Meet Deonne Grant

March 24, 2011 in Events

Wedding Coordinator
Unique Dream Weddings

Unique Dream Weddings was co-founded in 2008 by Deonne Grant and her twin sister Annemarie.

The London based company provides a unique wedding planning and coordination service, specialising in affordable yet chic Black and multicultural weddings in the United Kingdom.

Why did you decide to start your company?
We always had a passion for organising small events, such as christenings, birthdays and weddings. At times we would just takeover family events, because they were disorganised, so we used to sort everything. So you can say it came very naturally to us. Being care professionals also helped us to be organised.

What was your career path prior to starting your first business?
We both worked in the caring and nursing profession since the age of 18.

Did you always know that you would start your own business?
No, not at first, it did not enter our minds. People would say how good we were at organising events, but we did not take the comments literally. It was not until we were asked to help out at a friend’s wedding, about 8 years ago, that the passion for weddings came to us.

What steps did you take to launch your business?
We attended business start up events and did a lot of internet searches.

Tell me more about the services you offer, what makes Unique Dream Weddings stand out from the competition?
We offer both full and partial wedding planning services, coordination of the day and our exclusive dress down service. A lot of weddings would normally have family helping out, preparing food etc and this meant that invited guests were working and not fully enjoying the day.

Combining the co-ordination and dress down service, allows family and friends to thoroughly enjoy the day without the need to clean, pack away hired items or sort things out at the end of reception. Basically the bride and groom can just leave knowing that everything is taken care of.

We stand out as we specifically specialise in Black and multicultural weddings in the UK. We were the first wedding planners to have this stated in Google. We are professional and always looking for new ways to improve our service and market to today’s Black and modern bride.

What has been your favourite project to date and why?
Prior to specialising in Black and multicultural weddings we planned a wedding for a Caucasian couple who really loved Jamaican culture. They wanted something unique for their wedding and the wow factor.

We managed to find a company that provides a kind of tropical bar and we created an edible green banana and pineapple bouquet, which we made ourselves. We imported the dwarf green bananas and tropical flowers. The bride went absolutely crazy and loved every minute of her tropical themed wedding. We go that extra mile to achieve the weddings that couples want.

What are you working on at the moment?
We are working on weddings in Italy and Jamaica and we have a couple of trips planned this year.

What have been the highlights of running your own business?
Networking and meeting people. When a couple truly enjoys their day stress free that really pleases us, because we know our company is needed.

What is the hardest part of running your own business?
There isn’t really a hard part; because we are twins we equally share the work.

What has been your biggest triumph so far?
We were invited to attend the Wedding, Business and Merchant Academy in Las Vegas. We were honoured to be invited and we were overloaded with fresh ideas, hence now we use video testimonials. We were also approached to help find suppliers for a well known Black celebrity, although we already had a wedding booked on this day, it was nice to have been recognised.

What, or who, inspires and motivates you?
We inspire each other because we are twins. Of course God and the dream to leave a legacy for our children motivate us. I call my daughter my wedding assistant as she is always commenting or giving her advice.

Fast forward five years, where do you think your business will be in 2016?
We will be the first port of call for all Black weddings in the UK. We want to be able to get Black weddings in mainstream wedding magazines. When was the last time you saw a Black couple in one of the magazines on the shelves?

What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting a wedding planning business?
Research, research, research.

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For more information visit www.uniquedreamweddings.co.uk. You can also find Unique Dream Weddings on Twitter and Facebook.

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Deonne Grant was interviewed by Octavia Goredema, founder of the Twenty Ten Club.

The Twenty Ten Club is an award-winning networking organisation for Black female entrepreneurs. You can also find Twenty Ten Club on Twitter and Facebook.