Welcome to our “Day in the Life” series! We feature wedding and event planners worldwide with many different levels of experience. If you would like to be featured, download our questionnaire here and email your responses and photos to info@plannerslounge.com. We are excited to Wannida Kasiwong.

Name:  Wannida Kasiwong

Business Name & Location:  Wonders & Weddings — serving Thailand & Italy

Years Working in the Event Industry: 4+ years (since 2019)

Years Owning Your Event Planning Business: same period of 4+ years — I joined the industry with my own business, which was founded shortly after I planned my own wedding

Website: wondersweddings.com

Instagram: @wondersweddings

What is your typical day like?

My typical days can go by differently during high and low wedding seasons. As my business focuses on destination and multicultural weddings, many of my Couples choose to celebrate multiple days. I can work on weddings 3 days straight in one week or home office all the way through another. During high season, I also travel to prepare for upcoming weddings or inspect potential venues for new bookings.

On the days I’m working by my computer at home or in a co-working space, I start around 09:30-10:00. The first 15 minutes are for me to plan the rest of the day and set intentions. 

I like taking calls from 10:00 to 14:00 before working on planning & design on my own later in the afternoon to better concentrate. If I’m focusing on planning task, the rest of the hours will be spent to reply to emails, coordinate with venues and vendors for the next steps in the planning process, follow up on information, create timeline. 

When it comes to design, I create mood boards, design plans, and floor plans and ensure everything aligns with my design-related vendors. My working days usually conclude around 17:00-18:00.

How did you get started in the industry?

I started by planning my own wedding and totally fell in love with the whole journey as a Bride and a planner in the making. By then, I’d already had contacts of local vendors where I was from (Bangkok, Thailand). 

After deciding to start my business around the same time I moved to Europe, I joined The Wedding Academy’s certification course to become a wedding planner and stylist. 

As I’m a big believer in education, I continue to learn from many amazing wedding educators in their areas of expertise. Since 2022, I’ve joined Planners Who Profit group coaching, other 1-on-1 calls, and smaller courses for specific parts of the business and the industry I’d like to learn from. All have helped me greatly set up, launch, and grow my business.

What inspires you?

The biggest impact and inspiration came from the places I visited, especially wedding venues. In the locations I’m focusing on, Thailand and Italy, there are so many beautiful places with magnificent natural scenery. Whenever I travel or visit for inspections, I enjoy visualizing the given spaces and thinking about what I want to do with them. 

Interior design has also been a great resource lately as I find interesting mixture of colors, textures, space planning, and experience design that I can incorporate into my weddings. 
Last, but not least, is food & drinks. Coming from Thailand, my culinary experience greatly influenced my upbringing and identity. In every wedding I plan, especially multicultural weddings, the cuisine and serving style are essential factors influencing how I create and design the whole experience for my Couples and their beloved guests.

Overall, sensory experiences are my greatest inspiration.

What are your favorite online resources for your business? 

My coaching program @plannerswhoprofit, led by Coach @feyisola, has been the most supportive and amazing community. The knowledge, weekly critiques, and Q&A really help me grow in different aspects of my business, including sales, marketing, client relationships, systems, team building, and more. I also enjoy a boot camp and different webinars from @saradoesseo, which help me update my website and SEO strategy. Lastly, my membership at @maeandcomonthly provides great benefits for different areas that I can improve and further explore.

Aside from wedding and event planning, how do you spend your time?

At the point of this interview, I’m going to The Eras Tour of Taylor Swift in Switzerland in a few weeks and have spent much of my free time making friendship bracelets to trade. It’s so much fun, and I even organized it as a get-together with other ladies. 

Additionally, I love some slow me time with books, hot drinks, and dessert. If I’m not on a couch at home, you may find me hopping cafes, alone or with my husband. Every week, I also set aside some time to write things on my planner, such as an important to-do list, new ideas for my business, and personal notes of each wedding I’ve planned and executed with my team. 

When possible, I enjoy quality time with my close friends in restaurants or bars and networking events for female entrepreneurs. 

For holidays, my three must-haves include beautiful scenery, great food, and rich experiences with art and culture. Italy, France, and my home country, Thailand, are my favorite places for holidays as all of them have all three.

Wannida, thank you so much for sharing your story and a day in your life. If you are a wedding or event planner and would like to be featured, download our questionnaire today and email it along with a photo. If you aren’t sure about being featured, take a few minutes to read how it can help your business.