A magazine editor and a stationer walk into a café… and begin a collaboration that has resulted in one of the most fashionable and functional items you could ever hope to own. Introducing your chic new wedding planner.
Never mind Harry and Sally – when Together Journal editor Greta Kenyon (above left) met An Organised Life founder Beck Wadworth (above right), anyone might have guessed they’d become more than friends. “Greta and I met at an event last year, when I first moved back to Auckland after six years living in Sydney,” says Beck. “She mentioned she loved my An Organised Life brand and that she’d always wanted to do a wedding planner. I’d always wanted to do one too, but the timing had never been right, so we decided to catch up at the local café we both visit daily – and hit it off.It all fell into place so nicely. Once we started the conversation, there was no stopping us.”
A plan was hatched. With Greta at the helm of one of the world’s best-loved wedding magazines and bringing her decade’s experience as a wedding photographer to the table, and Beck a successful businesswoman and fashion favourite who has grown her stationery brand and blog from the ground up since its inception in 2013 when she was just 23, both women are hard-working entrepreneurs with more than 150,000 authentic followers between them. When they set their mind to something, they pour their heart and soul into it. This project blended Beck’s background in design and stationery with Greta’s wealth of wedding- industry knowledge – 20-plus combined years of wedding, event, photography, design, styling, publishing, marketing, PR and organisational experience coming together to create their dream compendium for brides and grooms.
We’re both complete nerds,” jokes Greta. “I’m pretty sure that if we’d done it with anyone else, we would have driven them crazy! I’d never worked with anyone who loves lists as much as I do until I worked with Beck. She’s a girl after my own heart, a perfectionist who cares about every tiny detail and also understands how important aesthetics are. We have a strong mutual respect and admiration for our respective brands, but I also really love Beck as a person – she’s a friend as well as a business partner. It’s been so empowering and enjoyable to work with another woman on the same level with the same mindset.”
The wedding planner’s July launch date marks a full year of meticulous research, development and production for Greta and Beck. Throughout the project, the powerhouse pair found themselves 100 percent on the same page, gravitating towards the same fashion-oriented design styles, fonts and finishes. They even loved the same model from the outset when it came time to produce the campaign imagery.
“The shoot in Sydney was a highlight,” says Greta. “After all our hard work, it was fantastic to see the planner in the hands of our beautiful model Eden Bristowe and to know we’d achieved what we’d set out to do. It really felt like it came to life that day and that it was even better than we could have imagined.”
Designed by Beck, the thoroughly modern wedding planner is pared-back perfection, wholly in keeping with the rest of her An Organised Life product range of diaries, calendars, notebooks, notepads, planners and pens. With an easy-to- follow format, its clean, chic pages are filled with essential insider intel from Greta, real-life couples and leading industry experts, including wedding planners, stylists, photographers, florists and more. In a sophisticated fusion of style and substance, the look might be minimalist, but the content is maxed out, intended to significantly ease your anxiety while supporting you to create the most amazing day possible – and look good doing it.
“We needed it to be very thorough and would prefer that we provide too much detail than not enough,” says Beck. “My main goal for An Organised Life is to make others’ lives that little bit easier through the products and content we create. It’s all about empowering people to live their best life. Planning a wedding is such a big event and Greta and I wanted to provide our customers with as much information as we could to make sure their planning was as stress-free as possible.”
Having a structure and a system is invaluable when arranging a wedding, big or small. This clever companion is separated into 14 sections and includes checklists and guides that tell what you need to organise when, plus loads of helpful tips throughout. It can host every single detail needed for your big day and the events around it too. “It’s also inclusive,” says Greta. “Unlike so many other planners on the market, you won’t find that it’s directed solely at heterosexual couples.”
Available in two colours – black and ecru – it’s designed to last and be kept forever as a precious memento in its elegant gold-embossed box. Use the Reflect section to record your highlights from the day, so when your memory fades, they won’t. Here’s another taste of what you’ll find inside this classic volume: “I love the tip about always having your rehearsal in the exact location and at the exact time of your wedding, so you can see if the sun will be shining in the wedding party or guests’ eyes, or if there are any other unforeseen issues,” says Beck. “I also love the advice to always practise your plan B.”
“There are so many tips peppered through,” says Greta. “We’ve categorised them into the relevant sections, so they pop up just when you need them.”
What advice does she have for those who are in the planning stages? “Well, obviously use the planner as a helpful guide! But also remember that it’s your wedding – do what suits you as a couple and makes you and your partner happy. Create your own traditions and make your own special memories.”
Everyone knows that when women come together, there’s no stopping us, and Beck says this project has been “amazing – challenging, inspiring and fulfilling. We’re so proud of what we’ve created together.”
“I feel like this whole collaboration has been incredibly serendipitous,” says Greta. “We were both thinking about doing it at the same time and had singled each other out to be the perfect partner to do it with. It really was meant to be.
“We’ve put so much time, attention and love into it – we’re very excited to get it out into the world,” she continues. “It’s been a big project but there’s been an element of ease because we have such similar taste, so much faith in each other, solid work ethics and an incredibly strong desire to succeed. Beck and I are both fastidious about the finer details. We set out to create the best wedding planner on the market globally, and I feel confident we’ve done just that.”
Photography: Ana Suntay-Tañedo & Greta Kenyon | Words: Philippa Prentice | Jewellery: Grew & Co | Get your Together Journal x An Organised Life Wedding Planner at togetherjournal.com and anorganisedlife.com
