INVESTMENT PACKAGES
Our Process
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First Date
An important question is asked, some hardware exchanged and plans get started.
A loved one/wedding vendor/co-worker recommends the Hive or you stumble upon us online, you vibe with our vibes immediately and you reach out!
Our fearless leader, Christine, will pair you with a Hive planner and you will chat with them in person, virtually or over the phone. Our goal is to understand you and your partner, family dynamics, hopes and dreams, budgets, etc. We want to know what you are excited about and what is giving you anxiety.
If everyone agrees it’s a good fit, we’ll lock thing thing down!
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Hard Launch
You’ll have a post-hire on-boarding meeting with your planner to walkthrough everything; venue hopes, budget, design dreams, vendor matchmaking, logistics game plans, etc.
We want to dig in to figure out your aesthetic and all the elements you love about your relationship, family history, hobbies, everything! It’s our job to take your scattered vision of what you like and translate that into real design.
We will also have a very candid conversation about what level of investment you are comfortable with, where that money is coming from and what to expect in a modern wedding market.
Depending on what package you signed up for, we’ll get started anywhere between 18 months and 90 days before your wedding date and serve as your designer, therapist, lawyer, mediator and fairy wedding godmother every step of the way.
With Full and Guided Planning packages, we will create a design plan and serve as your guide in floral, paper product, cake design and rental meetings. This part can get really overwhelming and we are here to walk you through it and make sure we stay cohesive and in budget while making your event look like you!
We typically chat every few weeks, you’ll get homework assignments and checklists to keep you on track and your planner is there to make this process digestible and fun.
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Lock It Down
Around 60 days before your wedding, we’ll schedule our final walkthrough with your catering team and any other essential vendors (additional site visits occur before this, depending on your package type.) We’ll finalize your floor plan, timeline and overall game plan while we wait for your RSVPS to come in and we can coast to the wedding weekend.
Wedding weekend arrives and we’ll run your ceremony rehearsal with your officiant and make sure you make it off to your rehearsal dinner worry-free. The next morning, our team is usually one of the first to arrive on-site with checklists, vendor details sheets, setup guides, comfortable shoes and a smile.
If the cake falls over in the van, florist gets lost, DJ is drunk, Aunt Tilly is missing…. we handle it and we’ll tell you about it when you get back from your honeymoon.
We take care of your purchased and rented items, keep your vendor team on track, enforce the timeline and ensure the day is going smoothly and everyone keeps calm. At the end of the night, we begin the breakdown process and make sure your vendor team is handled, your personal items are safe and you can head to the after-party or to bed without a worry.
INVESTMENT PACKAGES
Full Planning
STARTING FROM $10,000+
we begin 10-18 months before your wedding date
This package is ideal for busy professionals who want a partner in planning from the beginning. The moment your venue is booked (we can be hired for venue scouting before this package) we help you build a realistic budget, set a design plan, present you with unique ideas to set your event apart and walk you through the entire wedding planning process.
We don’t plan the wedding for you,
we plan it with you.
We matchmake you with reputable, reliable vendors and provide you with month by month guidance that fits into your busy schedule. You’ll have access to our exclusive wedding planning software and you’ll be involved every step of the way while never allowing wedding planning to be all consuming.
This package begins 10-18 months before the wedding date.
GUIDED PLANNING + DESIGN
STARTING FROM $7500*
we begin 6-9 months before your wedding date
This package starts 6-9 months before your wedding date. It is perfect for those who’ve tackled the big decisions, but are struggling to translate their vision into a cohesive vibe with florals, room design, tabletop elements, stationary, signage, etc.
Once the contract is signed and deposit paid, we’ll have a comprehensive on-boarding meeting where we’ll walk you through budget, make vendor recommendations for each category and set you up for success before the planning period begins.
You’ll need to have 4 major vendors hired by the time we get started. Those are typically venue, catering, entertainment, beauty or cake.
Then we’ll hit the ground running to tie your loose ends, help you hire your design-focused vendors and guide you through the rest of the planning process. We’ll be your wedding fairy godmothers until the very end of your wedding night.
EVENT MANAGEMENT
STARTING FROM $4000*
we begin 60-90 days before your wedding date
Our version of “day of coordination.” After 12+ years of experience, we’ve learned (the hard way) that stepping in for “day of” is not enough.
Instead, we offer an in depth on-boarding meeting after being hired to set you up with a realistic budget and make solid vendor recommendations as you plan.
We are available for quick questions as the months pass and decisions are being made and then we step in 60-90 days before the wedding day to wrap everything up.
We visit your venue with you, create a floor plan and timeline, review all of your contracts, ensure everything is buttoned up and ready to roll for the wedding weekend. And then we are present for ceremony rehearsal and then up to 12 hours on the wedding day with at least one assistant.
SOUTH ASIAN WEDDINGS
STARTING FROM $7500
we begin at least 6 months before your wedding weekend
Our team has years of experience planning and designing South Asian wedding weekends and we have a great respect for the cultures and traditions of our clients.
We will partner you with the best caterers, decorators, florists, DJ/MC teams, photo/video teams and more to create a seamless wedding weekend from the Sangeet to the Final Reception.
Due to the complexity of these events, we will only work with clients who are ready to invest in at least 6 months of planning guidance.
A La Carte Options
Exclusive Common House Pricing
$3000 - $6500
We are proud to be a close partner with Common House Richmond and we offer a special package just for that venue. Any Common House couple can book 2 months of event management’ for a flat rate of $3000 (usually $4500+) with any of our planners. Need a little more design and planning guidance at CH? We’ll do a 6 months of design and planning package for $6500 (usually $8000+)
Venue Scouting
$800
Yay! You're engaged! What now? With this package, we'll help you choose the best place to host your event, taking budget, guest count + vibe into account. This package is perfect for the couple that isn't sure they need a full time wedding planner, but needs help getting started. Once we help you lock in a venue and a date, you can choose to hire us for additional planning help.
This package includes:
1 interview/planning meeting
venue research
Cost analysis spreadsheet for 8-10 venues
touring 3 venues
Wedding Venue Consultation - $300 an hour
Dreaming of opening an event space, but hoping for more guidance?
We regularly visit prospective or new wedding venues in the DMV area to consult on logistics, pricing and profitability. This hourly fee covers at least two Hive planners traveling to the property, taking a tour and offering a consultation and detailed post-visit notes. Any information you share with our team will remain confidential. Email christine@thehiveweddingco.com to setup our visit.
Beehive Besties - More info about hiring us for Wedding Day Attendant Support and/or Content Creation, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes! While we lean on each other for experience, advice and guidance with all of our clients, the planner you hire is all yours. Each package includes a planner and an assistant but additional assistants are required for a guest count over 150.
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As a company, we average 60 - 80 events per year. Each planner is full-time and has made this their career. We all intentionally book a combination of all three planning packages throughout the year to ensure we don’t spread ourselves too thin.
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We advise our clients to be prepared to invest between $400 and $500 per guest to achieve the style and scale of the events you see featured on our portfolio and Instagram. There are always exceptions based on venue, guest count, etc. but, in general, most of our clients have at least a $50,000 budget. Most of our weddings featured on our blog and Instagram are $75,000 to $125,000 events.
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Absolutely. We have members on our team that identify as queer and we welcome and support love of all kinds. Progressive values are engrained in our belief systems and we also ensure the wedding vendors we recommend serve as allies by our side.
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We offer a pre-hire consultation to get to know each other., either in-person or virtual. Once you are ready to commit, we’ll send you an electronic contract to review and sign. We require 50% down to book and the second 50% is due 60 days before the wedding. We accept electronic payments, cash, or check. We can also create a more flexible payment plan for you if that helps.
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No, it doesn’t. Some of our industry peers charge a flat rate plus a percentage of what the total wedding budget ends up being as the event approaches. We prefer to use our years of experience to anticipate how much you’ll spend, how many vendors you’ll hire an how much work we’ll need to dedicate to curate your event and charge that up front with transparent, predictable pricing. Once the contract is signed, the fee is the fee and we are all yours.
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Short answer is yes. Venue coordinators are valuable assets to your planning process, no doubt about it. They know the venue like the back of their hands and can help our team ensure your wedding day is seamless. But their job is to represent and protect the venue, not you. Venue coordinators care deeply for each of their clients, but they are employees of the venue, not directly contracted by you. They can leave at anytime to pursue other jobs and you are at the mercy of whomever replaces them. Or if you have an issue with the venue owner and/or their rules, the venue coordinator is at the mercy of their employer, not you. Even on the wedding day, they typically aren’t there the whole day.
Especially as we navigated covid restrictions and shut downs in 2020/21, our clients faced countless issues with venues as we rescheduled dates, downsized guest lists and, at times, changed venues completely. Having an advocate like a wedding planner that is contracted to help you is key to the success of your event, no matter where it ends up being.
We work alongside the venue coordinator to ensure we are using the space in the best ways, create a floor plan and timeline that makes sense for the myriad of vendors and ensure your entire wedding weekend goes smoothly. We are by your side to handle the mental and emotional challenges of wedding planning, setting a total budget for all of your vendors, and guiding you through design + style decisions.
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We are always excited to explore new places and we’ve handled quite a few weddings on private properties, but here is a selection of venues we’ve been;
1000 Westover
Amber Grove
Ashton Creek Vineyards
Barboursville Winery
Barn at Turkey Ridge
Barns of Kanak
Barns of Timber Creek
Berkeley Plantation
Birkby House
Blenheim Vineyards
Blue Toad Cidery
Boathouse at Rockett's Landing
Bolling Haxall House
Boxwood Villa
Branch Museum
Burlington Events
Castle Hill Cider
Commonwealth Club
Common House
Copper Hall
Dominion Club
Dover Hall
Early Mountain Vineyards
the Estate at River Run
Fairview Farms
the Foundry
Gallery 5
Great Marsh Estate
Hermitage Country Club
Hermitage Gardens
Historic Tuckahoe
Hofheimer Building
Jefferson Hotel
John Marshall Ballrooms
Julep's
Keswick Hall
King Family Vineyards
Kingsmill Resort
Libby Hill Park
Linden Row Inn
Longview Art Gallery
Lydia Mountain Lodge
Main Street Station (head house + shed)
Mankin Mansion
Market at Grelen
Maymont
Melrose Caverns
Mill at Fine Creek
Montfair Resort Farm
Moss Vineyards
Pharsalia
Pippin Hill
Poe Museum
Portsmouth Women's Club
Private Residences
Quirk Hotel Richmond + Charlottesville
Running Mare
Science Museum
Seven Springs
Studio Two Three
the Lodge at Mount Ida
the Valentine Museum
The Virginia House
Tides Inn
Tredegar Iron Works
Triple Crossing Brewing
Turf Valley Resort
Upper Shirley Vineyards
Urban Roost
UVA Inn at Darden
Veritas Vineyards
Virginia House
VMFA
Westover Plantation
Wintergreen Resort
Wool Factory
Woodlawn & Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House