We’ve formed partnerships with the best of the best in the region and want to introduce you!
Meet our team of partners who support making your wedding day so special.
Cactus Collective Weddings Partner: Vanessa Naumann of Storybook Planning & Design
What led you to where you are now?
Oh my! I’ll try to keep it short. I knew I wanted to be a wedding planner right after my best friend’s bridal shower. I was her maid of honor and her mom asked me to help plan her shower.
Well, I basically took it by the reins and had so much fun planning it. All the guests were wowed and I thought to myself “Hmm, maybe I can do this for a living?!”
I looked into it and there wasn’t a huge market for wedding planners in Montreal, Quebec (that’s where I’m from). While researching more on the need for wedding planners, I got scouted by Cirque du Soleil to handle public relations for one of their touring show divisions and well, I ran away with the circus!
I planned many events with my tenure at Cirque and it gave me some valuable experience which has made me such a well rounded planner.
After meeting my husband at Cirque, we had to pick a place to live because we were expecting our first daughter and living on the road. We picked Las Vegas just because of our entertainment backgrounds. Little did I know it was wedding capital of the world!
After making the difficult decision not to go back to Cirque, I thought it was time to go after that dream I had given up on while I was living back home… and here I am…living my dream and I feel so so so so blessed to be doing it.
I think the universe had my back all along.
Tell us about yourself.
Well you know I worked for Cirque but what I didn’t mention is that I was fortunate enough to have traveled the world with them.
I’ve been to over 25 countries and it has definitely made me a better human and a better planner! I lead with my heart. It’s all about how something feels for me and I apply this to my designs.
I love when couples tell me how they want their designs to feel. I am extremely passionate and driven.
I will be your #1 advocate and I can assure you that I will pour my heart into your wedding. I am adventurous and will try anything once (or multiple times if it’s awesome)!
What makes you feel inspired?
Getting to know my couples. I love to know what’s in their brains and hearts when they think of their wedding.
Seeing their faces light up and making true connections with people is inspiring to me.
I also get inspired from nature (I love to watch the colors of the sky at sunset), interior design and fashion and then last but not least, feelings.
I love to channel a feeling and bring it out with my designs.
What is the one common myth about your profession or field that you want to debunk?
That what we do is glamorous or easy. I mean it isn’t rocket science but we put in a lot of time and experience to be able to plan a successful wedding, and by that I don’t only mean a pretty one.
There is so much that goes into a proper flow of an event such as experience handling problems as they arise and finding solutions is not for someone who gets frazzled easily or someone that doesn’t have experience in running an event.
Although we are in the luxury business, my job is far from glamorous. I am the type of planner that gets down with my couples and vendors to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Alphabetizing escort cards, stuffing envelopes, helping floral put last minute touches on flowers, or assisting with strike… we do it all and we do it because we love it. So no complaints there 🙂
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Aw, just one?! I think I’d love to have a magic wand, to curate perfect tablecapes in no time, create things from nothing or make them appear, and turning pumpkins into coaches.
Tell us anything else you’d like someone to know about you.
I’m pretty easy going. I don’t get flustered or stressed out and I am all about finding a solution to the problem. I’m an Aries and Enneagram type 1 so look them up if you are curious and let’s talk about Enneagram types!
