“How lucky were we to work with Love & Gatherings in planning our dream Irish wedding. We felt relaxed, prepared and excited when our day finally arrived and left our wedding not only happily married, but with new friends in Kate and her team.”
— L&R
The Experience
Our luxury Full Service wedding planning and design service weaves together expertise in creative direction, meticulous logistics and calm, confident management to shape a celebration that feels unmistakably, authentically you, as a couple. Every detail is thoughtfully considered, from the first sparks of inspiration to the final guest farewell, so that your wedding day feels effortless, immersive and deeply personal.
If you are seeking a partner to craft and execute an unforgettable visual story and guest experience, Love & Gatherings will work side‑by‑side with you to elevate your ideas into something exquisitely refined and wonderfully alive.
The Service
Everything we do as your Full Service Planners
Strategy & Foundations
Budget Management
As our first step, we create a realistic budget for you, based on our expertise and your desires and use this as a continual touchstone to keep that vital top line, on track.
Planning Hub
Our custom planning software becomes your home for all things wedding, with everything from an interactive planning task list, intuitive budget & payment trackers, vendor profiles and event timelines, to guestlist management and messaging, table-planning, design moodboards and key documents, all in one easy-to-navigate place.
Communications
We will be your planning partners throughout - we chat via email, messaging within our planning hub, video calls, meet-ups and Whatapp chats on your wedding week.
Wedding Venue Search
We help you define your brief, visit and assess venues, negotiate terms and secure the one that fits perfectly.
Vendor Management
We source, brief and manage all wedding suppliers, oversee contracts, logistics and schedules and act as your single point of contact. All vendor recommendations are made based on our exacting standards, personal experiences and local reputations.
Coordination & Logistics
Site Visits & Vendor Meetings
We will co-ordinate and meet you on site for walkthroughs and vendor briefings. We will schedule your beauty trials, menu tastings and any meeting or calls you’d like to set.
Structure, Facilities & AV Management
We identify any structural, facilities or AV needs, then oversee installation of (where necessary) marquees, bars, stages, lighting and sound, to match your design.
Catering Management
We work with your venue or caterer on menus, service logistics and staffing so food, drinks and timing feel seamless all weekend.
Entertainment Management
We source and manage entertainment for each part of your wedding, curate setlists and coordinate with your venue and AV provider, so every performance runs smoothly.
Guest Services
We manage guest accommodation and transport options, information packs, childcare, restroom amenities and, if desired, valet, security and attendants. We can also arrange luxury gifting, manage guest communications and provide complete on-the-ground guest logistics, if desired.
Payments
We coordinate your online transfers, with clear oversight of what you owe and when; plus cash payments and tips across the weekend, as required. Payments are direct to suppliers, so you can be assured of pricing integrity.
Destination Planning
For international couples, we tailor communication to your timezone and apply 0% VAT on qualifying remote services.
Legal Marriage Guidance
While you need to have the meeting & provide the paperwork, we will give you a step-by-step guide to demystify the process and introduce you to our inside contacts who will speed up the process.
Design & Styling
Vendor Direction
We create a completely custom event design plan for each of our events, drawing inspiration from you as a couple, embracing your venue’s best qualities and reimagining the wedding format to create somethings magical and personal for your guests.
Spatial Planning
We develop floorplans, seating, traffic flow and safety considerations, and oversee their implementation on site.
Design Direction
We create detailed visual briefs for your design vendors and oversee their installations, to insure accuracy of delivery and yet the freedom of expression that makes magic.
Styling Production
We source, commission and create all design elements, finding the best options for your budget at home and abroad.
Venue Styling
We install every styling detail with precision, adapting gracefully to last-minute needs.
Set Styling
We collaborate with your photo and video team to style details and walk them through key design moments to capture.
Stationery Management
We partner with your wedding stationer on concept, copy and production, and ensure that day-of stationery and signage supports both design and flow.
On Site Management
Ceremony Planning
We collaborate with your venue and celebrant to refine structure, layout, music and atmosphere, including smart logistical touches.
Our Team
Our team of experienced planners and stylists work make up your onsite crew, always under Kate & Eve’s direction.
On Site Partners
Your wedding team will be on or near site throughout the weekend, arriving before the first supplier and leaving after the last, guiding you through each step and taking care of the nitty gritty, so you don't have to.
We’re your Wedding PAs
We quietly handle the personal moments: dress-steaming and dressing assistance, aisle cues, touch-up reminders, speech timings and all those small but vital details.
FAQs
-
No. We are a full planning agency and pride ourselves on the results we achieve when we guide our clients through every aspect of their event planning process. Of course, if you are coming to us with a venue or vendors booked, we will be happy to work with your team.
-
No, but we do recommend a balance between your overall budget and the percentage of that you would allocate to us, as planners (i.e. we would never sign up to working with a client if we felt that our fee would negatively impact their ability to spend elsewhere). Please do share your budget in the Contact Form and we will let you know whether we think we are the right fit for you.
-
Oh yes, Multi-day Weddings, including a Welcome Party, Main Day and Day After are our speciality. But we’re also happy to help you with One Amazing Day!
-
Absolutely. Please fill out our contact form, we’ll reach out super quickly and if we all feel we are a good fit, we’ll be in touch to set up a video call. Once we meet and scope your project, we will send you a bespoke quote.
-
We specialise in Destination Weddings and Parties for international clients, but adore working with Ireland-based clients, too - our goal is to make your wedding the destination, wherever your guests are coming from.
-
Heck yes we do. We have made some of our very best wedding and celebration magic in fields and gardens across this glorious country.
-
If you need just a small marquee to supplement your venue’s capacity to house, say an inclement weather ceremony backup or an element of your entertainment, we will be happy to take care of this within our standard service. If you would like your reception to take place in a marquee, this will require separate scoping and quoting… It's quite a big job!
-
Our founder Kate O’Dowd is your lead wedding planner and creative director, with whom you’ll have primary contact throughout your planning journey. Right alongside her is your vendor, logistics and operations manager Eve Roe. Both Eve and Kate will be involved in all aspects of your daily planning communication and onsite at your wedding. Love & Gatherings has a regular team of freelance event managers who work with us season after season, to complete your onsite team. Depending on your guest count, our onsite team ranges from four to eight women strong.
-
We email, of course; we video call when it’s easier to just hash things out; we Whatsapp when you’re here for site visits and when your event week arrives; and best of all we message in our custom planning hub.
-
Our custom planning software becomes your hub for all things wedding: from Planning Checklists and Calendars, Event Timelines, Budgets and Payment Trackers, Moodboards, to Guest Management & Floorplanning, Our Insider Tips and a profile for each of your vendors, where we store everything from their contracts to your wishes.
-
No. We have no financial or contractual links to vendors or venues - our recommendations will be solely based on our experience of who and where will give you the very best service.
-
Ideally, we recommend an eighteen month planning timeline, so you can nab the very best dates, venues and vendors. That said, we have planned some absolute crackers in six or less!
-
We work on a Flat Fee basis, which means you have transparency on our rate, from the beginning & can feel confident in the recommendations we make throughout your planning journey.