Spotlight Interview with Wedding Day Coordinator Carla Friday

Wedding Day Coordinator and MunaLuchi Coterie member, Carla Friday of Details Made Simple has been involved in event planning for the majority of her life – always having been known as the “go-to” person for party/event coordination. This reputation has continued to follow Carla throughout her professional life until she decided to turn her passion into a career path – founding Details Made Simple in 2011. Now a company of thirteen professional coordinators providing elite management services to the New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, DC metro areas and beyond – Details Made Simple is a leader in day-of wedding coordination, known for making their clients’ wedding day dreams a reality.

Read all about Carla Friday and Details Made Simple in this informative and inspirational Spotlight Interview.

Describe your business. Details Made Simple is a unique company of Day of Coordinators who provide wedding day management services for New Jersey, New York, Philly, the DC Metro Area and beyond. We assist our brides and grooms on the wedding planning process. Our service is perfect for any couple planning their wedding themselves. Basically, we are the ones that will help you keep your sanity throughout all the wedding planning and the day-of, keeping every last detail running on time and set up to perfection.

Tell us a little about your background and how you got started in the Wedding Day Coordination business? I did many creative ventures in my time which all shaped and lead me to where I am today. I started Details Made Simple six years ago because I wanted to find a way to exercise my talents as a party enthusiast. Anyone that knows me, knows that I always loved a good party and was the go-to girl when someone wanted to plan one. That turned into – hmmm, how can I share my talent of organizing the best events with the world? Well, that took a whole life of its own when DMS was born. I wanted to take coordinating events even bigger and solve the issue of couples having a stressful experience while planning their own wedding. It’s likely they had no idea what they were doing or if they were forgetting important details that make a wedding well planned. That’s where I came in, I was there for them while they planned their own wedding and gave them the guidance, organization and help that they needed.

What did you do before starting your company? Before I started my business, I worked for a well-known art materials manufacturer here in New Jersey where I headed the brands social media efforts and website content. One of the perks of my role there, was for about 13 years, I got to plan their bi-annual sales meetings. It was something they saw I was a natural at from the start and I got to plan events all over the country and in the Caribbean. No matter the role I played there, that was always the best part of the job… Planning those meetings was where the passion for events was born for me as a young sassy professional in corporate America.

What are your dreams for your company? My dream has always been to provide the best possible service to our couples, which I know we’ve done from day one. However, since day-of coordination is all we do, I also really wanted to educate and share the true value of what having a day of coordinator on your side brings. Although DOC is not a new concept, there still seems to be a lot of confusion as to what exactly a wedding day coordinator is or who this service is perfect for. So my hopes are to continue to spread the wealth and knowledge onward!I think my next biggest dream is to have DMS nationwide and to keep growing to our hearts desire. We currently enjoy making waves in six states on the east coast, but I would love to see some DMS teams pop up in some other major wedding markets in the future! Trying to take this thing global baby!

Is there a certain signature element that makes your company stand out? Aside from being the unique comany that solely offers day-of coordination…I would say it’s our PASSION – it’s hands down our biggest driving force and what our clients appreciate most at the end of the day. Like with any businesses, without passion – it won’t work…at least not for long. For us, it’s not about the money, we truly love what we do first….then the money is the buttercream icing on the cake. I always make sure that my team of Coordinators are fun, driven, super responsive, organized, compassionate and just all around good people at the core. But the first quality I look for is passion. I think that is the key to our success and what makes us stand out from others. It’s that kind of quality you can’t teach, but you also can’t hide it either, not even if you tried.

Tell us about your process, how do you go about coordinating the perfect wedding day for your brides? It’s all about being organized and coming up with the best day-of game plan. However, we first must get to know our clients and what their needs are. So, let’s sit down, have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, have some girl talk and go over all things weddings. We learn the ins-and-outs of what their perfect day looks like and the timing and logistics of what needs to happen. Then we devise our master plan to make it all come together seamlessly. Every wedding is different, but it all starts with learning about what our couples’ must-haves are to have the most perfect wedding day, down to every last detail.

Are there any trends you’re in love with right now? Donut Walls! We all know love is sweet, but so are yummy treats for your guests! Lots of our brides are incorporating this delicious feature into their wedding day. I got to admit, they are pretty fun and yummy to set up too!

When is the right time for brides to start thinking about wedding day coordination? Honestly, from the time you start planning your own wedding. Our type of service is ESSENTIAL for any couple doing all the work themselves. We guide them through the process from the day we meet them all the way down to taking over day-of. We get hired constantly a year in advance, sometimes more, from couples that already know they need a DOC. But also from couples two weeks out when they are freaking out from all the stress of “how it’s all going to come together?” So it varies – but I think if more couples knew about this service, they would snag one up a lot earlier and save themselves some stress.

What advice would you give to brides on how to select a wedding coordinator? If you haven’t gotten a referral from a friend that has used a great day of coordinator at their wedding, then I would suggest going to sites like Munaluchi Bride and look for vendors that have great reviews and awards. Many of these sites only allow the couple to post reviews, so you know they are true and real and give you a firsthand look as to how that vendors service really is. The awards we win year after year are solely based on our clients’ reviews. While this is so humbling for us as a company, it also brings other great couples to us! Also, I think it’s really important to have that “spark” with your wedding vendors. You must mesh with them and like them as people, not just their service. A lot of our clients book us because they said we really connected with them and their personalities, and they felt at ease from our initial phone call.

Fun facts:

Favorite thing to do? Travel – I can’t seem to stay put for too long.
iphone or android? iPhone for life baby!
Mac or pc? PC
If you could travel to any location right now, where would it be? Spain – the beaches and architecture in Spain have been calling my name for sometime now. Who wants to go?!
Favorite song? Hmmmm, this is tough. Currently, I think it’s Riri’s “Wild Thoughts.”
Favorite book? I have many, so it’s hard to pin down to just one. I read a lot of business type books to help my inner #girlboss roar.
Favorite tv show? Normally I would say Scandal or Fixer Upper on HDTV, BUT I’ve recently got put on to Queen Sugar (I know, I’m all late) on OWN and I’m obsessed! Heyyyy Kofi!
Guilty pleasure? Tacos! Like all day, every day! Ok-ok, tacos and a good cup of coffee. There, I said it.

Image Credits:
Chip Dizard Weddings – DMV MunaLuchi Coterie Ambassador
Bruno Lacerda
Momon Photo

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