We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alison Amy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alison below.

Alright, Alison thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Coming up with the name for my company was tricky actually! I wanted something that encapsulates the ethos and spirit of the business – but I had to pick a name to register it before it even got started, so it was hard to know what our ‘thing’ was going to be. I knew I wanted our planners to be like a partner in the planning process, to come alongside couples and be like a best friend – giving honest opinions, not taking ourselves too seriously, being relatable and making the planning process a fun one! I myself can feel a little intimidated when wedding industry people use fancy words and give judgmental looks when couples are trying to explain their vision, so I wanted us to be the opposite of that! So I started playing around with words that incorporate friendship/partnership and being Australian, I landed on ‘best mate’ as it sounds a bit like ‘bridesmaid’ and it really is what we seek to be – your best mate through the process.
We do work with people who aren’t ‘brides’ as well, it just sounds catchier than ‘anyone getting married’s best mate’.

Alison, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Wedding planning is a mix of a lot of things that I love and am, so its been a really natural fit! For example:
I’m very detail orientated, and can get fixated on the practicalities of how something will happen. I like to have a Plan A…through D, and am always willing to reevaluate and pivot as we go if something isn’t working.
I love creating, design and making a vision come to life! Mood boards and partnering with the right vendors and getting everything to work together to create a mood and an atmosphere that the couple want is one of my most favorite things to do!
I am a little bit bossy, so telling drunky groomsmen to tighten up (and quit chewing gum and empty their pockets before the ceremony) gives me great joy.
I love working for myself and by myself as well as in a team – this job is a great mix of hours and hours at my desk, researching and emailing as well as building relationships with vendors and couples and working in a team to make a dream wedding day!
I could go on and on about all the aspects of this work that I love – if you want to know more, just reach out!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I actually get most of my clients from instagram. Instagram as been a great vehicle to showcase our work, show the variety of styles and design that we love as well as making silly stories (and attempting to make reels) that show that we are regular people who laugh at ourselves and just happen to be good at making beautiful, elegant weddings happen – even though we are not elegant ourselves!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think being willing to have other people’s backs has helped build my reputation. We have had a couple of weddings where one vendor has messed up and dropped the ball and we make sure everyone rallies together as a team. Getting upset or pointing out blame doesn’t serve the couple or the wedding, so we simply won’t do it. We will do whatever we can to get a win for everyone on the vendor team, which achieves our highest goal which is a win for the couple!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.abridesbestmate.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/abridesbestmate
• Other: www.pinterest.com/abridesbestmate

Image Credits
Ashlee Crowden Photography