Practice Makes Perfect
An interview with wedding coordinator Lora Gardner of Perfect Day Productions
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL | DESIGNED BY MADDY LAROCK
Lora Gardner is the founder and lead planner of Perfect Day Productions, a Lakeland-based wedding and event planning company. Lora’s attention to detail and genuine love for the work she does, as well as the support of her team, are the reasons that her clients can say that their day was truly perfect. When she started her company in 2018, with the encouragement of her husband, Brian, she had no idea that her business would grow so quickly. Today, Perfect Day Productions coordinates an average of 40 weddings and events each year and Lora and her team are always open to helping new clients achieve their dream events. Lora’s company just made the transition from Bartow to a new office located on South Florida Ave. With Lora’s office decorated with souvenirs from her favorite Broadway shows and the showroom where plates, napkins and glassware of every color are displayed for clients to rent, this new space is the ideal place for couples to begin planning their upscale, fairytale, rustic or entirely unique wedding.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
THE LAKELANDER
I wanted to start by asking about your journey. How long have you been in the business and what made you realize that you wanted to do this?
Lora Gardner
Perfect Day Productions just turned seven years old. We started in 2018. And for me, my love language is acts of service, so being in the events industry—acting as a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator—it really feeds into just who I am as a person and getting to serve my couples and my clients. I’ve always said when I grew up, I wanted to be a wedding planner, so it really was a lifelong dream fulfilled when Perfect Day Productions opened.
TL
Does working in this business make you want to go back and change anything about your own wedding?
Lora
I think, knowing what I know now, I would absolutely make some changes to our day. And one of the biggest things I would do is incorporate more guest experiences into it, which is definitely a trend that I’m seeing our couples want to incorporate more and more. From cigar lounges to coffee bars to live watercolor painting favors, our couples really are spending a lot of time thinking about the impact their wedding has for their guests and how to make it the best experience for them.
TL
Does everyone need a wedding planner?
Lora
Anyone planning an event needs a wedding or event planner. We bring a level of experience and a level of expertise to that planning process. Ultimately, my goal is for our couples to enjoy being engaged, and having an expert on their side really allows them to enjoy the engagement, enjoy planning their wedding, and, more importantly enjoy the wedding day because they have a whole team in Perfect Day Productions that is allowing them to be present for one of the most important days of their lives.
TL
What are some current trends that you see happening?
Lora
Blues are definitely an incoming color. The blue color palette is a trend that I think we’re gonna see for a little bit. Let’s see. What else am I seeing? Weekday weddings. Weddings are now happening seven days of the week. They no longer have to be on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. We are finding that, no matter what day of the week, guests are still wanting to come and celebrate with the couple.
TL
What are some timeless traditions and trends that you’d like to see more of?
Lora
I love when our couples get to share a private last dance at the end of the night. When their guests have exited the reception space, it’s just them. It’s their first private moment of the night, sometimes. I always tell our couples that the first dance is for their guests and the last dance is for them. And it’s one of my favorite moments of the night, so I always encourage our couples to share that private moment.
TL
What are some ways that you would suggest for a couple to add personal elements to their wedding to showcase their own interests and personalities?
Lora
One really fun way is through their bar signage and the names of their signature cocktails because we get to learn their pet names or maybe a little bit more about the industry that they work in. And I think incorporating moments that are important to them. So if their cultures are really important to them, maybe we bring in food that celebrates their culture, especially when bringing two cultures together.
TL
What are some “easily avoidable mistakes” that you’ve seen couples make in regards to their wedding?
Lora
My job as a wedding planner is to educate couples. This is likely their first wedding that they’ve ever planned, so we educate them throughout the process on how to have the best day possible. One mistake couples make is not realizing that things take longer than they think they do. The timing of the day is extremely important and I always want to make sure that our couples don’t feel rushed, so the timeline of the day is very important.
TL
What is the most unique place that you’ve had a wedding?
Lora
We’ve had a wedding at the Florida Aquarium. That’s probably one of the more unique places. They lived nearby, they wanted to incorporate the elements of the ocean into their day…and it was a very cool experience.
TL
Tell me about a special memory that stands out from your time operating Perfect Day Productions.
Lora
As a wedding planner, we are fortunate to be able to be a part of one of the biggest days of our couple’s lives. Sometimes, that means we miss out on big moments in our own lives. Last year, we worked with a couple whose wedding was on the same day as my husband’s and my wedding anniversary. As a surprise to us, the couple found out our first dance song, Happy by Secrets in Stereo and selected that as their first dance and shared the dance floor with my husband and I. It was an incredibly humbling and special experience and shows the deep connection we make with our couples. Certainly, a moment I will never forget.
TL
What are some of the best experiences you’ve seen guests have at a wedding?
Lora
I am an animal lover, so being able to incorporate animals into wedding days is always really exciting. We’ve had beer donkeys. We’ve had alpacas.
TL
Wait, beer donkeys?
Lora
The donkey has a pouch with beer in it and the guests can come up to the donkey. It’s amazing. We use the same donkey over and over and his name is Strings. I’ve done an elephant, which is one of my favorite animals. It was an Indian wedding and we had a Clydesdale bring in the groom and an elephant bring in the bride. It’s such a surprise to the guests, you know, because that’s going to be a memory that gets made as opposed to a tangible favor to take with them.