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The Wedding Artists Community is a place where wedding artists can come together and share their experiences as much as learn with and from each other.
So, Claudia, welcome to the WAG podcast. It's really a pleasure to have you here. And I have a lot of questions, I have a lot of curiosity towards you. So welcome, and let's have a good chat, shall we? I'm happy to be here. I'm excited. Well, we'll see about that in the end. Sounds good. So, first things first. You have Italian roots, you have a connection to Portugal, and you live in Canada. What is that all about? Okay, so, yeah, so both my parents are actually born in Italy, immigrated to Canada when they were in their teens. So ultimately, they kept their roots in the sense of being with family all the time, being around the table, eating food, always hanging out with my cousins, going to all the weddings, which I absolutely loved as a kid. And that's pretty much how I got into wedding planning is pretty much being part of all those celebrations when I was younger and absolutely loving it. And then realizing later in life that, yes, I'm Canadian, but I really do value the European traditions. And I also, so I married Portuguese. And he would, yeah, so that's how I have a very big connection to Portugal. But he would go to Portugal every summer with his family. So then when I came into the picture, he started bringing me and I was like, oh my gosh, I've never even like, thought about Portugal before. And then I absolutely fell in love. We went to Braga, which is where his sister lives. So she's from Canada, married someone there, Porto, Lisbon, and then we go to the Algarve as well for like vacation. So it's really awesome how I was able to meet someone who has the same value in family traditions, the European, you know, lifestyle where it's a little bit more easygoing, not so much like Canada here where it's go, go, go all about work. So then being in weddings in Toronto, it's a little bit different than Europe weddings. Like I said, it's a little bit more laid back. So then being a wedding planner here and then having some family in Portugal and Italy and seeing how they do events there, that's when I was like, okay, I want to start expanding on doing destination weddings, but specifically in Italy and Portugal. And then here we are. You really touched on the food and being around the table, which I'm not sure it is all Europe, but it's most certainly South Europe in all countries, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, France. But do you see that specifically on weddings also? Yes. So I was actually in Portugal a few weeks ago or last week, and then even setting up the table there, I noticed all the different cutlery compared to what we use here. You have the fish fork. Yeah. You have the fish fork, the meat fork, the fish knife. Whereas we just have a simple fork, a simple knife, like for salad and our main course and then a knife for main course and like a spoon for a soup. So when I saw that and how it's really about the meals and like, they serve way more food in like Portugal and Italy compared to, yes, way more, which is, to my clients, I'm like, just to let you know, to give you a heads up, they provide a lot of food. Like for example, after the ceremony, it goes straight into like the cocktail hour. So in Italy, they call it the aperitivo. And it's like buffet set up and then there's canapes, right? So that's already like a lot, which in Canada, we do like antipasto bars, which is somewhat similar. But then from there, like in Canada, from the antipasto bar, we go into salad. We go into three course meal. So it's salad, main and dessert. Whereas in Europe, it's like, okay, you get your fish course and then your meat course and then with rice and sides and all that, and then you go into dessert. The dessert is actually a buffet as well, right? So it's just a really different way of how they do weddings. But I actually appreciate it because it's more about being around everyone and enjoying with each other than just rushing through the meal. Like I find a little bit in Canada. Yeah. And there's been working with mainly the North American couples for the last years. Yeah. There's a side of me to both parties because as a guest, I love a Portuguese wedding. You just eat and drink and talk for hours and hours and hours and hours and then maybe you dance for a couple of hours. But as a photographer, when you have guests, eight hours dedicated to food is too much. It's too much. It's hard to capture stuff. It's hard to see anything happening because people are just eating. To help tell the story, right? Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes we have a cocktail hour that is three hours and the dinner that's four hours. And it's too much. So as a professional, I really love the international, mostly North American couples because it's really condensed and the stories, it's easily captured and I think it's more fluid. But as a guest, yeah, I just love to eat and drink and talk for hours. That makes sense. That makes definitely total sense. I actually was speaking to a photographer last week about it and that's what they're saying. It's working. Like, it's really cool to see how everyone enjoys the meal, but capturing moments, it's really hard because how many times can you get people cheersing, eating, right? So. Yeah. It's too much. The Portuguese industry. Yeah, it is. It is a lot of food. It is. But I have a curiosity. Do you feel as an outsider professionally, do you see any particular differences between Portugal and Italy in terms of traditions, of organization? I would say a little bit of, so in Italy, it's all about pasta. So they'll do like two pasta courses, which is unheard of in Canada or we do it, but it's like smaller portions on the same plate, right? Whereas in Italy, they'll have like a first pasta course. So let's say a white pasta and then they go into a red pasta, which that's quite filling. And then they go into the main, right? Whereas in Portugal, which is crazy to me still to this day, is you guys eat like rice and potatoes together with your meal, right? Especially the north. Which is a lot, I think, like, you know, to have that much starch, but it's something I just, I got used to because every time I go to my in-laws, it'd be rice, potatoes, and fish and meat. So it was very different for me even to see as an Italian and they hardly eat pasta. So I would say that would be the main difference. And yeah. Yeah. We do eat pasta, but not in the same way Italians. No. We only have- Like we're always eating pasta. Yes. Yeah, but we also do it, but it's really heavy dishes. You have some kind of pastas that have meats and vegetables and a lot of things. Right. It's really, we don't have any, there's not one Portuguese dish that is traditional, that is vegetarian. There's no such thing. Really? No. The Portuguese dishes, the typical Portuguese dishes, it's, I kind of, I used to do this joke that is, you go to the, how do you say the market of meat? Oh, the butcher? Yeah. You go to the butcher and you just take a bit of everything. You put it in a pan and add potatoes and pasta and some vegetables and you make everything like more or less like this. So you would put the potatoes and pasta together? Yeah. Sure. Because you have to thicken the sauce. That's heavy. The sauce has to be thickened. It's too much. It's great. It is a kind of culinary culture that makes you be at the table for hours, but it's really, really, really heavy food, which is the main difference I see to Italian food. Italian is typically a lot less and a lot more light. You could eat a lot of things in the same meal. It won't be all that full. In Portugal, if you have a normal traditional meal, you will be completely full. I do still think Italians do overdo it as well in the sense of like when we're having, for example, for Christmases and stuff like that, I always grew up and there was just, we're having like fish on Christmas Eve and it was just abundance of it. Just multiple, like clams and lobster and squid and it's just like, and then you're having the fish pasta with it. So it would be a lot, but it's something I'm just used to. I grew up being, you know, around food all the time. But I just find at a wedding, that's why with my clients, I try to tell them like, we can change it up a bit, but it is very customary in these countries. This is how they do things. Yeah. Well, you have a Portuguese and an Italian, we could talk about food for hours, but it is in Europe, Southern Europe, probably the most important part or one of the most important parts, it's the food because it's how you get people together. It's how you really create the connections. That's what I appreciate and I think that's what the North American couples do appreciate as well. They want to go there more for the experience and the lifestyle rather than it just being like this fancy wedding that they're putting together. Yeah. Yeah. And I can see that. I can see that. But let's just change it up a lot because I have one really interesting question to you. You have a degree in international business, not design, not events, none of that. So how did that background shape you and Claudio and Co and what decisions have you made along the way that you think probably wouldn't be made if you were just a creative or if you had a background in some creative art or occupation? So in terms of that, that's more international business was something, again, I always had a passion for event planning, but try telling your Italian parents, yeah, I want to go do weddings or events. They're like, go to school. So that's how I'm like, okay, I want to make it something interesting. Let's see international. I've always enjoyed traveling. I used to live in Australia. Like I took off my own live there. So I've always had that international love. So when I got into international business, I found it really helpful in the sense of I've learned the framework of business. Whereas I found if I went into the creative side, I wouldn't known so much of like the accounting side of things, how to do marketing, how to do sales and whatnot. So that's really helped put the framework to build my company into what it is. If I just maybe went into event planning and just got the experience, because I do find a lot of creatives who are in this industry, don't really work on their business, which is what I really try to do quarterly is try to work on my business to kind of look at the numbers, see what's working, what's not and switch it from there. So going to school for international business definitely helped have that business side of things to help run a business. And for me, I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur just because I come from a family of entrepreneurs. So I've seen them kind of pave their own way. And I knew once I was working in the industry, I worked at a venue. And so you're working like on their timeline. So I knew, okay, this is, you know, and you're behind a desk half the time. And I knew from there, I was like, okay, I need to do something on my own. And that's when I finally, once I got back from Australia, I was like, okay, I'm going to start trying to do something on my own. And then it got into event planning. I started actually out as a photo booth company. Go figure. Oh, really? Yes. What a change. That is quite the change. It was really up and coming at that time around, it was like 2014, started doing that kind on the side. So I was in events, right, but just kind of on the other side of it in a way. But it was way too stressful for me in the sense of like, if something went wrong in terms of the technology, it was just like, I had to figure out then and there. But it did help me think on my feet and be quick, which is very helpful for what I do now. Because, you know, on weddings, stuff always goes wrong. And it's just about us to be like, okay, what can we do to make it right without anyone knowing it even happened? Yeah, sure. But the international part of your degree, was that intentional or just? No, it was more because I didn't want to just do business. And so I wanted to learn a little bit more about international. Did I? It was kind of very vague in that sense, where you're learning about how other countries are doing things and whatnot. So that came into play. But I really always in terms of me getting to the destinations would be because my love of travel and Europe, I would go to, for example, Portugal all the time, Italy all the time, I saw how the lifestyle was there. And that's when I was like, okay, I really want to try to make the change into doing destination weddings. Yeah. But it's, it's really interesting. And I think I agree 100%. Because it's the I think the pain or the struggle that most vendors and professionals in the industry has, is really the business side. Because most of them, specifically, if you're talking photographers, and videographers, and maybe florists and designers, and they usually are daring, they are in love about the craft, the beautiful thing, the artistic part. And once they have to define the price, make a proposal, organize taxes, and all that. Oh, taxes, the worst. Yeah. And even understanding them sometimes not only paying them, but really understanding understanding. Yes. Yeah. Which that did help me because I, I was into accounting and like learning all that. And you know, what's the difference between a sole proprietorship and a partnership and a corporation like that was very helpful to learn that aspect of it to be like, okay, what's the best way for me to make this business kind of prosper? Yeah. But you just touched on that and I really have a because I, I didn't finish my degree, but I entered in economics. So which is interesting. I really love that. That's a hard one. Yeah. But I, but I really love that side of that side. I love business. I love the numbers. I love the money. Oh, that's great. Yeah. And that helped me really along the journey, but I always have a really technical and let's not waste too much time on it because I probably think that maybe 0.1% of my audience will care about this. It's just a, it's just a personal curiosity. You talked about the corporation and solopreneur and we always hear, I always hear about the LLCs and things like that. You also have in Canada, the, the option of just being a solopreneur, officially solopreneur, and then other kinds of, of the technical corporations, right? Yes. You have to go. So yeah. So the LLC is American, which is the same as for us as a corporation. So we do have the, we can do a sole proprietorship, which is just one person owning the business. A partnership is two or three or four people owning the business. And then you can go to corporation, which is what I switched over to recently because this just helps number one with taxes and also taxes, moving money and stuff around, which again, if I didn't have that background in international business, I wouldn't know. But once you get your taxes back and you realize how much you give to the government, you're like, okay, let's switch it up. So the corporation also helps you in terms of covering, protecting yourself. So no one can come after you personally, whereas in a partnership or a sole proprietorship, they can. So it just helps kind of protect you a little bit more. That being said, it is more expensive. You pay more taxes on that, but that's when you get yourself a good accountant to make it work in your favor. Yeah. But I think that's really important. We have the same structure here in Portugal. I don't know exactly the ins and outs, but I know that in Portugal, one of the main problems that people had, we have a really good tax way of getting in because when you go solopreneur, you can up to, I think in 2026, I think is 15,000 euros a year. You don't pay any taxes. You don't pay VAT. You have smaller things. You have IRS and some things, but it's low, but you don't pay VAT. But once you go over the 15,000 a year, you immediately start to paying 23% of VAT, which is an enormous difference. Sometimes with IRS, if you do retention, it's the difference between you do a wedding for a thousand euros. you keep this year you keep the 1,000 for you and maybe on the end of the year you pay 50 or 60 euros in taxes for each of these basements and the next year you receive the same thousand and half of that goes to Yeah to Texas and then you probably can try to go and get some of it back it's it's a really big change and that It's really difficult to so these kind of Professionals that I used to just worrying about the craft and and the artistic part. It's really really hard to handle So do you find that in? Portugal companies are staying more like as a sober like solprenor or Because of this as far as I know Let's let's divide by vendor type Photographers, I would get I would guess 98% are solopreneurs if you well if you have it's interesting if you if you have a Studio with your door open and if you do a lot of Selling products probably not they probably go for our our version of the corporate Right Route but these types of photographers videographers makeup artists Some designers some florists but florists It's kind of where it gets tricky because you move a lot of products You have a lot of ins and outs and then being a solopreneur is not really advantageous advantageous to you so but Most of these types just goes solopreneur the entire career Venues and other kinds of types of vendors that really move a lot of money They will go for the operation really so which makes sense because they have a lot of advantages but but my problem with this has always been it's the The difference it's really abrupt. It's really amazing for you to start you really have a nice Comfortable start so you can go and Begin those couple of years initial years, right? But once you go over that it's kind of a new Managing the strategy is completely different and that yeah, it's always difficult for creating visit your business to see right? Yeah Yeah, yeah, because in Canada, yeah, like you're saying so yours is the 15,000 euros ours I believe is a 30,000 or so proprietor and then you start paying taxes, which a lot of people aren't even aware of that Right in the creative field. They're not even aware like oh some people they start out and they're charging tax And I was like you just started as a vendor. You can't charge tax legally, right? But again, this is this is stuff schooling that has helped me learn like oh you have to do things a certain way Yeah, but this this is really important. I know It is very important my wife Who works with me? Yeah, we are photographers else and Rui And she's all creative. She doesn't think about this this this kind of things Doesn't matter her mind Yeah, most of the times most of the days we are You can take care of the numbers that she doesn't want to deal with. Yeah, but but I see this everywhere It's and I understand I have a creative side I have a business side sometimes they collide even within me but I Understand how difficult this is for really and you have some different you have different types of creatives You have some they are wildly creative and nothing else matters and you have some for instance you you knew you met Andrea Yes, she's an amazing creative person yeah, amazingly creative, but she has also a really organized mind with the finances and the technical and the business parts And it's it is her for a florist pays off, right? Yeah, because she knows her her Numbers on what to charge things. So it's very helpful. Yeah, it is on her if you're right Yeah, it's not not usual at all, so let's go back to other things and and I love Italy I really I we started to go Italy going to Italy last year and Your first time was last year Yeah, we had an interesting. We had an inch we have an interesting record we the Italy because we had two Trips to Milan, right? Scheduled the first one was in March of 2020. I believe you know that Yes Something happened. Yeah in Milan specifically. Yeah, specifically first one Yeah, and last year we had another trip to Milan booked and one of our kids got sick. So We couldn't So we we do have third time will be the charm but to last year we was in Napoli and Rome with a three Three kids we were the five. It was amazing tiring, but amazing. Did you go during the summer? No, January. Okay was very low-key yeah was Elsa's birthday and we We went ahead our she had a Anniversary in Rome, which there's worse place to have your universal. Yeah But this year we will return there for a story and Just a gathering and next year. We will start doing weddings there and really excited with that but my my my question to you is What? Well, you kind of said it in in a sense, but yeah, I wanted to to you to Go further in terms of design in other aspects What draws you to the Italy market? I will then ask you about Portugal, but let's say yes so in terms of Italy what my clients and probably most people really like is Tuscany and you know, the the rolling hills and the trees and all that That's what people are really really drawn to And then they're seen Exactly, or if they're looking more a little bit more architecture as well. They're gonna go more inland like Rome and stuff like that But I think in terms of design there I would say Just using the beauty of these so a lot of them are villas, right? It's just like old villa So just using the beauty of the villa and playing on those Which is what I really like is because you don't really need to add all So much floral and added decor and stuff like that because you're just using the natural beauty of the place that you've booked Which I I really appreciate and so do my couples and I think that's why I feel so aligned doing weddings in Italy Yeah, and also in terms of production. Do you feel? That usually North American Northern American companies have a lot of experience in big productions and big events And Europe is just starting to go that route for the last couple of years Do you feel a difference in experience and capabilities and vision? so The the weddings I've been doing there are still on a smaller scale just because to get More than a hundred people to go to Europe from North America is really tough So they are still on a smaller scale. I'd say less than a hundred but in terms of the vendors being able to produce The same kind of stuff that we have in North America. Yes, I definitely See that they are Which I find interesting So, I think it's a little bit different in Portugal, but the catering company So the usually the catering company provides a lot of this stuff tables chairs linens tabletop rentals Furniture all the decor Resin North America. We're using many different vendors a chair vendor a linen vendor Someone for like your chargers and plates. So I found it very interesting when you go to Italy You book a caterer and they pretty much provide everything they have a brochure and you're looking through everything and then you just pretty much Add on a florist on that So it really comes down to the catering company being able to produce certain things. And then if you're looking at like lighting and AV that's when you're getting a whole nother company to do that, but they're still able to produce high-end Events, but you think that is that's a good thing or not. So good thing in my opinion Yeah, I I would say it's it's good that they're able to do that But I think I like the fact if they would try to stay away from that because Europe is more low-key in that sense and more about the experience and not about all the bells and whistles like we do in North America, so I would say if we can stay away from that big-production events That would be a better Way for me. Yeah, just because I feel like it just becomes too much and when there's too much it's like Where do you even look right like the draping on the ceiling the florals from the ceiling? There's florals from all down the aisle and stuff, right? so I like to maybe take it back a bit and just Let the venue speak for yourself themselves itself and then like putting it more into the experiences, right? Maybe having like Traditional Italian folk music kind of thing playing at your cocktail hour rather than you know Having so many florals everywhere Stuff like that. It makes sense. If you see the the backgrounds in Tuscany or the Lake Como view exactly Yeah, why would you do if you look at the weddings there they're getting yeah, yeah very that you know with them That's a called with those. Um Not fireworks, but those color bombs they're doing it's like right it's just like You're paying so much money and it's a two-second. Yeah, if that Photographers too, right? Capture that moment. Yeah, that's the that's the thing. It's amazing, but it's probably every time we had one of those really We really felt the anxiety Right You have really it and it's it's weird. It's weird. It's difficult Usually it goes good. It goes. Well, yeah, usually get a drone and just have it shot Continuously and then I'll do it. So the things just and we are so photographers But but it's it's beautiful. I think it's too much too expensive Yes for what it is, but if you have unlimited unlimited funds But but coming back to the the part of the the catering Having everything do also also think that is a good thing or a bad thing So in terms I guess the planning side It's a good thing because I'm dealing with one vendor rather than probably eight vendors But I don't think there's as like some catering companies don't have as much inventory So for example this wedding that I'm doing next year the couple really chose the catering company based on not just the food that they've seen is What their inventory is, right? So there's that a little bit of a disconnect because sometimes there can be an amazing caterer who has been in the industry for 25 Years, but maybe they're not so much into the design so they don't have all these fancy plates. So then it would Deter a couple from booking them Yeah, it's really interesting because we seen that same thing in Portugal. I Would say that at this moment, I know well of three really great big companies that do rentals only Okay, if you go notice that as well Yeah Yes, it is yeah you have so there's maybe Yeah, yeah, you have a rental company. You have a Eventus preview. Yeah, I'm sure that there's a couple more but not that I know of so so personally but the thing is if you go back probably ten years I Think I'm not lying if I said There were none We really or or the venue or the catering would have everything you need to provide it all Okay, so it's all been coming in Portugal. Yeah, because I did notice that there was really just big companies that have everything and There was nowhere else you can go whereas in Canada. We have an abundant of Companies so it's like you can get a chair from here But then you can get your tabletops from here and your linens from there Yeah, it's funny you say that I actually told my husband maybe we start a rental company in Portugal because there's just three of them Yeah, and I know there's a couple of them Beginning and starting a couple of people that are starting rental companies But on the business side is really heavy because it has a really great Sorry, a really big investment that you have to do up front and you have to manage it It's really difficult if you come from a photography or a planner You don't you don't move product. You don't move Physical things so it's a really different mindset. So but I think that's the thing that is happening And probably will keep happening for for the upcoming years, but it's interesting once you You You see the same thing happening to photography and videography 20 years ago only one company do it all then We split and you had only photographers and only videographer a really handful of companies Did both now we kind of going back you seen yes more and more companies Doing James on and I don't have really nothing against it, but I think It happens exactly what you said about the catering Sometimes you have a really great company that you love the photography not so the video the other way and then Since usually on the the value of things on the price It's usually better you go with the one company that does it all and you don't have my couples do Always try to choose like if they do photo and video they do try to choose someone who does both but I Was just in Portugal with a photographer friend and I was just saying when you do Do you have someone you work with? Very closely that does video because I do have all my couples being like, okay I love her work, but then who would be the videographer to work with her and that's sometimes where that disconnect comes and it's hard for Me to like sell just the photographer if they're looking for photo and video, but I do find that Maybe in the last year or two. Everyone was going back to video. Whereas like five years ago Everyone was just like, okay. I just need photography. I don't even need video and Now let's say present day. It's photo and content creator Yeah, which is unfortunate for videographers, but how do you see that that change happening Just my couples are more interested in getting Content that they can use on like their social media rather than a timeless keepsake video because they're like, oh We're never gonna look at it. We don't need it. Oh, it's a very timeless piece though. It's a whole different Aspect of your day than a content creator would would showcase right a video is gonna be getting The speeches and all the sounds and stuff like that, you know help tell your story Put music towards it. Whereas a content creators almost just in the background Capturing those behind-the-scene moments, right? Yeah, but my couples are valuing that more than the video Unfortunately, you see that happening Related to the generation changing do you feel that the age of the bride and groom Make that happen or you see it across the the different. Oh, I would say yeah so it would be the generation going for more content creation and then if I'm working with the Sometimes I'm working with like the parents as well. It's the parents who really want that video So, you know, they're the ones who are like, oh, how can you not have a video to look back on? Right because for them that's how they watch their stuff is all through their video, right? So I still do love a wedding video Do I want it to be like a traditional wedding video that maybe that was really popular ten years ago No, but I still think a video like a six minute eight minute video will be a timeless piece that you will look back Whereas like the content creation once it's kind of up there on social media after a day or two It's a it's done, right? You don't really like oh, I'm not gonna look back and kind of relive it Whereas a video I feel like is a timeless piece That is a keepsake for your wedding It is and I think happens more or less the same way with photography I don't look at my Wedding photos all that much. I don't see my video my wedding video all that much But we see it You can show it to your kids, right? You can pull out your video show it to your kids It is and you have the the short version five or six minutes and yes the longer version 20 or 30. I don't know and it's it is exactly that is a keepsake and You can have a content creator, which I think it's a really great addition if The three teams can work together. I was just about to say Yeah, you have that you have to let the teams because I I've had photographers And again me being a planner. I'm there to manage everyone and help So sometimes I do have to say hey But these guys do their work and then you can ask to get like because maybe there's a trending You know thing that the couple wanted and then you can do it but that's something now we have to look into and put into the timeline because those extra 5-10 minutes that the content creator needs is Now taking away from the photo and video team. Yeah, but I think also I also think that the The main problem is the definition of what they are doing there Because I saw, I think, a few time back I saw or I heard the definition that made complete sense for me If the content creator is mimicking the experience of a guest, that is awesome You don't necessarily go just to the behind the scenes or just for this content But you're kind of mimicking what the guest would see You kind of have a professional guest And I think this is a vision that is awesome I think it's really rich to have that as your… And it's fun to see the next day to get those behind the scenes moments, totally It is, I don't think it's meant to substitute any of the other I agree But I understand that people, couples who are more budget conscious Exactly, when it comes to the budget That's what they usually say, okay, I'll get the photographer But then, okay, I'll get a content creator because it's cheaper than a videographer So I'll go that route and not I still all the time, I'm always one to like I really do think a video is a good idea But it's up to them ultimately to make that choice And it does come down to pricing And a lot of people actually think that videography is cheaper as well Like in the sense of like compared to photography And I was like, sometimes they can be more, right? It's the same kind of editing style that they're doing as well, right? They're 12 hours just like your photographer So that's something I try to educate my couples as well Yeah, it's hard because videographers have it rough on that sense They do, if you can't post production, their work is a lot harder than ours But commercially speaking, couples don't always give the same value to the end product So it's difficult for them to manage and everything I understand they have as much value as we have But they don't usually get to, as an average, to have the same prices Yeah It's a difficult one But let us come back to the Portugal part And I'm really interested to see what made you As far as I know, you don't have any wedding in Portugal at the moment No, but I actually feel like they're coming Because I have two couples that I'm going to be meeting with next week for Portugal I was like, I already know where I want to send you guys, I can't wait Yeah, that would be awesome But let me ask you, what made you decide to... Okay, it's Portugal, it's now, let's do it So for me, I've been going to Portugal So I've been married 10 years this year I've been going for 10 years now Every time I go there, I always come back And I just have such a love for it That's why everyone thinks I'm Portuguese too Because I just speak so highly of it And I just find that now, every time I've said it They're like, oh yeah, I'm going to go, I'm going to go So it's becoming very popular here in North America And I could tell, because when I went last summer The airport was packed So I was like, okay, people are catching on to this I need to get in there before it gets a bit saturated, I would say But I do want to focus mainly in Porto Just because Lisbon is very popular, and Ossintra, all that But I do love Porto Because I've been to kind of all over in the country And Porto still has my heart, let's say Because I just love going by the bridge, the water Like last year we did the river cruise, it was so amazing And then just seeing the lights and everything like that So I do want to put Portugal on the map Because everyone's like, oh, I want to do destination It's either France, Italy, Spain, right? And I'm like, what about Portugal? Great food, great people Even the photographer who came with us this time She was just like, everyone's so nice and very calm And I was like, I know Because I do find Italians are a little bit more loud And they could be obnoxious, let's say Whereas Portugal, I just found it was more easygoing And people were very creative And when I was there doing the style shoots Everyone worked very well as a team Which I could appreciate Everyone really valued what they did Which I really was like, okay This is definitely where I want to bring my clients Because my couples would appreciate that, right? Having vendors that go above and beyond Yeah They just care so much that they will That's how I want my couples to feel Is a team that's going to go above and beyond That you can just trust us And you guys can just enjoy your day Have you been to the Douro Valley? I have, yes I think that's the hidden gem It's very nice, yes But it gets very hot there, right? So in terms of production side of things It is a little bit harder It can be done But yes, it is a little bit harder In terms of getting your florals And stuff like that Even for North Americans too They say a lot of them want to go in the summer For weddings Where I was like, oh fall's nice Or early April, May Because it's very hot They're not realizing how hot it is A lot of people haven't even been I was like, going to Europe in July and August It's very hot So you just have to keep that in mind But again, that's me coming in to be like Okay, we need parasols We need fans We need to make sure there's drinks available Before the ceremony So they're not just getting dehydrated And annoyed with the heat Yeah, just last year we had a wedding In the vintage house I don't know if you know No It's a beautiful, beautiful thing I'll have to look it up now I'll send you the link Yes, please It's really beautiful And it was August And the couple was The bride was American And the groom was German And they live in Germany It was really hot All through the country But that Place, that area Was suffering with Fires In the forest And it was really It felt like an oven Slowly cooking It's hot I actually don't mind it at all I thrive in that weather Everyone thinks I'm crazy But it's very hot And to be moving around And doing things in nice outfits That's where I just tell my clients You have to keep that in mind Even like you said In terms of the timing of the ceremony They're like, oh let's get married earlier I was like, it'll be absolutely way too hot You need to wait a little bit later in the day Where it's not so hot So people aren't cooking Getting married early in the year Or later in the year, September, October Or even later in the day It's later in the day usually And I'm always asking When we're looking at venues If they have AC Because some venues don't even have AC Which I was like, if you guys are getting married In the summer, you're going to want AC Especially in accommodations and stuff like that But a lot of Europeans Even in their apartments They don't have AC They might have just a little AC unit Whereas in North America We have it throughout our house And it's like freezing In our houses during the summer I really love these cultural differences Right That's why I have this podcast Yeah, it's little things That people don't realize There are very much Many differences But again During the destination weddings as well I want to go there and then Work with the team And what they're used to Not us coming and bringing Like this is how we do things in North America Well then you should have just got married in North America We have to respect the differences And the cultural aspects and stuff like that Yeah, but even to the experience Of everyone that's coming here If I'm going to Italy Or if I'm going to Morocco I want to have the tea that they have Yes, exactly Enjoy their food, the culture I didn't care about tiramisu Until I went to Italy True I think I never asked for tiramisu In my life Until I had one in Italy Actually it's a very popular dessert now For weddings In my house I'll do it now I have the gourmet tiramisu That's so good For me when you have These experiences Probably 80% Of the interest Of it And I assume for the couples That go to a destination to Europe Or whatever it may be I think that should be Let's have an experience that I would not have here Exactly And that's what my couples are going To Europe to do Sometimes I haven't even visited And they're like oh we just love it We love the food, we love the culture It's like this is amazing, it's perfect That you guys want to do it there then I really agree with that So let's go back to the editorial The style shoot How did it went? What was the idea? Tell me everything I was really bummed that I couldn't meet you It's okay I know we were very busy Way busier than we thought But in a good way So we had two style shoots Very different One was like a dark and moody Kind of vibe at the Yateman And then the other one we did Was a little bit light and airy And it was at a Quinta style So the Casa de Arcos Which is right in Matosinhos And then whereas the Yateman is in Porto So those went really well My main focus there was When I went last year To Portugal I went to go see different venues And I fell in love with these venues Just because they were so different From what I'm used to in Canada And seeing what we kind of offer here So then once they were like Agreed to have something like a style shoot My main thing was I want to get vendors who are all local Which was very difficult I have to say To find local vendors in Porto Because everyone was from Lisbon So it took a lot of research and stuff like that Us meeting with the vendors beforehand Just to make sure They complimented our design Would work well with the team And it ended up being Amazing Better than I expected in the sense of When we've done style shoots here I don't usually have so many vendors on site Whereas in Portugal I had all the vendors on site And I was just like this is amazing How much they care about what they do Even to have the stationary vendor there And helping style things And making sure I was like this is amazing I've never once had in Canada Someone come and want to be part of it so much It was really good But for us we wanted to Just number one To showcase what it's about What these vendors can do there Especially even the floral Using the different type of floral Whereas floral we wouldn't have Even been able to use It was really interesting to see These designs come to life Using just local floral And the different ways of Even the vases and stuff they've used It's very different which was really fun But overall it was really really great I'm excited to get the photos back Which should be soon And then we also had a content creator So we'll have that aspect there as well Yeah Are you planning to Publish or try to Yes We do want to submit And again North American publications are different Than from what European publications So like for example in North America Wedlocks is very big Yeah but I noticed that But which European publications We don't have Well like a lot of Like Wed Vibes Wed Vibes is very popular Yeah but Wed Vibes is American But I'm saying it's geared Towards I know but it's geared Towards a lot of European right It is but that's the thing That really bugs me We don't have publications in Europe They usually are North American yeah But even here Like for example Wedlocks They started showcasing like all North American But now they're showing All European Venues and stuff like that Which is crazy To see because like They already have such a big market here It's like now they're trying to get into the European market So you're right there isn't really I guess A European publication But I guess it's just because The couples are looking Yeah Wedlocks is Canadian Right Yes I believe so yes I went to I was just researching a little bit Oh yeah And most Real weddings I saw Was from Toronto and other places In Canada that's why But they've expanded I think Two years ago I think after Everything that kind of Went on with our industry that's when They were like okay we need to expand to Different But it's not I feel like as popular Like Or my couples anyways don't Care so much about these publications Exactly I was going to ask you Do you think that these publications Are still towards Couples or just Peer to peer It's vendors For status I would say Honestly and just like in a compliment Because I've been Featured like in the Wedlocks magazine And so when I would tell couples Like okay You know so it's really No My couples specifically I would say no They don't care too much about being Published and stuff like that For us in terms of vendors I think it's Just to be almost recognized on a Different scale For me anyways like I wouldn't be like Oh I'm better than you because it's more of like Okay my work has been Appreciated that's where I would want to Be published in that sense Yeah but once you Understand how things happen On Behind the curtain I've learned this recently as well It's payment When you talk about Vogue and Other places I just recently found out It blew my mind yes That you're just paying for all this stuff Yeah You pay for everything I can't believe that when I heard that Yeah Very surprised because I asked A photographer friend I was like oh can you believe They're like okay but they pay for it I was like oh okay Because everyone is now Vogue Vogue and this I'm not sure whether Publications and submissions Move the needle anymore I know I personally Don't think so like in terms Will we get couples from it Maybe one or two If that but no I think it's more of like Just For the vendor side of things because we put so much Time and effort and then just for them To be published somewhere I think that's what We're more so going for because for me It was just about doing these style Shoots number one meeting vendors Getting to work with them because Like just like here once I work with them on a shoot and we can you know Things happen just like it would on the wedding day When everyone works together it's like okay I could work with this team on a wedding day Because I trust them so then my couples Can trust them so that was mainly Why I did these style shoots is to Get to know the vendors and then Put pretty much put Portugal On the map for me and then I have Just content to share Yeah I think that's the That's the main reason why we should do it It's creative and it's fun It's fun for especially because You know the season's just beginning so a lot Of the vendors are like oh this is so nice that it Kind of got us ready for like what's ahead Right because it was just at the beginning of a lot Of people's season yeah Yeah and the week before you did Your style shoot we did a couple With Andre also Because she's in our new studio Yeah it was Yeah And it was fun But sometimes we need that as vendors right Because we're always doing what our couples want us to do So it was so nice that even for me Doing design and I was able to Design based on like what I got from the venues right and meeting The vendors and working with them to be like okay I had an idea and then Andre would come in and be like oh what about this Perfect let's do that So it was really fun to get to work with everyone And get creative with them I'm glad you had fun in Porto I hope you'll come back soon Oh I'll definitely be back Do you have any plans of coming back Yes so like I said We come back pretty much so we won't go This year because we're already there But we go every year So usually in the summer because my husband's Sister lives in Braga So we'll go Oh yeah Braga's really nice It is I live really close to Braga It's 15 minutes to Braga So we'll go back Probably in the summer so I have a couple Weddings So I have one bigger wedding in Italy Next year so then I'm hoping To come to Portugal There and then I know the Inquiries I have they're looking for fall So I'm hoping I can get them to Secure Portugal because they did say Spain or Italy so I do want to try to get them in Portugal Yeah that's what I'm saying One of the couples was like oh I want History in this and then I saw some venues And I was like this would be perfect for them Because you have so many different types Of venues but I just don't know If people know about them Even when I went there and I talked to Other vendors they were telling me and I was like Oh I've never even heard of them yet so it's really Good that I'm learning all these different Venues that now I can bring to my clients Right because that's what's exciting when I can Like bring something to them and they don't Have to do any of the research and it's like here It is this is your spot Yeah So Claudia this was really Amazing I really enjoyed our conversation Thank you Just as a final note How do we expect your 2026 to be? My 2026 So for me it's More about focusing on So I full planning Clients and those clients Are going to be doing like weekend experiences Rather than just a wedding I'm looking more into doing Couples who are Focusing on like the welcome party The wedding and then like a farewell brunch So I'll be in Italy in July for an elopement and I have some, um, larger, I would say weddings like off like cottages and stuff like that in North America. And then I'm focusing a lot on 2027 cause with destination you're planning, um, a year to two years ahead. So a lot of it's going to like 2027 as well. So I'm not crazy busy, but like I said, now that I have small kids, I don't want to be too busy. I just want to be working with the right clients where I can manage my schedule a little bit better to have family time as well. I read that you, you also prefer to have, uh, a smaller number of weddings each year. Yeah. We also do that. Just so my clients can like get my full attention. So if they want to meet with me the next day, they want to call me, I'm available where I found when I was doing smaller events, I was just, you know, booking two weeks out in the sense of, okay, I can meet with you two weeks. And it was just like my client, I wasn't giving the experience that I wanted to to my clients. And so when I moved into full planning and just destination, they do appreciate that I do take on that selected number of couples because it's like, they always say to me, which I love is like, I feel like you're the, I'm, I'm the only couple you're planning with. I was like, yep, that's how it should feel. Like, I don't want you to feel that I am doing so many weddings that I don't even know about yours. Cause really in the end, I pretty much know the weddings better than they do. Once we're like closer to the end, like I'll know their wedding better than they, they know all the details. So I love it. It's a buzzword, the experience in the experience you, you give to people, but it's a buzzword, but it's also true. The experience you, you give them, it's what they will remember less things, but with more intention. Exactly. It's, it's a lot better, definitely more my vibe. Yes. Yeah. This was amazing. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. This was fun for me as well. And please be sure to tell when you come to Portugal, so we can grab a coffee and a pastel nut. That's right. I will. Thank you so much. So bye-bye. All right. See ya. Bye.