Get To Know The Wedding Pro

Every week, we shine the spot light on our Bride Club ME vendor club members, allowing our readers 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 hire to help make your wedding day perfect!

Above right: Clare Ebbs, Managing Partner at Aghareed. Photo credit: Enchante Studios

This week we speak to a legend in her own right, Dubai based wedding planner and founder of The Perfect Moment, Dubai, Clare Ebbs, who has more recently joined forces with the UAE’s first and only wedding concierge Aghareed. As their Managing Partner. Clare provides us with exclusive insight into Aghareed and their wedding concierge services.

What is Aghareed and how long has the company been established? 

Aghareed is the world’s first wedding concierge service. We started running in early 2013 as a team of wedding consultants who can offer all aspects of a wedding. We bring every detail, decision and service to one venue for both packaged and bespoke wedding experiences. The professional assistance starts with the early planning of the proposal, continues through to the ceremony and carries on into the honeymoon.

Photo credit: Ugly Duckling Photography

Can you tell us about your past experience in the world of weddings and how you progressed to becoming Managing Partner at Aghareed? 

In 2009 I was fortunate enough to get married, however being based in Dubai at the time, I faced many challenges trying to plan my perfect wedding  which was to be held in the UK.  As you can imagine, planning a wedding across two continents, has its obstacles, one which happened to be not being able to meet my suppliers directly. I found myself very stressed as I didn’t know the local suppliers, what the ‘going rate’ was for different services, and  on my wedding day I was trying to  ‘time keep’ everything that was happening when really I should have been sitting back and enjoying every moment.

Photo credit: Blue Eye Picture

So in 2011, that’s when I decided to take this stress away from the Bride to be and set up ‘The Perfect Moment Wedding Planners’. The business grew rapidly through word of mouth marketing, as well as exceptional referrals. Then at the beginning of this year I was approached by the founders of Aghareed who asked me to partner with them to move the concept to the top of the wedding industry…and here we are!

Can you explain what the difference between a traditional wedding planner and a wedding concierge is? 

We are a group of companies with suppliers in-house, which means you get a dedicated wedding consultant who will assist with your every need.  Concierge means that we can offer the grandest request to the minutes – if you require a guest book only, we will provide you with this; if you have done nothing for the organising and require full assistance we can also be there for you.  It is also very much about the ‘high end’ customer service we give and providing an affordable but luxurious service.

Photo credit: Blue Eye Picture

What do you love most about your work? 

Working with the different nationalities and learning about their cultures and traditions.  Every wedding is completely different, no one will ever want exactly the same format and that makes our work challenging but extremely rewarding.  My proudest moment is always when the bride is ready, the biggest smile on her face and the guests start crying as she walks down the aisle or into the room – nothing makes me happier than a groom looking like the proudest man alive to be marrying his beautiful wife.

Photo credit: Record Box Productions

Do you have any exciting weddings/events coming up? 

Yes many!  We have weddings in the desert, by the sea, in ballrooms, with fireworks and a few surprises along the way requested by family and friends….I love a surprise at a wedding!

Photo credit: Record Box Productions

Do you have a favourite ceremony and/or reception location to in the UAE?

I love al qasr beach platform followed by the reception at magnolia.  It is very common now but it is perfect for the ‘picturesque’ couple shots by the burj and then the reception venue has a mix of the outdoor space and the indoor ‘villa’ where you can dance until the early hours.

Photo Credit: Katarina borszik photography

How can our readers benefit from Aghareed services? 

We are there to listen to you, follow your dreams and put your inspiration into practise. There is no right or wrong to what should be included in a wedding but we guide you, and I would like to say, become a very good friend of yours who you can trust with the planning of one of the most important days of your life. We do not instruct or demand, but guide and advise in order to give you everything that you need – and also work within your budget.

Photo Credit: Enchante Studios

If you could give one piece of advice to brides to-be, what would it be?

Obviously we would love to be a part of the entire wedding process and our expertise in the marketing means that we are a valuable investment but if you do decide to plan the wedding yourself then my top tip is to invest in one of the wedding consultants to be there on the wedding day. Take the ‘on the day planner’ service which means we will assist putting the event sheet and running order together for you and be there from the moment suppliers start setting up to the end of the wedding. We deal with the stress of the day – so you don’t have to

Lastly, why did you chose to list with www.brideclubme.com? 

The website is a fantastic place for brides and grooms to understand the wedding business and what you need to think of when planning a wedding.  It is like a treasure chest of valuable information, tips, tricks and suppliers that can help you along the way.  Rio’s (BCME’s Founder) passion for what she does shines through and she feels strongly about helping people – as do I.  

Photo Credit: Enchante Studios

I was also fortunate to be Rio’s ‘on the day’ planner for her own wedding and it was made clear through the images you see how much time and effort she put into the personal touches and her personality shone through the design. She was a pleasure to work with and we have built up a great working relationship over the years. Good suppliers come from good partnerships, both personal and professional.

Thanks Clare! To read more about Aghareed’s wedding concierge services, click here, or visit their BCME vendor listing.