the outset, intimidated by the prospect of it all, I approached a wedding planner to see if she would help me. I never got a response from her. I approached another one, and the same thing happened–no response. I later learned that these planners only worked with brides whose budgets exceeded £50,000. This was because their salaries were determined by a set percentage of the bride’s budget. To this day, I still feel upset thinking about it. No bride should be denied assistance in planning her wedding on the basis of her budget. Brides should be able to call for help and get it, and they shouldn’t have to pay the earth for it.I have a passion for helping people to creatively express themselves through design, and I love seeing ideas come to life.
Having successfully survived planning our own wedding, my husband and I have built ourselves a cozy nest in Teddington. When we’re not hard at work, we can be found strolling along the Thames, watching a film, or planning a snowboarding trip to Switzerland, dahling.
