A luxury elopement planner curating heartfelt experiences for couples who are fiercely in love and wild at heart.
Ella loves what she does. Based in the Scottish Highlands, her work is meaningful and executes authentic displays of love. But when it came to communicating her brand, she felt lost.
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, our paths crossed. Ella felt it was time to go all in and rethink how her business should be positioned. As she struggled to attract the right couples who could see the value in a high-end experience, her struggle with social media marketing only highlighted her confusion about who she was as a brand and what her voice should be about.
In the middle of planning an elopement myself, due to pandemic-related circumstances, Ella and I hit it off immediately and we set out to reposition her brand presence that would help her create a business that allowed her vision to thrive.
Though it was a difficult year, it was a strategic decision as micro-weddings and elopements were about to be in high demand as social distancing measures started to affect the wedding industry.
Through our 1:1 workshop, we unearthed her brand’s core essence, and found a way to clarify her message.
Ella is a romantic soul and a mother at heart. Our brand clarity workshops were a wonderful opportunity to uncover the why behind the work she does and the unique qualities of her approach to planning.
We articulated her values and bigger mission to inform all business decisions going forward. We recognised the need to reposition her as luxury elopement planner in order to allow her to operate in her sweet spot as well as the importance of artful execution and personal experience that she wants to give her couples. These findings were condensed into a roadmap document acting as a guide and reminder as Ella continues to build her business in a way that feels aligned with her values.
The details of these sessions are confidential to protect the unique qualities of the brand and strategic findings.
Ella’s name is joined through the typographic details in the M, symbolising two becoming one through marriage.
The typography embodies the quirks of Gaelic letter forms with a modern twist but it also gives her brand an overall nostalgic feeling.
The icon at the top is a minimalist representation of a story book with fanned out pages, referencing Ella’s love for stories and poetry. Their love story is Ella’s guiding star as she plans their unique elopement.
The supporting typography is a nod to film photography (think Kodak strips) and the nostalgic memories like roadtrip and adventures that are connected to it.
With a love for story, it was important Ella’s identity would be full of hidden meaning and evoke a sense of nostalgia.
We created a romantic identity that is inspired by old books and road trips, combining poetic typography with fine art inspired illustration and textures that give you the sense that you have just stepped into a timeless novel. Through her new identity we’re bringing together the adventurous nature of an outdoor elopement with the refined luxury that Ella’s artful approach embodies so beautifully.
Since we launched our rebrand, Ella has soared to new heights. The brand strategy and elevated identity has given her the confidence to go after her vision. Within a year of launch she has been featured in several prestigious wedding supplier directories such as Junebug and The Wedding Collective.
Ella has been booking her dream couples and creating bespoke experiences with top tier vendors, receiving heartfelt and enthusiastic feedback from her couples. As a result she has been able to raise her prices with confidence, nearly doubling it within the first 12 months.
She has also launched a new project ‘Workshops with Ella Mai’ which have quickly become a leading photography workshop for Scottish elopement photographers. Ella is now considered as a leading voice in her community.
As a result of all this wonderful growth she has now hired her first team member, and has been using our roadmap to help onboard her and help her understand the vision and heart behind the business.
“Working with (Joyce) has been an absolute dream. From the offset (she) totally understood my brand, what I stood for and had amazing ideas to bring my ideas to life. By working together, (she) made me fall even more in love with my brand and I will forever be grateful. Thank you so much, Joyce. I will be recommending you to everyone I know!”