Q+A: THE SMALL THINGS CO. | PASSIONATE WEDDING PLANNERS MELBOURNE VIC

MELBOURNE WEDDING DECOR HIRE STYLIST PLANNER STYLING

Starting as a little hire business out of their home garage, The Small Things Co. had a few unique pieces from her own wedding, which Paula put up on Gumtree for hire. As business picked up, they expanded their hire range and built a website. After one year, the business was bursting at the seams and the demand for more products grew organically calling for the need to move into their studio space in Abbotsford where they provide a professional service to customers.

What can THE SMALL THINGS CO offer a couple for their Wedding day? We have services to suit an array of needs for any couple. Whether you are wanting to completely DIY your wedding and hire from our range or have us plan and style your wedding from start to finish, we have it all. Services include:
- Decor Hire
- Hire and Styling of Decor Pieces
- Proposal Planning + Styling
- On the day coordination and styling
- Full Planning and Styling Package

Did you always know that you wanted to design Weddings & Events? I have always had a passion for design. When I was growing up, my room was always colour coordinated and themed, and my birthday parties were definitely an expression of my creative side. My parents graciously let me have a truck load of sand delivered into our backyard for my beach themed 16th birthday. I began working in a cooporate job and very quickly found that my creative side was needing to be quenched. I volunteered after hours on an events team to feed this passion, but the entrepenur in me had greater plans.

What keeps you inspired along the way? So many elements inspire my work. Every couple brings their own unqiue style which has a major influence on the direction of the styling and look. I also draw on current interior design trends, as they are consistently transferable into the wedding world. Textures, colours and other elements inspire and influence my work to bring together a custom look for each couple. My best friend is an interior designer, and we are always floating ideas with each other. She is an incredibly passionate and creative person and she inspires so much of what I do.

Do you have any stories that you would like to share from your experiences? We worked with a beautiful couple last year that we connected with immediatly in our first consultation. The bride had some beautiful ideas of the style that she liked, and handed them over to us to bring it al to life. Whilst also adding our creative design and different elements we suggested. When the couple arrived at the reception they walked into the room and were so in love with everything we had put together. The bride started crying and of course I got going to. This is the stuff that makes us love what we do.

Advice: There are a few elements to consider when booking a stylist. Firstly it is so important to feel like you click with them on a personal level, they are planning your wedding afterall. Secondly explore their previous work to get a feel for what they do. Consider if their work will represent you as a couple and the personal style you would like to acheive for your day. Finally, pick a stylist that is not only creative but also practically minded. They need to be organised and great with the communication. Once you have covered these points, give your stylist your complete trust. You'll all have a much better time if you trust them. Give your stylist a bit of free reign and you'll ultimately end up with their best work.

Personal favourite style? We really can work with any style, but what gets us going is definitely a rich colour palette. Dark and moody tones with beautiful romantic candlelight is totally our vibe. We also love playing with textures such linen, stone, pottery, marble and velvet. We are absolutely loving the teracotta and mustard trend that is happening right now. The hard part is often convincing couples to do something different to what they see on social media at the moment.

What is the best part about what you do: We love that we get to work with couples right through the planning process. Sometimes we spend over a year planning a wedding with the couple and it is so rewarding seeing it all come together. At the end of bump in, when all that is left is to straighten the menus and light the candles, it is the best feeling. We often step back and just take it all in. All the small details that have come together. The font on the stationery that we discussed for a week, the exact grey colour that we picked for the napkins and the colour that carries through from the floral into all the other elements, it is a the most magical feeling.