Interview | Get To Know The Wedding Pro: Arabian Ranches Golf Club
Written by Fairy Bride Mother on February 15, 2018.
Tagged under: Arabian, Arabian Ranches, Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Club, EVENTS, GM, INTERVIEW: Get to know the wedding Pro, Ranches, Ranches Golf Club Each, Wedding Pro, Weddings, dubai wedding venues, engaged in dubai, lifestyle events manager
Get to Know the Wedding Pro: Arabian Ranches Golf Club
Each week, we shine the spotlight on Bride Club ME vendor club members, allowing you, our reader, to get up close and personal with some of the best wedding vendors in town. Here, you can learn more about the people behind some of the businesses you may be using to make your wedding day perfect!
This week we have the privilege of showcasing Linda Ochieng, Lifestyle Events Manager at Arabian Ranches Golf Club, and Joyce Badenas, Lifestyle Events Executive. Below, Linda and Joyce tell us all about the history of Arabian Ranches Golf Club, and what they can offer for brides-to-be in the region. Enjoy!
How long has Arabian Ranches Golf Club been established and what makes your venue unique when it comes to hosting weddings?
Arabian Ranches Golf Club has been the heart of the Arabian Ranches community since opening in 2004. All properties will say that they are unique, however, there really is nowhere else like Arabian Ranches Golf Club! Tell us where else will you find a General Manager himself driving a Bride and Groom around on a vintage golf buggy to discover the best parts of the golf course for those must have couple shots on a Wedding Day? Arabian Ranches Golf Club is intimate and when you come to us for your wedding, everyone will know you and will be waiting with anticipation for the big day almost as much as you are.
Everyone in the club, not only us Events ladies but everyone from the GM to the Executive Chef, through to the entire team understand weddings; we get it. Your day is once in a lifetime and the importance is not lost on us and for each wedding we host; we are honoured to be a part of it.
What made you decide to work in the events and hospitality industry?
Between us, we have almost 20 years of experience. Our journeys to get here to Lifestyle Events in Arabian Ranches Golf Club were very different and we bring different experiences to our respective roles. But essentially a passion for events overall and the desire to not only meet new people but to become part of their special events drove us both to where we are today.
What do you love most about your job?
Both of us agree that the best part of being in Events is the great position we are in to meet so many people. It is with wedding couples especially that you have the opportunity to work so closely with a couple – more often than not over a longer period of time – and have the opportunity to develop the relationship.
We have both been fortunate to make lifelong friends with wedding couples whom we have worked with over the course of our careers. Not only the couples themselves but the entire family. We have had couples in for their weddings who have come back for anniversaries, baby showers and first birthday parties. This is beautiful and we cannot express how rewarding it is to not only be a part of one special day but to witness their milestones through their special events thereafter.
Do you have any exciting weddings happening at Arabian Ranches Golf Club soon? What are you most looking forward to about 2018?
We have a lot of exciting weddings coming up! Some couples that we met early last year in our Wedding Fair have been planning for quite some time and so we are excited for their special day to come around. We have a carnival theme wedding, a ladies only wedding and destination weddings coming up to name a few. We are looking forward to these and the new couples we are sure to meet through the year.
Describe the experience a bride-to-be will have when hiring Arabian Ranches Golf Club for her wedding?
For most, planning a wedding is an overwhelming experience. Venue finding is usually where it starts and so we have a couple right at the beginning of their planning journey. We both invest the time to answer questions, listen to what the couples have in mind and then move forward to advise how we are going to work together to achieve the best for them.
We have wedding packages, but we do also offer a bespoke service and encourage the couples to personalise as much as possible. We have a very experienced team including an executive chef who is always delighted to meet with a couple to understand more about them as a couple, where they have come from and to make suggestions on a menu that is tailor-made just for them. We stay with our couples through the entire planning experience and are on hand on the day to oversee the details that we have both spent months together discussing are all in order.
How do you manage trust from your clients? After all, it is the most important day of their lives.
Through the planning journey trust is so important on both sides; we both work hard to ensure that we are open with the couples from our very first interactions. We ensure that our communication is clear, we make ourselves available to answer clients’ calls and emails in good time and we remain committed to giving transparency from the first meeting on the rates, packages and most importantly on what is achievable.
If you could give one piece of advice to our readers (brides-to-be) what would it be?
Make sure that you make time in the day to stop, enjoy the moment and take it all in. Everyone will tell you that the day goes by so fast – blink and you’ll miss it! You have been working hard to plan this day and now is the time to let go and let the professionals take over. It is your first time, but it is not ours; we’ve got you!
What budgets do you cater for?
We have two main venues at Arabian Ranches Golf Club; we have the Baker-Finch room (an indoor venue which is suitable for smaller more intimate wedding parties and especially for summer weddings when the weather heats up outside). We also have a unique venue, ‘Waters Edge’, our beautiful grass lawn with stunning views overlooking the Lake which is popular for smaller parties all the way through to larger affairs of up to 400. The venues are flexible and so are we. We have wedding packages; however, we are open to creating a bespoke package based on the needs of the couple. We don’t have a one size fits all policy here!
Lastly, why did you choose to list with www.brideclubme.com?
As a market leader, we want to be on a platform where we know brides are looking for their information.
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