It’s Spotlight Day! Where we introduce you to incredible Orlando wedding venues and vendors, and the stories behind their companies who help Wedding Venue Map couples have their best wedding day.
It gives us great pleasure to introduce Donnamarie Williamson of CoraMarie Events.
When people ask “what do you do”, how do you answer?
We offer our couples a step by step wedding planning process designed to capture the essence of their Love story. We connect our couples with the best industry professionals that will exceed their wedding day promises and make their wedding amazing!
What did you do before you did this?
Before planning weddings, I worked in the medical field as a laboratory scientist.
When and how did you get into the wedding industry?
I’ve been in the wedding industry for nearly seven years and got my start planning events for friends. I returned to school and earned my professional wedding planning certification.
What is your favorite thing about what you do? What’s your WHY?
I plan weddings because I love working with fun couples and vendors. Seeing the details on the wedding day come together and knowing that this is a couple’s one and only special day is exciting. To be apart of something so grand is humbling.
What motivates you to do this every day?
My daily motivation comes from my couples. I know that they need someone who is willing to support and guide them so their day is a success.
What is the best compliment you have received from your clients?
I love to hear that not just the wedding day but the entire planning experience was stress-free, that the planning techniques and systems we used helped them tremendously and that they would love to work with us again.
What is important for clients to know about your company before they book you?
We do extensive research and vetting of our wedding professionals so we know that only the best will work with our amazing couples. Therefore we ask that you use a vendor from our preferred list or give us the opportunity to vet a vendor that you would like to work with before booking with them.
What types of events do you specialize in?
We specialize in weddings but also plan other celebrations such as anniversary, vow renewals, and company retreats.
Tell us about your favorite type of engaged couple.
Our favorite engaged couples are those who are madly in love, have a great sense of humor, and want to make sure their guests have a wonderful experience at their wedding.
Why do couples hire you?
Couples are drawn to CoraMarie Events because first, we care deeply about them, we’re fun and we’re highly organized with guides and questionnaires to make sure their wedding truly reflects their personalities
What does your most popular package include?
Our most popular package is our Serene Full Planning. It includes venue/vendor selections, budget management, event styling, and over 50 other wedding-related tasks.
Tell us about some of your package options and the price range for these packages?
The Oasis Experience is our VIP package that includes rehearsal dinner planning, wedding planning, and next day celebration planning.
Serene Full Planning includes all venue and vendor selections for the wedding day.
Tranquil Partial Planning allows the couple to choose 3 vendors that we will negotiate and obtain contracts and attend meetings.
The month of Relaxation is our essential service, couples do the majority of the planning until the last month when we come in and provide final planning checks.
What are the most common questions you get asked by brides and/or grooms?
Q: What do we do first to begin planning our wedding?
A: The first step in planning is to create your guest list and a reasonable wedding budget to support the style of the wedding you envision. Keep in mind on average a 100 person wedding will cost between $35,000-$40,000.
Q: How can a wedding planner help me?
A: Your wedding gladiator will assist with finding the very best vendors, negotiate deals on your behalf, assist in designing your wedding, keep you on budget and on task, and most important be there on the wedding day to make sure everything you dreamed of happens.
Q: My venue has a coordinator included what are you offering that’s different than the venue?
A: A venue coordinator is there to support the venue only. They ensure that vendors are following venue rules, no damage occurs to the venue, and assist with venue supplied equipment. Their main goal is to make sure at the end of the night that there has been no damage to the venue. Your wedding planner is there to support you. We will be there to direct your vendors on where to set up, keep your wedding party on time so you get all the photos you desire, and work with all your vendors to correct any unexpected emergencies that arise. Our main goal on the wedding day is to answer all questions for you so all you need to focus on is relaxing and enjoying your day.
The best piece of advice for brides or grooms.
When planning your wedding don’t place too much focus on trends and other ideas of the perfect wedding day. Stay focused on each others wants and desires no matter if others think it’s ridiculous.
Tell us 3 venues you enjoy working at and why.
Mission Inn Resort is a wonderful place to host a wedding. They have beautiful gardens with Spanish flair and water views to host the most dreamy weddings. Their team is a joy to work with as they go above and beyond to assist couples in having a relaxing day.
Marie Selby Gardens is the best of both worlds. In the heart of Sarasota, this multi-acre venue is equipped with the best outdoor photo opportunities. There are tall old oak trees, gardens overlooking the bay, and a beautiful old mansion. Your ceremony and photos can be done outside and then move inside to a gorgeous ballroom for your dinner celebration.
Venue 650, an industrial blank canvas that’s perfect to bring any style to life. When you book the venue you have all-day access to relax and get ready with your wedding party. My favorite is that while you are there for the day you get to witness the transformation of your wedding space and be apart of all the fun.
Here is what some previous couples had to say…
“There truly are no words to describe what Donnamarie means to us! From the moment we met with her, she understood what was important to us…..family! I think it is important to mention before I proceed that I have PTSD; so, it is very difficult for me to be in crowds, meet new people, even making a simple phone call is tasking and Donna was more than understanding! I truly feel she went far and beyond her call of duty without ever making my stress level rise!! And that was HUGE to me cause I stress a whole lot!!
Donna captured our theme, idea, and how we wanted our day to go, instantly! She made all appointments necessary and was brutally honest when I’d ask for her opinion (which I LOVED); she never forced ANY vendor on us and respected our decisions. She kept us on track which I appreciated because I am a very forgetful person.
As a nocturnal person, the app she uses between her clients and her is amazing!! I was able to go in and add pictures, inspirations, ideas, ask questions, etc….all without bothering her after hours. Yes, I am that intense! Donna was on top of it all!! I truly do not know how she does it or if she even sleeps!!!
When Covid-19 crawled its way into our lives and our April 18th bridal shower had to get canceled, I began to freak out about our wedding date…Donna did everything but hold my hand to calm me down (as per social distancing) LoL!
Because of COVID we had to make a hard decision and postpone our wedding due to more than half of our family members traveling from NYC, NJ, CT, PA & NC would not be able to attend. While it depressed me for days, Donna’s encouraging words and her sunny-upbeat personality made me feel better; she handled everything with the vendors and even emailed only my fiancé so that I would not be burdened with so much negativity.
Donna truly made everything so much easier for us from the start and was such a joy to work with every step of the way that it also hurt me for her…..for all of her hard work and dedication to our day. I am beyond grateful to have met Donna & her team, grateful to have worked with her and we look forward to hiring her again to put the final touches on our day once we are back on track!!
“Donnamarie, THANK YOU! And you most definitely are My Saving Grace!!”” – Sandra & Eric, The Westin Sarasota
“Donna was such a pleasure to work with. She made our wedding day perfect. Excellent customer service, easy to talk to, goes above and beyond. Responded quickly to all my emails. Willing to answer my questions and gave me advice when I needed it. I would use Donna over and over again. Thank you Donna for making our wedding day perfect.” – Edna & Eric, The Palmetto Club at Fishhawk
“We got to work with Donna on the day of our event. She was truly great and we were lucky to have her! She and her assistant showed up bright and early the day of the event to make sure they were there for the first vendor arrival. They were there every step of the way to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible.
They took care of everything so that my family nor my husband and I had anything to worry about! We made sure she knew our vision but we gave her a lot of room to use her own creativity to make it look as beautiful as possible. We couldn’t have been happier on how everything looked and how smooth the day went!! It was a perfect day and we have Donna to thank for a huge part of that.” – Katie & John, Private estate wedding
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