Jutta Lammerts is the Founder of A Day Like No Other, a boutique full service wedding planning company in California. She'll work with you far and wide, not only in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, but also down the Peninsula as far south as Monterey/Carmel and up north as Napa/Sonoma Wine Country. Jutta absolutely loves every moment of her work. She enjoys jumping into the excitement of planning with her brides and grooms, brainstorming ideas, developing a design scheme, and making their great day come true for them. She guides her couples through the myriad details and decisions, making the planning journey a fun and rewarding experience. After all, for most couples planning their wedding, it's their first big “joint venture,” and she wants that to be a huge success!
What inspired you to enter the wedding industry?
My son’s wedding! My son and his fiancée promoted me to be their wedding planner, and I was immediately hooked. I'm a physician by training and had to give up my career when our family moved to the U.S., but I'd always loved designing, and my son’s wedding was my big chance to do exactly that. They loved everything I came up with, I went over budget in week one, and it’s still my favorite wedding!
Why did you start A Day Like No Other?
Already before my career as a physician in my native Germany, I had this “secret love affair” with design. I have a background in art history, and I've also done interior decorating. When I had the opportunity to create my first wedding design, everything suddenly came together for me. As a physician, I'm very organized and have meticulous attention to detail, and I'm also a “people person” with very good communication skills. I'm creative, and I feel very honored to be a part of a couple’s great day and to participate in their joy. With every new couple, every new planning project, I'm full of anticipation and enthusiasm. I love that all my couples are unique in their own ways. I'm learning from all of them, and I enjoy creating a personalized celebration for each new couple, as unique as they are.
Does A Day Like No Other Events specialize in anything?
As a dedicated "doggie Mom" myself, my business specialty is dog-friendly weddings. I personally consider dogs as family members—and many of my clients see it the same way—and I firmly believe that our beloved doggies should participate in their parent's big day and share their joy and fun. Only thing is, joy and fun from a dog's perspective is quite different than from a human perspective. For a dog it's not fun if, one, their parents don't have time for them on the wedding day, don't play with them, don't walk them, and don't allow them to jump up on them. Two, they're not allowed to explore this exciting new space (the wedding venue) and mark that new territory. And three, they're not allowed to bark despite the fact that suddenly 200 strangers (aka wedding guests) are showing up... and so it goes!
Therefore, I put in place a whole program to make doggies happy while their parents are celebrating. I've dedicated "Doggie Moms for the Day" on staff whose only task on the wedding day is to take care of the clients' dog(s), keep their established routine with walks and feeding time, bring them to the venue so they can participate in the celebration as far as the clients wish and the venue allows (e.g. for the ceremony and for photos), and then take them back home or to a dog-friendly hotel where they await the return of the doggie's parents once they're done partying. That way everyone's happy!
If you could change one thing about the weddings and special events industry, what would it be?
The psychological pressure on couples to conform with “wedding trends.” I firmly believe that weddings should focus on the couple’s commitment to each other and not on any fashionable details (as pretty as these might be). No couple should feel obliged to have an elaborate wedding cake if they don't even like cake themselves!
How does using Aisle Planner help you deliver the client experience you want to?
I want my clients to feel accompanied and supported every step of the way. Aisle Planner offers all the necessary tools, from the super-detailed To-Do list for the couple (which I can monitor and remind them of…) to calendar notifications to keep them on time and on track. I want to keep my clients’ records organized and in one place, and AP allows me to do that together with them. The Aisle Planner platform makes all planning documents accessible 24/7 and allows the couple and I to do planning work anytime, anywhere—which is crucial for my large number of long-distance planning projects.
What's your favorite Aisle Planner feature?
To me, the biggest advantage of Aisle Planner is the Design Studio with Style Guides. Sharing visuals with clients and exchanging comments on them has proven a true Godsend when working with clients who have difficulty visualizing design ideas and defining colors. One image does, in fact, help more than a thousand words, and oftentimes my clients are so enthusiastic about the ability to see, comment on, and immediately receive a response from me to a specific photo of a design item. This way, we can plan together remotely (which I've done for years, long before the COVID crisis) and be on the same page design-wise. At least half my projects are based on long-distance planning with the “record holders” residing in Sydney/Australia and in Calgary/Canada.
If you weren't the Founder of A Day Like No Other what would you be doing instead, or what would your life be like?
I would most certainly still be a dedicated neurologist, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist in Germany. I loved my profession and still do!
What are three things you never show up without on event day?
1. My client binder with all planning documents (with a backup of the most important ones on my phone!).
2. My phone. It's my lifeline to tackle any unforeseen complication.
3. My famous “red rolling toolbox.” A big rolling suitcase stocked with everything from aspirin and pliers, to calligraphy tools and lighters.
What’s your personal philosophy on becoming a great wedding and event planner?
You need to love what you do, and this love and enthusiasm will give you the energy and drive to work endless hours, generate and change plans over and over again, and pursue perfection for an event that lasts only a few hours, but that creates memories of a lifetime.
What’s your trademark in the client or event experience?
Clients and colleagues have said that I'm extremely organized, always calm and friendly, and that I always go the extra mile to make everything perfect.
Is there anything you're particularly excited about working on this year?
I'm currently planning two lavish wedding events with incredible décor. It’s fantastic when my clients and I share an implicit understanding of their design vision, and they give me the leeway to actually make it happen.
Just for fun
What’s the most used tool in your emergency kit?
Aspirin and foldable ballet slippers!
What’s one trend you think should be left in the past?
Mason jars and the whole “shabby chic” aesthetic.
What’s one trend you hope to see more of?
High elegance, restrained and streamlined, with a comeback of champagne towers.
If you could go back in time, what’s one thing you would change about your wedding?
I got married in a beautiful Romanesque chapel from the 14th century. Unfortunately, the portal decided to collapse a few days before my wedding (after holding up just fine for 500+ years!). So maybe a wedding date a few weeks earlier would've been better…
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever created for a wedding or event?
One of my brides had fallen in love with Bougainvilleas as her wedding flowers—the most fragile flowers imaginable! They last less than an hour after cutting, so her wish seemed impossible to fulfill. All florists I asked recommended to replace her beloved Bougainvilleas with something similar—except one. She brought living, potted Bougainvillea plants onsite, cut the blooms literally minutes before the ceremony and inserted them into the prepared bridal bouquet, and likewise for the centerpieces, and our bride got exactly what she had been wishing for. It was gorgeous!
Want to see more from Jutta? Check out her website daylikenoother.com!
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